HOW are line dividers used to divide a line into any number of sections?

1) Open the legs of the dividers until you think they are about the correct distance apart to divide your line into n segments

2) Place one leg of the dividers at the start point of the line and place the other point exactly on the line wherever it falls.

3) Take the pressure off the point that is at the beginning of the line and, using the second point as a pivot, swing the first point around 180 degrees until you can set it down exactly on the line.

4) Continue "walking" the dividers like this along the length of the line, counting the number of times that you were able to swing the dividers to a new position on the line.

5) When you get to the end (and if you did a good job of guessing the length to set the dividers) the final movement of the dividers will leave you either a bit short of the end of the line or else overshooting the end of the line by a bit. To help illustrate this, let's assume you wanted to divide the line into 10 parts and you ended up too short by 35 mm. Since the dividers marked out a length that was too short, then they must be opened wider to reach the proper dimension. How much wider? Since there are 10 segments in the line and however much you open the dividers will be added to each segment, you need 35/10, or 3.5 mm added to the opening of the dividers. If the distance marked out bu the dividers is longer than the line, then you need to decrease the opening of the dividers by the error distance divided by the number of segments.

6) Make the adjustment to the dividers and start over again, stepping the dividers carefully along the line. This time you should come much closer to the end point of the line. Again, if the divider length is too short, open the legs of the dividers by the error distance divided by the number of segments and if the length stepped out by the dividers is longer than your line, decrease the opening of the dividers by the error length divided by the number of segments

7) By the third try you ought to be very, very close to getting it right. Refine the distance again if necessary.

When you finally get the dividers to step out the exact length of the line in the number of segments that you desire, you are done. Simply measure the distance between the points of the dividers to determine the length you are looking for.

It takes a lot longer to describe it than to actually do it