Hi, noob here...

I would like to make something that looks like this:

But, I can't seem to figure out how:

to snap to the center of an arc (i.e. to make concentric arcs, their center points coincident)

to snap the ends of arcs so as to create the end arcs of the image. (i.e. make the end arcs tangent to the major arcs)

Ultimately, I really want the "sausage profiles" to be continuous so I can add gradients...

But, I think I need to get them tangent and concentric first...

I've found plenty of snapping info, but for example, the center of an existing arc doesn't show when creating a second arc. So, far web search has not gotten me too far. 😕

Just a quick hack - Not sure how "symmetrically" or "arcwise" you´ll need it. Let us know.

There´s a numerical approach as well with the circle tool and the entry value fields:

Nice solution @Polygon.

Like most problems, there are many ways to tackle this and of course it's easy when you know how.  I applied a little geometry and then reached for the ellipse and bezier tools, node snapping, grouping, rotation, boolean operations, node joining, and linked offset.  It sounds complicated when I write it out but it was only a few minutes work.

For your homework see if you can reproduce this.  For extra credit, show us a better/simpler/quicker way to do this.

Well, I've failed the homework.🙄

I attempted to follow what is going on in the animations provided by @Polygon and failed miserably. Basically, I can't reproduce it when I think I got it.

I obviously don't get the subtleties of the difference between objects, paths, strokes, and shapes.

When I do get an arc (which is just an accident) and I drag the ends, it automagically adds radial lines.😲 If I have an arc, why would it think by moving the ends I want a pie shaped thing. 😎 (I hate programs that attempt to guess what I want...stop it!) 😅

Don't get me wrong, I deal with noobs all the time helping others learn what I've used it for years....I know this is just noob stuff.

At one point I drew a path (I think) and converted it to something, and had the center clear...like the sausage shape @Paddy_CAD shows.

But, now can't reproduce what I did. 😕

Do you need a video/GIF with more displaying? I don´t know how much experience you have already. I find both of my approaches are pretty basic.

@Polygon the second one I pretty much get. The first, there are steps you are doing off screen that I can only imagine since I don't have much Inkscape experience.

Also, as far as I can tell I grid on and grid snap on, but nothing appears to snap. (And this gives a clue as to how much experience I lack. 😎 )

It´s probably snapping; your grid is set to one tenth mm increment snapping.

Here it´s going this way:

Here's a quick glossary.

Node: these are the points that define a shape
Path: the outline of your shape, the route followed by lines and curves connecting a sequence of nodes
Subpath: a piece of a path separated by gaps between the nodes
Stroke: the "paint" applied to a path to make your shape outline visible 
Fill: the "paint" applied inside an area bounded by a path
Group: a collection of shapes that can be manipulated as one unit
Canvas: your virtual drawing board containing all the shapes that make up your drawing
Page: a rectangular portion of the canvas representing a printed sheet of paper

I could go on.......

http://tavmjong.free.fr/INKSCAPE/MANUAL/html/Glossary.html

@Polygon I don't see the "left opening U with an s" or the "tic-tac-toe" icons (you can see that in my gif above). Why do you say my grid is set to .1mm (what I read is the grid spacing is every 1mm and every 10th grid line is to be shown. And, how are creating a circle, I always get ellipse that I have to set to be round (after more than one tutorial from the web...)

@Paddy_CAD those definitions of Node, Path, and Stroke are enlightening. But, I still don't understand what I have when I use the circle/ellipse tool I get a circle or ellipse (it says that's what it is when selected) So, is it an object? What does Object to path and Stroke to path mean at that point? I'm experimenting...

Now that we defined some terms, I'll walk you through Polygon's method.  Is this the first ever svg sausage tutorial?  We're really pushing the bounds here. 

Everything in Inkscape is an object. An ellipse is an object, a text paragraph is an object, a clone is an object, a group of shapes resembling a sausage is an object.  We build drawings by arranging objects on the canvas.  

@Paddy_CAD  Thanks, I will experiment with the Tutorial_Sausage_Outline.svg

I think light is beginning to glimmer in my addled brain.