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Thread: Vortex tool - Cindy Drozda - questions.....

  1. #1
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    Question Vortex tool - Cindy Drozda - questions.....

    In watching the Cindy Drozda DVD on the Finial Star, she is using a "Vortex" tool. This looks to be nothing more than a piece of drill rod that has been honed with a flat surface at an angle to the center of the rod, and then ground with swept back wings, and undercut to get rid of the excess heel. She uses the tool for crisp cuts on small details with great success.

    I have looked for a source without luck, but it seems one could make a "Vortex" tool easily enough. Any experience with this little tool?

  2. #2
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    John if I remember right this is also called the skeewchie gouge and I believe she made it herself...Bill...

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    It does look very similar to a Sorby Spindlemaster, or the Versa chisel from PSI, but the flat portion does not appear to be parallel to the length of the rod, but at an angle. I don't guess that makes a difference so long as the grind of the bevel is indexed off the flat surface.

  4. #4
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    John,
    One of the guys in our club makes these out of 1/4" square cobalt tool steel welded to a 1/4" square cold rolled rod. I suppose you could just use HSS, but the edge will not last as long, however, since you will not be cutting very aggressively, it may not matter. He just gave me one, but, I have not had a chance to try it yet.

    He believes there are two keys to using the tool. First, if you grind the wings so that there is a sharp intersection between a wing and the top surface, he said it is really grabby. He grinds a small vertical flat at the intersection of each of the wings and the top surface which makes it much tamer, especially for finials. Second, he does not go straight in, but comes up from under the finial, otherwise it tends to break the finial easily. Look at his latest finials here http://www.gulfcoastwoodturners.org/...ary/index.html under the Segmented Catagory. He does beautiful work and gets them really thin with the very fine grooves near the top.

    Dave

  5. #5
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    John Packard Woodworks has it on page 1 of their catalog. I am thinking of getting one myself. They have most of the tools she uses the most. I watched her use that tool and it is pretty neat how crisp she can get her finials with it.
    Bernie

    Never put off until tomorrow what you can do the day after tomorrow.

    To succeed in life, you need three things: a wishbone, a backbone and a funnybone.



  6. #6
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    I made one from a 1/4" screwdriver, just cut the end off and start grinding. Works good. Ron

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bernie Weishapl View Post
    John Packard Woodworks has it on page 1 of their catalog.
    Thanks, Bernie! I found it.

    Quote Originally Posted by Ron Erickson View Post
    I made one from a 1/4" screwdriver, just cut the end off and start grinding. Works good. Ron
    This is a thought, but I sure would prefer HSS, but it probably needs very little maintenance since it doesn't see heavy use.

    Dave, thanks for the link, and the thoughts on making one. If the one from Packard is handled (and, I assume it is), the price at $45 is terrible, but if one could get some HSS 1/4" rod, looks like it would be a breeze to make one.

  8. #8
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    Did a little surfing around - to buy a piece of 1/4" HSS rod 36" long looks like about $24, plus shipping. That would make 3 tools, but what to do with the rest of it? I guess there are other configurations one could make, but I think I would want some bigger rod for other tools.

    Makes the Drozda tool at $45 sound better!

  9. #9
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    Little hard to tell from the picture on the Packard website, but it looks like a spear point scraper with a rounded heel... can't imagine that it would be too tough to make one.

    I use a spear point scraper sometime for detail, but it's nowhere near as small as that one.

    John, where did you price the HSS rod?

    I've got a Drozda DVD on the way, but I think it's the other one(not finial star). Maybe we can swap them at some point if you're interested.

  10. #10
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    8 inch 1/4" HSS bits can be ordered from Enco at a very reasonable price. Look for HSS tool bits, round. Get more than you think you will need, cause the shipping is kind of high. They make a good 1/4" round skew too. I'd pick up one or two of the 5 inch, 3/8" bits too, cause you never know, you know?

    http://www.use-enco.com/CGI/INLMK3?PMK0NO=1100135

    Dan


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  11. #11
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    I though a lathe was a vortex tool....
    Thank you,

    Rich Aldrich

    65 miles SE of Steve Schlumpf.

    "To a pessimist, the glass is half empty; to an optimist, the glass is half full; to an engineer, the glass is twice as big as it needs to be." Unknown author



  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by John Keeton View Post
    Did a little surfing around - to buy a piece of 1/4" HSS rod 36" long looks like about $24, plus shipping. That would make 3 tools, but what to do with the rest of it? I guess there are other configurations one could make, but I think I would want some bigger rod for other tools.

    Makes the Drozda tool at $45 sound better!
    John make you a round skew. It works well on finials also.
    Bernie

    Never put off until tomorrow what you can do the day after tomorrow.

    To succeed in life, you need three things: a wishbone, a backbone and a funnybone.



  13. #13
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    John - also check out Cindy's website. She has some more info on all of her tools as well as how to sharpen them. I've been wanting to make one of her little notched negative rake scrapers and found the site helpful. Now I just have to make one.
    It’s only work if somebody makes you do it.
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  14. #14
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    John,
    I have one of her Vortex tools I purchased at Craft Supplies a few months ago. It has three sides and two of them are straight angled and the other one is rounded for rounded radial cuts. I like it very well for fine finial work as long as you backup your cut with a finger or thumb, as Cindy shows in her videos. It isn't a big tool by any means. It has though, made a difference in my detail on finials for sure.
    Regards, Ken

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  15. #15
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    John I ordered a 1/4" X 36" bar of W1 tool steel from McMaster-Carr a couple of months ago for $2.64 along with some other bar stock and shipping was about $8 for the whole order. You can heat W1 enough with a MAPP torch for hardening after it is formed and just dip it in water. It is not as deep hardening as O1 or A1 but a lot easier to harden. I used it to make a skew and point tool. Just a thought.

    Sid
    Sid Matheny
    McMinnville, TN

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