Make radial labels for your DIY amp/stompbox/synth projects!

[Backstory: Over on the Cigar Box Nation forums, one of the guys asked where he could buy radial volume labels for an amp he built. This is a slightly edited version of my reply to him.]

Why buy some when it's easy enough to make your own? You don't have to be good at graphics, you just have to know what to do.

Download Inkscape (you probably want the Windows installer) and install it on your machine.

Create a new file. Go to File -> Document properties. Select inches instead of pixels for default units. And pick US Letter instead of A4 for paper size. (Or you can pick centimeters instead of inches and A4 instead of US Letter if you think in metric).

Select the circle tool on the left. Hold down the control key to fix the ratio of width to height and click and drag diagonally on the page surface to create a perfect circle.

You can tell what the diameter of the circle is because of the ruler that is running along the top and sides of the document (which is why we changed it to inches or centimeters instead of leaving it as pixels.) This is helpful if you know you need an inch and a half wide circle, for instance.

You should still have the circle tool selected in the toolbar on the left, and your circle should be selected in the document. Look at the top of the screen above your document. Click the "switch to arc" button. For "start" put in 120, and for "end" put 60. That will give you 300 degrees of rotation. If you want 320 degrees of rotation pick 110 and 70. Degrees of rotation should be on the datasheet for your potentiometer (or you can just eyeball it.)

Now select the text tool on the left. Type your numbers in the font you want with a few spaces between each number.

Select the Arrow tool on the toolbar. This will let you select multiple objects. Hold down the shift key and click your circle to select it, and then, still holding down the shift key, click your text. Both items should be selected. Go to the text menu and select "Put on path".

Your text should wrap around the circle. Now it's a matter of adjusting font size and adjusting the spacing between each number. Make sure the text tool is selected in the toolbar on the left and select a number. You should get an edit cursor. Adjust spaces between numbers as needed. At the top you should have an option to change the font and font size.

Once you've got the numbers going all the way around the circle the way you want, select just the circle (might be tricky but you can do it) and drag it away from the text. BAM, you've got your label.

If you want tick marks too, create another smaller circle, and just make the | character with even spaces between it and pick a suitable font. Slide the | | | circle into the text circle. Then use the text tool to create a regular label underneath the whole shebang.

Copy and paste as many times as needed.

When you're done, print it out on regular paper, cut it out, make a hole in the center, and test it to see if you like it. When you like it, print it out on and apply it according to directions. Lacquer as needed. :)