Need some help please

[Ron Hartl]

I need to make an exact copy of a staircase spindle, I need to cut out a template to insert into a copy lathe. I mic'd it out every 1/4 inch, plotted it on corel 12 using vertical lines with the intension of connecting the nodes horizontally. Is there a way to do this and keep the line smooth and accurate?
I get little ridges and bumps where the nodes are of course.
Thank you all, this site is great, I have learned a lot from you all.

I inserted a file,not the spindle, but just and example.

[George D Gabert]

something like this. saved as v10 so hopefully you can read.

exported file to acad, traced a polyline, reimported into corel.

pm file and I can convert original

GDG

[Carl Sewell]

Have you used the shape tool (second one down on the left-side toolbar)?

Select your curve, pick the shape tool and then look on the property for two icons that look like lines that are tangent to an arc. Click on one of them. Then you can click on individual nodes and drag the arrow heads to smooth out the curve manually.

[George M. Perzel]

Hi Ron;
Try using the 3 point drawing tool to connect your points-works pretty fast and allows curve adjustments.
Best regards;
George
LaserArts

[Richard Rumancik]

Ron, all of your nodes are cusp nodes. Which means that the lines on either side of the node are independent of each other in terms of slope. One thing you can try is to select the curve, then right click on a node. (You can access nodes via the shape tool too. If you can see the ndes, you can right click.) It will display a dropdown box with various selections. This will include Cusp, smooth, and symmetrical node types. (They greyed-out one is the type of node you have now.) If you change it to smooth or symmetrical, then the curve will automatically adjust. You would have to change all nodes (I suggest smooth). At least the sharp point will disappear. You will have to experiment and look at the HELP to get a feel for smooth vs symmetrical nodes.

After you do this you can still tweak the curve's shape some more to pull it in or out as need be.

[Ron Hartl]

Thank you for the great ideas! I appreciate it!