Also, remember that the new spindles do not have to be exact. When they are
in place, no one will be able to hold one up to another for comparison.

Now let me tell you how I do this kind of job. I have a laser pointer
mounted to my headstock on a parallelogram linkage. The laser beam is
vertical, and can be moved over various parts of the spindle I am doing. I
start by mounting a good spindle between centers, I point the laser at a
spot that I want to reproduce, i.e. the botom of a "V" or cove, or the top
of a curve. I then mount each of my new pieces between centers, one at a
time, of course, and turn the feature to match the laser setting. Then,
back to the sample spindle, select another salient point, and gop through
the sequence again.

After you've got all the main diameters and positions established, it is
very easy to go back and fair in the joining curves.

I think this is faster than working from a template--you don't have to keep
checking. You can cut directly to the size and position indicated by the
laser.

BTW, if you go this route, keep the laser pointer around. You will find
many uses for it, which I will not go into here. This idea got me "Tip of
the Year" award from AAW a few years back. I won a cap.