‘Fitz’s Picks’ for February

As you likely know, every month we offer a deeply discounted collection of books, CDs/DVDs and downloads as the “Kit of the Month.” Typically, we group these around a theme (workbenches, router joniery, shop projects, tables) but this month, my brain is the sole subject around which the choices coalesce.

I chose 11 of my favorite items from the store (retail value of around $300) that we’re offering for $105. There really is no guiding principle except that among the things we have available, I like these a lot. I tried to say that better in my store copy:

The books, videos and one poster in this kit are an idiosyncratic selection based on some of my favorite stuff we’ve published – things I think belong in every woodworking library (or in the case of the poster, on your shop wall).

Given that they’re my picks, several of the selections cover hand tools (and I’ve skipped a few hand tool titles I typically recommend – notably “Handplane Essentials,” because if you like hand tools, you likely already have that one). But the Greene & Greene, Shaker and Southern Style books are just lovely to look at and interesting to read (and they feature measured drawings; build the pieces however you like). Ditto on “The Workbench Design Book” – I don’t care how you build your workbench, but a good bench (whichever one you choose) makes making other things much easier. And the finishing and sharpening books? Well, quite simply, you need to know how to do both of those things.

The 11 books, DVDs and one poster are: “Pleasant Hill Shaker Furniture,” “”Furniture in the Southern Style,” the Roubo Plate 11 poster, “How to Build Shaker Furniture,” “The Workbench Design Book,” “Build a Sawbench with Christopher Schwarz,” “Mastering Hand Tools,” “Greene & Greene Furniture: Poems of Wood & Light,” “Handplane Basics,” “The Perfect Edge” and “Flexner on Finishing.”

You’ll find a description of each of these on the store page for the kit.

— Megan Fitzpatrick

p.s. To be frank, after five+ years of pulling these things together, I’m about out of ideas. So if you have suggestions for possible future “Kit of the Month” offerings, I’d love to read them below in the comments.