Woodworking pattern

[Farmerjohn]

I'm a woodworking old grey-haired fart that's kind of computer illiterate and I'm trying to figure this Inscape out to try and make patterns for making scrollsaw/bandsaw bowls instead of the old school way,pencil,paper,compass,french curves.
I downloaded the program almost 2 weeks ago and can still only get the main design drawn which doesn't take much time.I used to have Photoshop (Cs4?) some years ago and was able to make some decent things with it,one was this logo for a friend that was obsessed with Wow.
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What I am finding impossible to figure out is how to get my design shrunk a certain amount and be equal between all the edges of the main design multiple times (in my case even once...lol).I feel like it should be pretty simple,especially after doing some of the things I did on Ps but my mind is almost mush now trying to figure it out.I've looked high and low on youtube and other sites without luck.Well,besides 1 video that looked like it may have helped...if it only was in English instead of Russian or Ukranian.What didn't help at all was they were mousing all over the screen and opening and closing dialogs that you had no clue what they were clicking on to do what they were doing to make the pattern so I wasn't able to just turn the sound off and follow what tools they used.

This is what I'm trying to make,I can generate the main (outside) deign but the 4 following (inner) lines is my problem.
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To cut these out they need to be the same dimension from one another. Here's a couple videos what they are and how it's done.Maybe it'll give someone a better idea as to what I need.The 1st 1:30 minutes of the video should show you better what I need to do.This video is a simple design to make the old school way.

What I'm wanting to do is make more intricate designs as in this other persons video and was hoping it wouldn't take as long to do as it does the old school way.They're 2 different types but the designing is the same as each other but cut and assembled differently.

[brynn]

Welcome to the forum!

Looks like very fun and interesting projects!  I'm not sure if I understand your questions, but I'll start with this.

What I am finding impossible to figure out is how to get my design shrunk a certain amount and be equal between all the edges of the main design multiple times (in my case even once...lol).

I'm not sure how many questions are in there, haha. 

"shrunk by a certain amount"  If you need to scale the entire image after your finished, select the whole thing, then scale.  There are a few different ways to approach scaling.  Using the Selection tool  you can grab any of the arrows, and while holding Ctrl and Shift, drag the arrow.  However, it's hard to control that, if you need to scale either to a specific size or by a specific amount.

So for precision scaling, you can use Object menu > Transform > Scale http://tavmjong.free.fr/INKSCAPE/MANUAL/html/Transforms.html#Transforms-Transform

Or you can use grids or guides, typically along with snapping.  http://tavmjong.free.fr/INKSCAPE/MANUAL/html/Snapping.html

"equal between all the edges of the main design multiple times"  I didn't watch the 2nd video yet, but I assume it explains how to use Offsets.  Path menu > Inset, Outset, Dynamic Offset, Linked Offset.  For this, I would probably use Dynamic Offset or Linked Offset.  For Dynamic Offset:

1 - draw the first outline, and edit until it's perfect
2 - duplicate
3 - Path menu > Dynamic Offset
4 - grab that tiny diamond shaped handle which appears at the top-most point of the path, and drag (upwards for outset, inwards for inset)
5 - I wish the developers could make this step a little smoother, but for now, you need to open Edit menu > XML Editor
5a - Make sure the new inset/outset line is selected, and it will be highlighted in the XML Editor
5b - On the right section of the XML Editor, locate "inkscape:radius" and click on it
5c - Now look in the box below and edit the value to whatever specific amount you want for the space between offsets
5d - After you edit the number, click the Set button
6 - Repeat 2 through 5d, for all the offset paths that you need. 

If you're sending this to a digital cutter, you'll need to select all the offset paths, and do Path menu > Object to Path.  But if you guide the saw by hand, you won't need to do that.

Now, having said All that, and if you've been following along on your Inkscape canvas, and depending on how acute those curves are, and the overall size, you may notice that the offset paths become less and less faithful to the original, by the time you get to the last one.  So it's possible you'll want to use a different technique.

Instead of offset paths, you might want to just duplicate the original path, and scale it.  You can use the W and H fields of the Selection tool control bar, to make sure they are all the right size.  Then you can use Object menu > Align and Distribute to make sure they are all centered relative to each other.  Or the previously mentioned Transform dialog would work too, and with that, you won't have to center them to each other (because using that dialog keeps them centered).  So for example, maybe you want them all to be 100 px in width and height larger or smaller than the last.

On the Home tab of this website, are loads and loads of tutorials for using Inkscape.  I don't think any of them are about woodworking, though.

[Farmerjohn]

Ok, thanks for the reply.
I think I follow you on what you're saying.It's been some years since I had and used Ps,but if I remember right I could just copy the 1st design I'd draw.Then I could copy that drawing,resize it by like 10% smaller or larger depending which way I had to go then paste it.Resizing it by 10% made each ring an equal distance from the previous one.
But I'm not having any luck here finding the tools or other steps I need to use to do that.
I'll give what you said a try when I can sometime later today.I'm in no big hurry as I can still do them the old school way,would just like a quicker process.

As of right now this is all I can figure out how to do
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This is what I need to do.
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The shape has to be the same as that outermost ring and the distances between each inner ring of that design have to be equal.For an example each ring needs to be 3/8"smaller than the next.They get cut on an angle and stacked so it makes a bowl once assembled.

The 1st video in my original post is what it'll turn out as when cut at an angle.
The 2nd is what it'll turn out like at 90*.

I'm not sending it to a digital cutter,just printing it off on paper as seen in both videos.Then gluing that paper onto a piece of wood to use as a pattern to follow while cutting it out.The style of bowl you get just depends if you cut it at an angle or if you cut it 90*.

[brynn]

Inkscape probably won't be much like Photoshop, just so you're prepared. 

I wasn't sure about your skill level.  But if you like, I can give you specific steps and buttons and everything.  In some ways, I kind of glossed over a couple of details.  So I can spell it out better, if it would be helpful.