Hey everyone,
I’m new to woodworking and also new to this subreddit, so I hope this isn’t a silly question. I’m working on restoring a wooden rocking chair seat and could really use some help from folks with more experience.

I’ve attached a photo of the seat. What I’m trying to figure out is how to accurately find the perimeter, area, and center of the depressed region within the seat’s frame—not the whole seat, just the inner depression. The perimeter is smooth and organic, and I’m having trouble tracing it precisely, especially since I don’t have great vision and I’m still learning how to work with arcs and curves.

Project Goal:

I’m planning to engrave a sentimental scenery into that depressed area using CNC. Once the carving is complete, I’ll be filling the depression with epoxy resin to seal and preserve the design. To protect the epoxy and add structural support, I’ll be building a hinged gate that opens from the center like a book cover. This gate will sit flush over the depression and help distribute weight when someone sits down.

Seat Details:

• The thicker outer seat (non-depressed area) is about ¾” thick
• The depressed region is about ½” thick
• I plan to reinforce the underside of the seat since the CNC and hand carvings will remove material

The help needed:

• If anyone is able to extract or estimate the:

*perimeter
*area
*center point 

- of the depression directly from the photos, I would be deeply grateful.
• I’ve included a ruler in the photo for scale—hopefully it’s accurate enough to help.


I’m still learning, and this project means a lot—it’s for someone special. Thank you for your consideration 🙏 

Newbie Help Request: Need Guidance on Measuring Depression in Rocking Chair Seat for hand carving / CNC + Epoxy Project