In article
,
Owen Lowe wrote:

Thank you, EVERYONE! I think I solved my problem by taking a little bit
of this reply and mixed it with a little of that reply and that reply...

I'd like to space out 5 and 7 markings around the circumference of a
convex cone shaped turning. I have 48 and 96 position indexing on my
lathe but come up with a fractional number when dividing it out.

Here's a picture of the project I was working on - you'll note near the
top there are shiny things - these are two rows of blinking LEDs. The
upper row has 5 lights the lower row has 7 lights (though you can't see
them on the right part of the cone in the picture, the lights are evenly
spaced around the circumference).

http://users.easystreet.com/onlnlowe/misc/Buck'sRocket.jpg

I tried wrapping both tape and paper around the turning, but being
convex and tapered, it just wouldn't lay flat. I tried auto striping
tape which will follow the curve but when I removed it to mark out the
segments, it had stretched into a very curved shape which was difficult
to measure with my straight rulers.

Any simple ideas to help out?

I ended up using Adobe Illustrator to draw two stars - one with 5
points, one with 7, inside an 8" circle with a spindle diameter center
circle. I aligned everything to the center and drew lines bisecting each
point to make the point "sharper" to my eyes. Printed it, spray mounted
it to a cardboard disk and cut the outer circle and then the center hole
so it slips snugly over the lathe spindle and up against the shoulder.

http://users.easystreet.com/onlnlowe/misc/OddIndex'n'Spindle.jpg

Since this was only for marking out and was not needed to lock in
position for carving or whatnot, I was able to set the tool rest so that
it spanned the index wheel and the area of the turning I needed to mark
(in this case indicating where to drill the holes for the LEDs). Using a
#2B pencil I marked each position where the appropriate star's point was
aligned with the top of the tool rest.

http://users.easystreet.com/onlnlowe/misc/OddIndex'n'Rest.jpg

I could have made notches in the cardboard and set up a paperclip "pin"
if the tool rest hadn't spanned the entire distance from cardboard to
turning.

--
Owen Lowe

Northwest Woodturners
Pacific Northwest Woodturning Guild
___
Tips fer Turnin': Place a sign, easily seen as you switch on your lathe, warning you to remove any and all rings from your fingers. Called degloving, extended hardware can grab your ring and rip it off your finger. A pic for the strong of stomach: www.itim.nsw.gov.au/go/objectid/2A3AC703-1321-1C29-70B067DC88E16BFC/index.cfm

Besides, rings can easily mar the surface of a turning as you check for finished smoothness.