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Made in Alaska

By on October 18, 2022

Ted’s Woodshop is a small woodworking business in Homer, Alaska. You may have noticed the bear and cub emblem, logo, and stickers that we affix to our work. We participate in the State of Alaska’s Made in Alaska permit program. We find that identifying our work as having been made in Alaska, by Alaskans, adds value to our product. Here’s what the program entails.

Made in Alaska

The State of Alaska’s Division of Community and Regional Affairs operates the Made in Alaska program. The program promotes products made, manufactured, or handcrafted in our state. As a program participant, one has to meet specific requirements. These include where the products are manufactured, by whom, and the source of the raw materials and resources used. In our case, we have two permits: one for woodworking and a separate permit for Ted’s camera trap photography. We renew our permits every year. Additionally, we pay an annual fee. Keeping our permits current entitles us to mark our work with the program’s emblem, signage, and stickers.

The official emblem of the program depicts a mother bear and cub. When you see that sticker, emblem, or logo on someone’s work, you know that you are supporting an Alaska business. 

Whether you buy online, at a gallery or gift shop, at a Farmer’s Market, or in a retail establishment remember to look for the “Made in Alaska” emblem.

Camera Trap Photography

By on March 28, 2022

A Little Bit About Me

I have had an interest in photography since my grade school days. I also love wildlife and wild places. In fact, I spent a 30-year career working for the US Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Wildlife Refuge System. Beth (my wife) and I lived on a couple of refuges in the Lower 48. I spent the last 16 years of my career as the manager of the Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge based out of Fairbanks, Alaska. This is the story of how I took up a new hobby — camera trap photography — here in Homer, Alaska.

Ted Heuer in the Field

Our Home in Homer

Beth and I both got to see a lot of Alaska through our work and personal travels. When it came time to retire and leave Fairbanks we decided that the Homer area was where we wanted to live. We were fortunate to find a couple of adjoining lots in Kachemak City on the “bench” that had a good southern exposure for gardening — another of our hobbies. As part of an old hay field our lots offered a great resting/feeding spot for sandhill cranes. Our property also hosts the occasional  flock of white-fronted geese and a surprising number of other wildlife species that pass through the area.

Sandhill Cranes

 

The Camera Trap Photography Journey

I had tried to get good sandhill crane photos for years with some limited success. Always in the back of my mind was that it would be neat to get the camera right down next to the cranes at their level or even lower. I started reading about camera trap photography and watching YouTube videos on camera traps.

Initially I bought a trail camera for about $100. Trail cameras have a passive infrared trigger that takes a picture when there is a change in the heat energy in front of the sensors, like an animal crossing in front of the camera. Unfortunately, that change in heat energy can also be due to the wind blowing leaves or grass in front of the sensors. Trail cameras are easy to set up. They work really well for documenting wildlife species that pass in front of the camera, including the date and time. They will even take short video clips.

I have hundreds of still images of cranes and pheasants taken with that little trail camera. However, I was never pleased with the quality of the pictures. Trail cameras have a very slow shutter speed (mine was 1/30th of a second) and a cheap lens that in theory is in focus from one meter to infinity. To get better quality pictures I wanted to use a DSLR for my camera trap.

Camera Trap Photography Equipment

After watching more online videos (especially one from Neil Jernigan called a “Photographers Guide to Camera Traps”) one point stuck with me. If you are going to leave a camera out in the open, unattended, subject to weather, animals, and possible vandalism you probably don’t want to invest in very expensive cameras and lenses. I purchased a brand new entry level Canon Rebel T6 with a kit lens, battery, charger, etc. for about $265. I looked at a lot of different types of triggers for camera traps before buying a very nice programmable passive infrared trigger from a company called Camtraptions in England. The wireless model I bought is about $200. Then I connected the Camtraptions trigger to my camera and set about learning to use my new equipment.

Camera Trap Photography

Camera Trap Photography Technique

Using a camera trap is a lot different than the normal way of taking photos. A camera trap doesn’t try to perfectly compose a picture. It doesn’t strive to place the animal in the center of the frame. It doesn’t care if the animal is facing directly away from the camera. A camera trap doesn’t care if the animal is only partially in the view finder. Often it’s the wrong part of the animal in the view finder. It doesn’t care about the position of the sun or whether or not a cloud is passing over. A camera trap doesn’t care if the subject is in focus or how far the animal is from the lens. These are all things that the photographer has to consider when they are setting up the camera.

Since I set my camera on manual and focus on a spot where I think (hope) the animal is likely to be, I use a small aperture to give me more depth of field. My preference is to only set my camera out on sunny days, use a wide-angle lens, a fast shutter speed, and the small aperture. Even so, it’s not unusual for me to go through 700 or more images per session to get a half dozen decent photos. If I’m lucky I get one or two good ones — something I couldn’t afford to do back in the days of using film cameras.

There is something about getting up close and personal to animals with a wide-angle lens and a small aperture to get a lot of depth that brings a different perspective to wildlife photography. I hope you enjoy looking at these images half as much as I enjoyed taking them.

Black-Capped Chickadee

 

Card Sets

The 5×7″ cards available in the Store are printed by Bay Photo in Scotts Valley, CA. Each card comes with a standard white envelope. The cards are printed with a 6-color printing process, the best press-printed card process available, and are suitable for framing.

Custom Card Sets

The nine cards in Card Sets 1, 2, or 3 are available for purchase in any combination you wish. Email me at ted@tedswoodshop.com with your custom selection, and we will be happy to invoice you.

Prints

We also offer 5×7″ prints, with acid-free matting and backing, that are sized for 8×10″ frames.

Special Order Prints

Metal, wood, or acrylic prints up to 12 x 18 inches (maybe larger) are available for shipment directly to you from Bay Photo. Contact me for pricing if you are interested.

Keeping Up at Ted’s Woodshop

By on August 26, 2021

The summer challenge at Ted’s Woodshop is “keeping up” – keeping up with shop production, our responsibilities as members of our local artist cooperative gallery, and mowing/gardening/harvesting. Considering the challenges of the past year, we are grateful to have several Homer venues for selling our work. And in these uncertain times, we are grateful to have customers who shop with us through our online store.

Special Orders:

Ted enjoys creating custom items for customers based on their special requests and preferences. Over the past few months he filled orders for a color-themed pizza cutter, a set of spiral pepper and salt mills, a matched set of mills, and stave pepper mill with matching salt shaker. The spiral mill set shown below is unique in that the design in each mill spirals in the opposite direction. 

Keeping Up at Ted's Woodshop

Spiral Mill Set

The stave pepper mill and matching salt shaker were challenging because the thin contrast pieces were made up of three thin strips, not just one.

Keeping Up at Ted's Woodshop

Walnut and Maple Stave Mill and Shaker

Charity Auctions:

It has been our pleasure and privilege to support the efforts of Loving Hearts 4 Paws, a 501(c)(3) non-profit that provides financial assistance to those who face catastrophic veterinary bills. This excellent organization, which typically has several online auctions throughout the year, has supporters across the country and has helped many pets and their families over the years. Although the organization’s hard-working founders are taking a temporary but well-deserved break right now, we are looking forward to 2022, when we will once again donate an “I Love My Dog” pen (or several) to support the cause.

“I Love My Dog” Pens

Hot Summer Sales:

While summer in Homer is anything but hot … Ted has been spending more hours than usual keeping up with Ted’s Woodshop demand. Some of our best sellers this summer include cheese planes, honey dippers, Homer fish trivets, pens, ice cream scoops, and — surprisingly — Christmas ornaments. 

Cheese Planes and Ice Cream Scoops

Stainless steel honey dippers are a new item for 2021. Ted uses yellow and black SpectraPly and adds a maple “stinger” to the tip. 

Honey Dippers

Why did it take us so long to discover out that ornaments sell well in the summer? They are lightweight but sturdy and easy to pack. And we’ve been told that they make good gifts.

Ornaments

Thanks for reading our article. You can follow us on Facebook and Instagram to learn more about what’s going on at Ted’s Woodshop. 

 

Ship’s Wheel Clock

By on February 8, 2021

Ted Heuer’s article titled “Turn a Ship’s Wheel Clock” was published as a feature article in the February 2021 issue of American Woodturner.

The article in its entirety can be accessed from this link: Turn a Ship’s Wheel Clock and is reprinted by permission of the American Association of Woodturners.

 

 

Creating A Spiral Mill Set

By on January 14, 2021

A client contacted me recently about a special order salt and pepper mill set. She was interested in my “dizzy mill” design. I adapted my process in creating a spiral mill set using walnut, maple, and cherry — woods that will complement the color theme in her home.

Step 1: Lamination

I laminated (glued) five identical boards that were 3″ wide, 13″ long, and 3/4″ thick. Using my bandsaw, I cut those boards in half to create 10 identical boards about 3/8″ thick.

Step 2: Sections

Next I cut those 10 boards into 40 3-inch sections.

 

Step 3: Gluing 

I found the exact center point of each section and drilled a 7mm hole all the way through. I inserted a 1/4″ dowel vertically into a piece of scrap plywood, which I had covered with packaging tape to keep glue from sticking to it. The holes in the center of the sections and the dowel kept the sections aligned correctly when I glued them together into turning blanks.

 

Step 4: Creating the Spirals

As I glued the sections together, I spiraled one clockwise and one counter-clockwise. This step in creating a spiral mill set is where I tweaked my dizzy mill process — otherwise, I would have ended up with two identical mills.

Step 5: Rounding the Blanks

I moved to my wood lathe and rounded the blanks into cylindrical shapes. I then drilled a 1-5/8″ diameter hole about 1/2″ deep in the bottom of each blank and a 1-1/16″ hole all the way through. That hollowed out the blanks and made space for the grinding mechanisms.

 

Step 6: Shaping the Mills

Starting with the cylindrical blocks, I turned two matching mills. 

 

Step 7: Turning the Tops

I selected figured maple and figured walnut for the mill tops. Turning the tops was the final step with the lathe.

 

Step 7: Finishing Touches

I applied a wipe-on gloss polyurethane on the spiral mill set, 14 separate coats in all. Between each coat, I hand-sanded the finish. The last step was to install the salt and pepper grinding mechanisms. The salt mechanism is ceramic and will not corrode.  

I have one dizzy mill available online and am available for custom orders. Feel free to contact me. You can also follow me on Facebook and Instagram.

Turning Wood in a World Turned Upside Down

By on November 15, 2020

I have been uncharacteristically quiet for a year. So many reasons. The sadness of watching my mother struggle through the final months of her life, tempered by the gift of being there until the end. Ted holding down the fort at home so that I could be with her and with my sister. As the lockdowns and travel restrictions increased, I found myself thousands of miles from home, uncertain as to when or how I would get back. Through it all, Ted took solace in turning wood in a world turned upside down. The resulting creations inspire joy and optimism for better days ahead.

Our July Show

The cooperative gallery in which we are members, Ptarmigan Arts Gallery, closed under mandate in the spring. It re-opened during the summer with limited hours and days of operation. Ted and fellow woodturner George Overpeck had planned for over a year to have a month-long exhibit at the gallery during July.  Ted focused his attention on creating new turnings in the hope that the gallery could re-open. He spent months working on new dizzy bowls and lidded segmented spheres for the show. He completed a collection of stave pepper mills, wine goblets, and ornaments in between working on the complicated bowls.

Dizzy Bowls

“Cosmic Spiral” and “Cornucopia” Dizzy Bowls

Ted and George named their show “The Fruits of Distancing” — showcasing the results of time and talent invested while hunkering down.

“The Fruits of Distancing” Show

A Rock in the Road 

Normally by the week before Thanksgiving we are knee-deep in finishing up and packing items for two large holiday craft fairs. Those fairs have been a staple for us since 2008. Not this year. Fair sponsors cancelled both shows for 2020. We were relieved from the standpoint of personal safety. We were also relieved to not have to build up stock of the smaller items that typically sell so well at the fairs. There will be other years for holiday fairs. This unexpected but not unwelcome turn of events allowed Ted to focus on custom orders requested by clients. He enjoys the challenge of designing and creating the perfect item based on input from a client, but that takes time. And time is one thing we had this year.

Lidded Segmented Spheres

“Balance” and “Tiger Eyes” Segmented Spheres

A Virtual World

Ptarmigan Arts gallery closed temporarily in late October as a way to keep our members who take turns working as cashier safe. Covid cases continue to rise in our little community. The gallery has a plan to be open for the holiday shopping season, with Covid mitigation procedures in place, and we are looking forward to helping customers shop for gifts. Even so, like many of our artist friends, we are now working within a virtual world with a medium that begs to be picked up, examined, and touched. Zoom meetings, operating an online store – it’s been a challenge. We spent the last few weeks adding almost 50 new items to our Ted’s Woodshop website store and actively posting to our Facebook and Instagram pages. We hope you’ll visit us online and on social media and help us make our virtual presence better known.

My mother’s advice in this world turned upside down would be: “Wear your mask. Wash your hands. Put other people first. Make good decisions. Be responsible.”

Indeed. And Ted will keep turning wood in a world turned upside down.

Turning a Segmented Sphere

By on May 10, 2019

Recently I’ve been making a number of segmented spheres. For my most recent, I took photos to demonstrate the process of turning a segmented sphere.

Planning

First I decide how large I want the sphere to be — this one is a little over 8 inches in diameter, about the size of a volleyball. I decide how deep I want the rings to be and how many segments I want in each ring.

I use a software application named “Segmented Project Planner” to determine the edge length of the segments in each ring.

Graph paper is useful when I plan out my design. I used figured maple, cherry, walnut, and bloodwood for this sphere.

This sphere has 36 segments per ring, and 22 rings, but the pattern in each ring repeats after 18 segments. So for this design, I only used 18 squares of graph paper.

Assembly

I use my table saw and a shop-made miter jig to cut the segments for the rings.

After the segments are cut, I place the segments in the correct order on masking tape to keep them together while I glue them.

I squirt some Titebond III between the segments and use a large hose clamp to keep them snug while they dry.

When gluing the rings together, which I do one at a time, I use my tailstock and a flat spacer to keep pressure on the ring being glued.

Turning

Turning a segmented sphere begins before I have all the rings glued in place. I find it easiest to start turning the sphere, especially the inside, before too many rings are glued on and the top access gets too narrow.

Here I’m sizing the lid.

Here I am working on part of the base.

The Result

And here’s the final sphere. The pattern reminded me of strings of DNA, so I named it Double Helix.

Another of my segmented spheres named “Balance” is available in our online store here.

Earthquake Bowl

By on March 21, 2019

Recently we received an email from some good customers in Eagle River, Alaska, who own several of Ted’s dizzy bowls. One was a bowl we named Marmalade because its color scheme resembled the orange stuff you’d spread on toast. Unfortunately, it was a casualty of the November 2018 magnitude 7.1 earthquake that caused millions of dollars in property and infrastructure damage to Anchorage and the surrounding area. The owners sent photos of the bowl, broken into three pieces, and wanted to know if there was any hope that Ted could restore it. From the pictures, Ted couldn’t tell if it was repairable but advised them to send it down to Homer and he’d give it his best shot.

Broken Dizzy Bowl Awaiting Reconstruction

Dizzy Bowl Broken into Three Pieces (Owner’s Photo)

The Damage

Fortunately, the three pieces fit together reasonably well but the bowl needed a lot of work. Dizzy bowls are segmented bowls requiring meticulous cutting and gluing of individual pieces of wood. You can check out our What Is a Dizzy Bowl? article for photos and information on the process used to create this type of bowl.

The rim, which was likely the point of impact, sustained considerable damage. Some of the breaks ran along glue lines. Others were through the wood itself. This was going to be a challenge. Ted renamed the bowl Earthquake Bowl and began the restoration process.

Earthquake Bowl in Pieces (Owner’s Photo)

Gluing and Taping

Ted relies on clamps to secure pieces of wood during the gluing process. But for this project, clamps wouldn’t work to hold the tapered pieces of the bowl together. For Earthquake Bowl, he used Gorilla tape and two adhesives. He used Titebond III to glue the pieces together and 2P-10 quick-cure adhesive to fill the hairline cracks.

Earthquake Bowl Restoration Project

Titebond III and 2P-10 Adhesive with Gorilla Tape on Inside of Bowl

The process wasn’t pretty, but carefully and patiently he glued the broken pieces together. Titebond III, used to laminate the layers of wood in the original bowl, forms bonds that are stronger than the wood itself.

Lots More Gorilla Tape on Outside of Bowl

Spinning on the Lathe

After reassembling the three pieces, it was time to attach the bowl to the lathe and re-turn it. Because the base of the bowl was tapered, Ted couldn’t securely grip it in the chuck.  He added a piece of walnut and some maple veneer to the bowl base and turned it to form a point of attachment for the chuck. Turning removed all the dings in the rim, glue residue, and surface irregularities. Ted had to reshape the rim a bit to remove the impact damage. After turning, the bowl retained its original shape but had a slimmer rim.

Earthquake Bowl on Lathe

Gluing on the New Base

Turning the bowl removed all the old finish and left it ready for sanding. Ted power sanded the bowl with 150 and 220 grit abrasives and then finished up by hand sanding with 400 grit sandpaper, all while spinning the bowl on the wood lathe.

Power Sanding

Finishing Touches

With the bowl off the lathe, it was time for the finishing process.

Earthquake Bowl Restoration Project

Sanded Bowl Ready for Finishing

Ted signs and dates every bowl. He re-signed the bowl with his initials and the original creation year of 2015, the date of the 7.1 2018 earthquake, and the restoration date of March 2019.

Earthquake Bowl Repair

Signed and Dated Restored Earthquake Bowl

As with the original bowl in 2015, Ted applied multiple coats of gloss polyurethane finish, wet-sanded between coats. He applied one coat a day until he was satisfied with the appearance.

Polyurethane Finish on Dizzy Bowl

Coat #7 (of 9) of Wipe-on Gloss Polyurethane Finish

The Result

In critiquing the finished restoration, Ted opined that the “busy” nature of a dizzy bowl’s intricate colors and patterns helped to minimize the evidence of the repair work. Although I know where the breaks in the bowl occurred, I would be hard pressed to locate them. Well done, Ted.

Restoration of Dizzy Bowl

Earthquake Bowl, aka Marmalade, After Restoration

For the owners of the bowl, it will be one of many lasting reminders of the November earthquake. We were glad to be able to play a small part in their recovery efforts.

 

 

 

 

 

Sanding Sealer for Finishing

By on February 9, 2019

Ted’s creations involve several steps: he designs the project, prepares the wooden blank, turns it on the wood lathe, and applies finish. The last step is the most time-consuming. Recently Ted tried a new finishing process on a white ash and rosewood pepper mill. He was very pleased with the results. It saved time to use sanding sealer for finishing. The sanding sealer also preserved the natural color of the wood, which is critical for light-colored woods.

The Project:

Ted turned a white ash pepper mill with a contrasting top of East Indian Rosewood. The two woods present as much contrast as is possible without the use of stains or dyes. There are few white-hued woods. American holly is one, but it is outrageously expensive and better suited for accent work. White ash is more readily available in the dimensions required for a 10″ pepper mill.  White ash also has visible grain in the wood, which is lacking in American Holly.

White Ash and Rosewood Mill

The Finishing Process:

Ordinarily, Ted uses Watco brand wipe-on polyurethane as his “go to” finish. This is an oil-based finish that penetrates into the wood. It is an excellent finish. However, it tends to darken light-colored woods. It takes a dozen or more coats to produce a flawless finish.

To preserve the natural color of the white ash, Ted applied three sequential coats of Minwax Sanding Sealer. The sanding sealer is water-based and does not penetrate the wood. He sanded between coats with 400 grit sandpaper.

Minwax Sanding SealerTed sanded after the third coat and applied the first of three or four coats of Watco polyurethane finish. The sanding sealer cut down on the overall time spent applying finish and, as was the goal, preserved the natural white coloration of the ash.

White ash is a very versatile wood. It is hard and turns well. Ted sometimes applies an analine dye to white ash, especially if a customer requests a pepper mill in a specific color (red, green, brown, and black are the most popular). Or, as in the case with this mill, it can be left to show off its natural color. The turning blank in the photo below, on the left, has not been altered except for sanding.
White Ash Blank and Mill

Cypress Sinker Log Pepper Mill

By on January 18, 2019

Who’s this guy, why is he standing knee-deep in the swamp in Louisiana’s Atchafalaya Basin, and what does that have to do with a cypress sinker log pepper mill? Alaska woodturner Ted Heuer, in an earlier life, conducted his graduate research in the Basin and happened upon a bald cypress tree so enormous it warranted a photo. Ted, who enjoys working with reclaimed lumber, recently purchased some bald cypress lumber blanks and turned one into a 10″ peppermill. This is its story.

Bald Cypress Tree

Ted Heuer, Circa 1974-75, and Bald Cypress Tree

About Bald Cypress (Taxodium distichum)

Bald cypress grows in wet areas throughout the Gulf Coast and Atlantic Coastal plains. It is a slow-growing but long-lived species and has been known to reach ages of over 1,500 years. Old growth cypress wood contains an oil called cypressene, which gives it great rot resistance.

What’s a Sinker Log?

Most of our old growth (virgin) cypress was cut in the 1800s and early 1900s. Logs were often bundled together and floated down rivers to mills. A small percentage of these logs sank to the river bottoms. Today these are known as sinker logs. Recently, scuba divers have been finding these logs and recovering the wood.

Bald Cypress Lumber

Bald Cypress Turning Blank

This pepper mill is made from one of these sinker logs, a piece of old growth cypress probably cut over 100 years ago.

Cypress Sinker Log Pepper MillBefore and After

Ted turned this 10″ cypress sinker log pepper mill from a single piece of wood. The grain in the mill top matches the grain in the bottom section of the mill. Ted used numerous coats of a gloss polyurethane finish, hand-sanded between coats, to produce a glass-like finish on the mill. Turning the wood, sanding it, and applying the finish transformed a rather non-descript piece of wood into a work of art.

Cypress Sinker Log Pepper Mill

The top screw adjusts the grind of the pepper from fine to medium-coarse. To refill the mill, remove the top screw and pull the top and bottom sections apart. Use a soft cloth to remove dust and fingerprints.

Although this mill has already been sold, we have other pepper mills available in our Ted’s Woodshop store. And please follow us on Facebook, where we post news about what we’re up to and photos of Ted’s newest creations.

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