I have always used the "center dowel" method for stacked construction until now. I did this wedding cake using a new method (to me anyway). I used seperator plates instead of cake boards to seperate the tiers. Normally I would do the stacked construction and then hammer the center dowel down the center of the cake. Then I would hope that everything held together during transport (even with the center dowel placed). With this method I placed each tier on a seperator plate (except the bottom tier of course). I marked the tier below using the plate so that I would know where to place the regular dowels. Then I placed the tier on those marks and let it drop. The nice part was - I could feel it in my fingers when I was placing the tier on to drop when it was actually just toughing the cake. Then I knew I was ready to drop it. The teeth from the seperator plate then gave me that extra second to get my fingers out of the way when I let it go (instead of dropping in mid-air - the teeth slowed the dropping by having to sink into the cake 
) Granted it was only a second but it helped. No smudge marks from my fingers hitting the icing. I'm a convert to using seperator plates. 
I just iced right over it. I did add a border but you couldn't see the plate even if I didn't. I transported partially assembled. I had a 14" base with a 10" second tier (attached during transport). I placed a 6" top tier on site. a picture of the cake is in my pictures - it's a 3 tiered ivory round wedding cake. The file was too big to attach to this post.
BJ, Your cake looks great! What kind of seperator plates are you using? The ones I have are to be used with colomns or pegs. I want some of the no stress seperator plates with attached/adjustable legs that you just push as one piece right into the top of the tier you're stacking on. Just can't picture what you're saying about the teeth.
In the 25 years of doing wedding cakes, I have always used the separator plate method for stacking. I mark the bottom cake with the separator plate to know where I need to put my dowel rods (I use the plastice ones). I hide the plate with my border or use a plate one size smaller than the cake being placed. I have transported 4 tiered stacked cake once, but only because of the design. It was a very very slow trip to the hall. I generally only transport 2 stacked, then put the rest on top at the hall.
Gayle
MI
When you use the seperator plate, do you use a cake board too? I would think it might help even to have the plastic seperator plate b/c the plate wouldn't get "mushy" like I've heard some people say their cardboard cake boards do during construction - like they soak up the grease in the icing or the oil in the cake and then get really floppy & nasty and may sink into the cake or just make it really hard to cut a nice slice...... the plates would be more "sturdy" sounds like a good idea to me. I haven't done more than 1 stacked cake in my Wilton class though - but it sounds like good method.
But do you use a cake board too, or do you just put the cake right on the seperator plate? What about when you are frosting it? A seperator plate doesn't exactly "spin" and won't really sit still for me on a turntable....
Yes, I did use cake boards as well as the seperator plates. I put a small dap of royal icing to make sure they stuck. I was told that if you don't - some venues aren't too careful when cutting the cake and you may get a plate returned with cut marks all over it. When icing the cake on the seperator plate - I put the cake which is on the seperator plate on my turn table and ice it on that. I do put the non skid mat down on the turn table so nothing slides (as well as my van when transporting - that stuff is the best!).
I too have only used the separator cake and dowel method. I still use a cakeboard, but it is covered in aluminum foil. I put a small amount of icing on the plate and it "glues" the cake and cake board in place on the separator plate. To measure the hollow plastic dowels, I mark my cake with the separator plate feet and then stick the dowel in all the way to the bottom of the "tier" that I am working with. I cut the dowel level with the top of the cake. It's not very pretty when you take the cake apart for serving, but it works and if you only take one tier apart at a time, no one will even notice the dowels down in the cake.
Thank you so much for posting this--I will definitely have to try this!
BJ, I saw others saying they were using plastic dowels. Is that what you were using or were you using wooden ones. If they were wooden, can you explain your process a little more. I understand the plastic ones completely. Thanks!
You know, i've been thinking of doing it that way, but you know one tends to stick to what we know... but hearing how well you liked it, im going to finally try it, thanks for the post. 
I have recently discovered the separator plates and hidden pillars. I love the hidden pillars. They are somewhat of an expense, but so worth it to me.
I just mark where the separator plates will be and that is where I will put the hidden pillars. All I have to do is place each layer on the other with the feet of the plates in the hidden pillars. It is so great. They (the pillars) are all the dowels that I need!
Does anyone else use this method?
then there's the overengineered method I will use for large stacke cakes....
3/4 inch plywood base.
center dowel RISING up from base ..firmily glued into base.
plastic separator plates w/ hole drilled dead center....hole just big enough to slip over dowel
then use regular dowels or hidden pillars to suppor tiers.
perfect alignment everytime
and that puppy ain't movin!!
Missy,
I used wooden dowels.
I used basically the same technique that I used to use for stacked construction accept I used the plastic seperator plates instead of cake boards. I use the plain old regular style plates. The one with 4 little "feet" I call them, protruding out of the bottom of the plate. I've used these plates for pillar constructed cakes before. Say I was making a 2 tiered cake. The base tier - you would stick the pillars right through the base cake and then the top tier would be on a seperator plate and then I would place the cake on top of the pillars and these "feet" go inside the pillars. Those are the types of bases I'm referring to. I think this is much more secure to have 4 "feet" stabalizing the cake (per layer too) than 1 center dowel. I've always been afraid of my cake looking like the leaning tower of piza with the center dowel way. One sharp corner and it's all gone..... That's just my opinion though.
Thanks, BJ, I'm just wondering where the wooden dowels are in relation to the plate's feet. With the plastic dowels, I can see sticking the feet in those, but were you putting the feet on the wooden dowels and if you were, were the dowels shorter than normal so the the feet of the plate could go into the cake? Sorry, if this is not making sense--I'm easily confused if I can't see examples--very visual. I would love to start using this technique, but plastic dowels can get expensive over time and I'm finding I'm doing a lot more stacked cakes lately...
Doug--Your technique sounds interesting too, but I don't think I'm allowed near power tools to drill holes! 
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