April 2010

Welcome to this issue of Creative Woodworks & Crafts!

This edition features the marvelous wood art of Dick Miraglia. The article's title, "The Pattern is Just The Beginning," sums up Dick's approach to his craft, which employs a combination of scroll sawing and relief carving to depict realistic wildlife images in carefully selected hardwoods. Dick will often modify patterns, blend two or three different patterns into a single project, or even draw his own based upon photos he has taken. A few months ago, Wes Demarest and I went to the Miraglia home to meet Dick and take photos of his work. Not only were he and his wife Mary gracious hosts, but beyond that, their home was so chock-full of stunning wildlife creations that one got the feeling of being in a gallery or museum which delighted the senses for hours. Reading the article will give you a behind-the-scenes look at the extensive planning that went into one of his greatest pieces, "The Wildlife of Glacier National Park." You'll undoubtedly be impressed with how precise, detailed, and effective his planning process was, and how all the project's components came together successfully. I was so moved by Dick's work that I felt honored when he told us that he has used many patterns from this publication as starting points for his projects.

Readers' Gallery continues to amaze us as well. Keith Schafer's Cabin Birdhouse, which was built as a scaled-down replica of a cabin he and his dad stayed at one summer, is a marvel of miniaturization, so much so that the cabin's owner was thrilled by its accuracy. As if that weren't enough, he went further in scaling-down the cabin by making an accurate replica of it for his brother in ornament size, no more than five inches in length!

Cindy Stewart, owner of Wildwood Designs, has long been an advertiser in Creative Woodworks & Crafts, but many of you may not know that for many years she has also been a prolific designer of fine fretwork clocks and furniture. In this issue, she kicks off a series of informative articles with the feature "Choosing The Right Glue For The Job." The article gives an overview of the many glues which are available in today's market—their properties, how to apply and clamp them, the pros and cons of each, and much more. In our next issue, Cindy will focus on cutting various angles on small pieces of wood with your scroll saw, including angles beyond forty-five degrees.

As always, we hope you'll enjoy this issue and we wish you all health, happiness, and prosperity.

Sincerely,

Correction: In our March, 2010 issue, we showed a 2"-diameter hole on the Largemouth Bass Clock pattern. It should have been a 1-13/16"-diameter hole, which accommodates a 2"-diameter clock insert. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused. Whenever making projects requiring clock inserts or photo frame inserts, we recommend checking the size of your insert prior to cutting, and adjusting the pattern opening if needed.