Hello Moyo,

As several people have stated, the easiest way is to use one of the segmenting
software packages. I've used a couple of them with good results. However, I did
more segmenting working from a drawing. Here is how I did it:

I used a piece of 1/4" grid paper with the light blue lines and sketched the
bowl shape that I was interested in doing. You only need to draw half of the
bowl. I always used 3/4" boards to make my segmented rings, so it was easy to
start at the bottom (foot of the bowl), mark up three squares and draw a line
through the bowl shape. Continue doing this until you run out of bowl. You have
just laid out the segmented rings.

Now, take a pencil compass and put the point on the centerline and set the
pencil to touch the outside of the bowl. Draw a circle with this setting. Decide
how thich you want the bowl wall and reduce the setting of compass to touch the
inside wall point and draw another circle. You have now constructed the inside
and outside dimentions of your bowl at that point. Decide how wide the board
will be from which you'll cut the segments. I used to use 1-1/2" boards for my
segments. Eyeball a mark between the two lines. Then make marks 3/4" either side
of the center line of the wall thickness. With your compass, draw circles
through each of those 3/4" marks. Now, draw horizontal and vertical lines
through the center of the of the circles. You've now divided it into four
segments. To get to 8 segments, divide each of these 1/4th segments into half.
To get to 16 segments, divide the 1/8 segments in half. Then draw a line
perpendicular to a radius line that bisects one of the segments. Now draw
perpendicular lines to this line that touches the inner and outer circles. You
have now drawn one of your segments. Take you measurements from that to cut the
segments for that circle.

Repeat this for each ring of the bowl and you've done what the software can do
in a couple of minutes. If you're careful on your layout, everything will work
our very well.

I hope this is clear.

Fred Holder
http://www.fholder.com/

In article , moyo says...

I'm not real swift with mathematics and naturally suck at Algebra so,
how does a person using his fingers (toes optional) figure the outside
and inside widths of the various segments? I'm turning a walnut bowl
with an outside diameter of 7 and 3/4.

Thanks for the advice

Moyo