AHello! I am fairly new at making cakes. So far, my tallest cake was 3 tier using dowels for support. I am making a wedding cake next month and it will be 4 tiered 12", 10", 8", and 6". My question, is the dowel system sturdy enough to support that, and be able to transport it fully assembled, or do I need to go for something like sps?

AIf your system works for 3tier, i don't see why it won't work with 4tier. As long as you can carry that heavy of a cake, why not deliver it assembled.

AThanks. Do I need to change the sizes of bottom dowels? I've been using Wilton's 1/4 inch thick dowels.

AI use bubble tea straws as the support dowels for all my cakes. Doesn't matter if the cake is 2 tiers or 7 tiers. They work great, are cheap and are super easy to cut to size.

AYep, I love my trusty boba tea (bubble, fat) straws for any size tiered cake.

Had to look up a "boba"  tea straw, boy those are big.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004Y34VT0/?tag=cakecentral-20

I'm a BIG fan of SPS.  It's way easy to use and completely secure as all the parts physically tie together.  With either dowels or straws, you cake basically balances tier on tier.

And that center dowel is false security.  If your cake it truly moving sideways, the dowel will stay put and just tear thru the cake.

SPS is cheap, and you should just include it in the price of the cake.  Whenever I did a consultatoin, I explained the equipment fee.  "You'll want this support system because its what holds up your cake."  "Oh yes!  We want that!" was always the answer.

AWow, thank you all so much for the advice. I never used a center dowel as I've heard that they can tear through a cake if the cake shifts. :) So it is possible to transport the 4 tier cake fully assembled? I didn't know boba tea straws are that strong, I was afraid to use them. I think I will try those. Eventually I'm going to experiment with different kinds of support systems. :-D

AYeah, they're way strong.

AI have always hammered 2 offset wooden dowels through any cake 3 tiers or larger. For 2 tier cakes I only use 1 wooden dowel. False security or real - I have never lost a cake so I am sticking with what I do.

One time I forgot to hammer my center dowels into a 3 tier cake. When I opened my trunk at the venue the top 6" tier had shifed to the edge of the 8" tier below it. I pushed it back in place and all was perfect but after that I never forgot to dowel.

There are several people on here that do not center dowel and swear by it but I have never understood how the tiers don't shift.

I have tried SPS but I didn't like it. To me it is bulky and you have to have a border on each tier which not all designs allow for. And I found the legs to be a pain in the butt to cut. I accidently almost stabbed myself in the stomach the first time I used them when trying to cut one of the legs.

The legs do come precut in 4", 5", 7" and 9".  I always tried to bake to one of those heights.  But yes, if you have an odd height tier, you do have to cut the legs.  The fact that they are so sturdy should be regarded as a good thing!  A band saw or chop saw (power tools) work great, or a hand miter saw also works.  And it doesn't always require a border.  You simply use a plate an inch smaller than your cake.  Then you can get the assurance of the system, the look of no border - the design you want and the stability you require.