How to arrange hash marks in a NON circular "donut" pattern (in this case, like a square watch face)

[JimmyJack]

There was the following post about how to arrange an array of hash marks in a squared hole (or any other none circular) pattern.

This is what I came up with:
(this, of course, is specific to a sixty hash mark result)

• Draw Cog with 30 teeth, 50% Tooth & Notch sizes. In order for the 12:00/6:00 positions to be vertical and the 3/9 to be horizontal give it a 3º rotation
• Make a "squared" donut (subtract a square from a larger square) and use it for a Boolean Intersect with the Cog
• Separate the pieces (this step isn't 100% needed, but by trial and error this really helps to get a clean result in the next step)
• Select all nodes and Break
• Select all the short connector bits and delete.
   (I did it in two stages, inner and outer, but maybe you can pull it off in one..... all depends on your familiarity with the selection tools and hot keys)

whole thing takes about a minute.... I'm moving kinda fast. Feel free to slow down the vid or step through the frames if needed. Cheers

Edit: At 0:51, my selection technique might not be apparent.
To just select the inner bits (probably many other ways to do this) after you first click with the mouse hold down the control key when dragging (mac).
This will temporarily disable the intersect objects to select setting (I assume that's your default in tools > prefs). When doing that, only things that are fully enclosed in the selection marquee will be selected, i.e. just the inner bits.

 

 

 

[GarryP]

An alternative to the method shown above, which might be of interest, could be to use Compound Shapes as in my attached video.
This method can also be modified to create round/rounded clock faces (watch to the end, pardon the pun).
While the shapes are in a Compound Shape they can be edited in lots of non-destructive ways.

Important: Remember to use the Alt key (may be Option key on macOS) when pressing the Intersect button on the toolbar.