It’s Not All Firewood

This is, once again, the time of year for craft fairs. This season I’ll be participating in two sales with many new items both decorative and functional. I’ve attached the flyer for the first one on November 21st at the Richmond Buddhist Temple.

This is a smaller craft fair than the following one so it may be your best opportunity to obtain just the right piece, you know, the item you’ve been hoping to find for so long. Come by and we can talk and you can have a look at the products of other crafters as well.

Jay Mapson

Tags: craft sale, jay mapson, wood turning, wood turning gift, woodturning art

Vedder Mountain Hardwoods has been a sponsor of the Greater Vancouver Woodturners Guild for several years, contributing donations to the silent auction of the West Coast Woodturning Symposium and hosting open houses on several occasions. I always get great wood from the owners, Christina and Mike Rytter, at very reasonable prices. Specializing in spalted and figured Maple, they have the big machinery to cut nearly any dimension a woodworker could require.

Vedder Mountain Hardwoods will soon embark on a new business venture, stabilizing valuable cuts of hardwoods. By chance, I was lucky enough to obtain a sample of Stabilized Box Elder Burl. At the time I had no idea that this was an upcoming extension of their current business so it sat at home for months.

Several months later, when I finally took another trip to visit them and buy some more wood, I found out more about their intention of getting into this new branch of their business. They had done months of research and were very close to having all of the expensive equipment in their facility.

Christina and Mike were especially eager to hear of my findings with the sample I had so I promised that it would be the next piece I mount on my lathe. Part of the reason this piece sat at home was because I didn’t know what I wanted to do with it, I just knew I had to have it when I first saw it. It was beautifully burled with wonderful colours typical of Box Elder.

This is the sample piece of Stabilized Box Edler Burl I obtained. As you can see, the burl is quite significant, even for Box Elder. This came to Vedder Mountain hardwoods as a sample of the stabilization that is possible with the vacuum/acrylic resin impregnated/pressurized system they’ll be using. The block is very square (5” along the sides), quite thick (approximately 3”) and finely finished on all six sides. The biggest concern is whether the resin really impregnates the blank to its entire depth. This being a thick blank, the Rytters were understandably anxious to find out.

The sample came finely sanded and polished. Yes, I should have weighed the blank but I don’t have a scale that would do it justice. Check out the tight swirls and eyes in this burl. How about those colours?

Here you can see the various knots and inclusions that appear to continue deep within the blank. The blank is quite thick in consideration of its other two dimensions. I was not very interested in turning a deep bowl and I certainly didn’t want to reduce the wonderful burl to shavings. These are some of the reasons I couldn’t figure out how to treat this piece. I have recently decided to try pen turning. I realized that I could slice off a ¾” slab and make 4 or 5 pen blanks and still have enough left for a really interesting bowl. You can see the pencil line where I decided to slice off a thin slab from the blank.

Cutting the blank on the Bandsaw. As the blank was being cut, there was a distinct odor of plastic. It recalled memories of grade school shop class when the class was assigned to test various methods of handling various materials. Plastics have a distinct odor when heated by the friction of a power saw. Although the blade on the bandsaw was quite dull, the blank cut without the need for pushing too hard.

The cut surface of the stabilized blank. You can see the blade marks, similar to what you might see if it was just normal wood or normal burl. The good news? YES!!! The stabilizing does penetrate the full depth of a 5X5X3” burl block.

Of course there are many factors that will alter the effectiveness of the wood stabilizing process. Things like the size and integrity and species of the wood blank, the vacuum pressure applied, etc, will all necessitate a trial and error processing method until the learning curve is flattened. I’m looking forward to getting some very interesting stabilized samples in the future.

I’ll write again about the pen blanks and the small bowl.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with me.

Tags: stabilized box elder burl, stabilized wood, wood stabilizing

In portrait photography, a medium telephoto lens is used to reduce the barrel distortion that is common in pictures taken with wide angle lenses. We’ve all seen the picture of a young child sitting on a chair with their legs and feet pointing straight at the camera. Remember how HUGE the feet appeared? Imagine how this distortion will change the appearance of your art object.
As in many aspects of photography, we have yet another trade off; barrel distortion vs. depth of field. In 35mm photography, the range of focal lengths from approximately eighty mm to one hundred and thirty-five mm is considered appropriate for portrait photography because it will reduce the barrel distortion and at the same time provide a fair amount of depth of field. Portraits can have the tip of the nose in sharp focus as well as the back of the ear.
Since there is a nice range of focal lengths from which to choose, it will be quite convenient to zoom in the necessary amount to fill the viewfinder with a tiny object or to zoom out to accommodate a larger object. Also don’t forget to allow space in case the camera must be moved back to accomodate the larger object.
If you have questions or need some clarification on any of this, please ask.

Tags: art photography, barrel distortion, camera lenses, Camera Selection, How to Select a Camera, lenses, Medium Telephoto Lens, Photography, portrait photography, portraits, Which Camera Should I Buy, woodturning photography

In photographing art objects, the lighting conditions will change depending on the light source. When photographing with celluloid film, we use filters of various colors to balance the color of the light to the specific nature of the film being used (daylight or tungsten for example). With digital photography, it is important to have the correct white balance setting. Without the correct white balance, the colors in the image will not be right.
Every time the lighting situation changes, the white balance should be checked and reset because the amount of light that falls on an object that’s one meter from the light source is far greater than the light striking the same object from 2 meters away. If the lights are moved closer or further away from the subject, reset the white balance. If the lights are rearranged front to back, reset the white balance.
Digital cameras have various pre-configured white balance settings that can easily be selected from the menus (check your camera’s manual for the proper way to access the white balance settings).  These are factory settings for certain situations such as bright daylight, sunsets, cloudy days, fluorescent or incandescent lighting, etc. None of these settings are completely suitable for the precision required for our purpose without a lot of time consuming alterations in computer software, so a manual white balance setting is necessary for true color representation. After all, the color of the product is one of the most important aspects that we’re trying to show off in the photograph.
White balance can be manually set by pointing the camera at a neutrally colored object under the exact same lighting as the subject and pressing the appropriate button combination. The most common neutral colored object is a photographic grey card. They’re commercially available at most high quality camera stores. A grey card reflects exactly 18% of the light that strikes it. This is a decades old photographic standard.
Other neutral objects can be used as substitutes for the grey card such as an even grey back ground cover or the boards of an old fence or old asphalt paving (not new black asphalt). Just look around for something that’s not bright, not dark and neutrally colored.
Set up the camera on a tripod and arrange the lights. Before the art object is placed in the scene, place the grey card exactly where the object will be. Then use the camera’s menus to set the white balance, making sure to fill the camera’s measuring zone with the grey card. Take a good careful look at the display screen to quickly judge the colors and the effects of the setting you just made. Once set, the white balance can be ignored until the lights are moved or rearranged. Any object placed in the same spot will have proper colors in the final image.
If you have any questions, please ask.

Tags: 18% reflectivity, art photography, Camera Selection, check your camera’s manual, color correcting, correct colors, correct white balance, digital photography, digital still life, How to Select a Camera, manual white balance, photographic grey card, photographic lighting, photographic techniques, Photography, proper colors, reset the white balance, White Balance, white balance setting

There are two types of cameras – digital and film, and each type has several different categories, we’ll limit our discussion to the kind that is generally referred to as point and shoot and the SLR (Single Lens Reflex) varieties.

Today, the vast majority of cameras available are digital, but film cameras have their benefits as well. Film has far superior resolution and the resulting print will always be sharper than any of today’s digital cameras. Digital may eventually catch up but it will take a very long time. Another benefit of celluloid film cameras is that they can use slide film which results in exactly what the photographer took. Slides can be printed in ultra high quality Ciba Chrome or projected on a white wall or silver screen.

Let’s assume that digital pictures are the desired end result, suitable for alteration on the computer and posting on a blog or sending via e-mail. What camera features will be required to photograph a woodturning (or any other similar object)?

1. Manual white balance settings

2. Manual or semi-automatic exposure settings

3. Medium telephoto lens

4.Tripod socket

5. Self timer/Camera shake stabilizing system

6. Large memory card capacity

7. RAW format picture files

8. More than one battery

9. Easy downloading to computer

10. Auto Exposure/Auto Focus Lock

In the next pages I’ll expand on each of these points. Some are more important than others.

If you have any questions, please ask.

Tags: art photography, Auto Exposure, Auto Focus Lock, Camera Selection, Camera shake stabilizing system, check your camera’s manual, digital photography, digital pictures, digital still life, digital vs film, Grey Card, How to Select a Camera, Large memory card capacity, Manual or semi-automatic exposure settings, Manual white balance settings, Medium Telephoto Lens, photographic techniques, Photography, point and shoot, point and shoot camera, posting on a blog, posting pictures on a blog, proper colors, RAW format picture files, Self timer, Self timer/Camera shake stabilizing system, Single Lens Reflex, SLR, Tripod socket, Which Camera Should I Buy, woodturning photography

One of the more important lessons I learned from my career in camera sales is the difference between taking snapshots and making photographs.

A good photographer can make a great photograph with the cheapest featureless camera available but a person who doesn’t care or can’t tell the difference will still take snapshots with the most expensive fully decked out camera money can buy.

The main point of this lesson is to make the distinction between a photograph and a snapshot. Take a moment and think about the photograph’s subject – the lighting, the background, the camera position and angle, the camera settings, etc. or just whip out a camera and grab a quick shot. Either can become a great photograph or a snapshot, depending on how the photographer approaches the end result.

One can also make the distinction between different types of photographers. Some will choose one with many settings and attachments, others will require a camera that’s simple to use with all automated settings. There are photographers who buy the latest greatest model as soon as it comes out, others who wear the most expensive camera the way a woman would wear a diamond necklace – they don’t really understand the camera’s functions completely but, hey! do they ever look good wearing it!

Only after deciding which type of photograph one wishes to present can one move on to the purchase of the most appropriate camera and accessories suited to the needs. The best of both worlds would be a model that offers a complete set of desired features with the ability to become completely automated.

For the purposes of this site, we’ll discuss photographic equipment and features suitable for photographing finished woodturnings of various sizes and shapes. We’ll further delve into the accessories required and techniques involved as well as some of the problems that might be encountered and solutions.

As always, if you have some questions, please ask and I’ll try my best to answer them.

Tags: art photography, Auto Exposure, Camera Selection, check your camera’s manual, digital photography, digital pictures, digital still life, digital vs film, How to Select a Camera, Manual or semi-automatic exposure settings, photographic techniques, Photography, point and shoot, point and shoot camera, portrait photography, portraits, Which Camera Should I Buy, woodturning photography

Much of my career has been in serving customers, first in camera sales, then in computer service and sales.

I spent years working in a small camera store, managing several branches. I learned phenomenal amounts about photography, cameras, how to take a picture in a specific situation, etc. Leaving the industry in 1995, I just missed the flood of the digital age of photography. I’ll talk extensively about photography and how to get a great picture. This will not be limited to woodturning - if you have a photographic related question, please ask me.

In 1995, I started a career in computers. I’ve always been interested in technology (what kid hasn’t?) and, aside from a few night school classes, I’m almost completely self trained. I have corrected errors made by many fresh graduates of the normally accepted college diploma courses. Before changing from Photography to my career in Computers I was already self employed, selling computer systems, determining the best fit of technology with a customer’s needs/budget.

After getting out of cubicle life, I have been continuing to do the computer thing, providing consulting services to a variety of clients. Most of my time is dedicated to Disaster Preparedness Preparation, catering to small businesses, helping them to be ready for any small “disaster” that might happen.

Early in my stint in the cubicle, my supervisor brought his son to the office. After hovering for a few moments, the son asked his father “daddy, is Mr. Mapson a doctor?”If you have a computer related question, please ask the Computer Doctor.

In Grade 7, I made my first woodturning. To this day I am ashamed of that piece… the design, the lack of real skills and I remember that it took me hours and hours to finish it. The one good memory of that piece is that I really enjoyed using the lathe.
Years later (decades really), I visited my younger brother. He was teaching wood shop in a Junior high school in a small town. He had some boring stuff to do so he handed me a block of wood and pointed the way to the lathe. From then on I was hooked.
It’s really amazing how suddenly you can change; one day I was a carefree unconvicted citizen living among the population, the next, I would drive past a tree and wonder what I could cut out of it if only I had a chainsaw…
From that time, I have been trying to absorb everything I can about this amazing craft, from the local woodturning guild and woodturning symposiums and to magazines, websites and books. There are so many facets to woodturning that the learning never stops.
I started by getting a small mini lathe, the one that Canadian Tire used to sell. Unfortunately, it never stops there… the grinder to get sharp tools, the grinding jig to get a consistent grind, shelving to hold the blanks while they dry… Eventually I grew to the point where I could not grow any further without a bandsaw. So… I now own a bandsaw. And a chainsaw.
Last year I produced enough pieces that I had to find a new way to market them. Starting in November, I participated in 3 craft sales. It was a very successful learning experience that I will continue this year.

I might seem a little distracted but I’ll try to stick to just a few topics. There are many websites dedicated to woodtunrning and every one of them deserves your attention. I hope mine is no exception. Feel free to comment if you see something I might have missed or if you have a question.