If you want the resulting geometry to be precise you are pretty much limited to equivalent of compass and straightedge (or well, in mechanical engineering lathe

If you want the resulting geometry to be precise you are pretty much limited to equivalent of compass and straightedge (or well, in mechanical engineering lathe and mill, which are basically the same things). if you start somehow calculating the geometry you are limited by precision of the calculation, but more importantly by precision of measuring distances you can achieve.