Welcome to the April 2005 issue of Creative Woodworks & Crafts. We've got a fine selection of projects and feature articles for you; in fact, choosing the front-cover project was particularly difficult this time because there were so many viable candidates.
Many of you may already know of the recent passing away of Pat Spielman. Pat made enormous contributions to the overall popularity of scroll sawing, most notably through his pattern books, but also through his newsletter, his involvement with SAW (Scroll Saw Association of the World), and his personal presence at various woodworking shows. Our Contributing Editor Dan Wilckens has been compiling heartfelt testimonials from members of our extended "scroll saw family," and these will be presented in our next issue (on sale April 5th, 2005). In the meantime, we extend our condolences to the Spielman family, along with our sincere admiration for Patrick Spielman's considerable accomplishments.
One of our feature articles in this issue is about Jim Reidle, founder of Wildwood Designs. Jim co-authored several successful books with Pat Spielman and also developed many enduring and popular scroll saw projects over the years. It is interesting to learn that woodworking is literally in Jim's blood--his father, Wencil, was a gifted woodworker whose scale model farm machinery is both remarkable and inspiring. Our Jim Reidle feature ties in well with our coverage of Rick Hutcheson's antique scroll saw collection, because Wencil Reidle did some of his finest work on an old foot-powered Rogers scroll saw.
In the project department, John Polhemus, also known as "The Little Engineer," has devised an ingenious technique for making custom-fitted pen and pencil boxes. These boxes look great, and using John's technique causes writing implements to fit inside them with a precision that will delight you.
Three notable projects in this issue are by designers who are brand new to Creative Woodworks & Crafts. Jeff Zaffino's “Family Time” is a great, albeit time consuming, project that is sure to be made by quite a few of you. Thank you, Tom Mullane, for alerting me to Jeff's design prowess. Incredibly, Jeff has been scrolling for less than two years and currently derives his complete livelihood from it! Look for Jeff's contributions in many more future issues of Creative Woodworks and Crafts. Our second new designer, Gary MacKay, brings his handsome “Quilt Top Box” to this issue. With its wooden hinge and carefully-inlaid lid, this project is sure to make its mark in our back issue archives for years to come. Last but not least, meet Orchid Davis, an extremely talented woodburning artist, and I do not use the term artist lightly. Orchid teaches us how to woodburn a magnificent bobcat that she designed based upon Wes Demarest's photo of an actual bobcat in the wild, a photo that took him years to obtain. We'll show you Wes' original photo, Orchid's rendition of it, and the techniques used by Orchid to make it all come to life. Starting with the issue after the next one, on sale June 7th, 2005, look for Orchid to do a series of woodburned wildlife projects that will span a minimum of three issues. If you already do woodburning or have even a mild interest in it, this is your chance to learn from one of the best.
That's it for now. Enjoy this issue and until the next one, all the best!
Sincerely,
Robert A. Becker, editor |
