Ep 135: Holly N' Oates

Season 3 Finale - Ross and Colton hold it down while Jess recovers

Stadium Food Debate

• Ross kicks things off asking what you have to eat every time you walk into an arena - sparked by the legendary Costco hot dog at a buck fifty
• Colton goes giant beer first, then a thick hot dog with relish and the brownest spicy mustard he can find
• Ross makes the case for the Chicago dog - Vienna beef, poppy seed bun, neon green relish, tomato, dill pickle spear, sport peppers, and celery salt - never ketchup
• The guys plan to attempt the 9-9-9 challenge together at a Cubs vs Astros game - nine hot dogs, nine 16-ounce beers, nine innings
• Colton won a spicy wings challenge at a sports bar, turned down the milk at the end and called for a tequila shot instead, paid for it the next day
• Ross failed a 4-pound burger challenge at his brothers rehearsal dinner after eating two full baskets of appetizers beforehand

Random Jackassery Questions

• Worst nicknames - Colton got Hagler in middle school, Ross got Ross the Bus and Buddha at sports camp as a kid
• Most useless talent - Colton eats entire apples core and all, Ross fires off random facts nobody asked for including the tapirs three-headed anatomy
• Personal chef vs chauffeur - both pick the chef, Colton wants to watch the knife work and learn the seasoning combinations

Coltons Year in Review

• Since last WorkbenchCon Colton left his job, had daughter Charlie, moved to two acres outside Houston, and is now a full-time stay-at-home dad
• Coming up on a year sober - went to four weddings without drinking and almost nobody noticed
• Cold Crate is on pause while the shop gets built but a big commission quote is close to going out the door

The Honest State of Custom Making in 2025

• Middle tier custom furniture is nearly impossible to compete in when your raw material cost alone exceeds what the overseas finished product sells for
• The clients worth targeting are the ones who want something that does not exist on Wayfair and already understand they are paying a premium for it
• Ross pivoted to real estate agents and interior designers during the housing boom but that pipeline has slowed down hard
• Repair and restoration is picking up as people choose to extend what they have rather than replace it
• AI tools like Riverside are making production quality content easier to produce and both guys believe maker content creation is still worth the grind if you have something real to say

Yard Chaos and a Useful Discovery

• Colton used a tractor as a giant leaf wheelbarrow which went fine until the ground started feeling like quicksand under their feet
• Stabbed the soft spots with a pickaxe expecting a busted line, nothing came out, likely just ground compression from repeated tractor passes
• Ross recommends a sod roller - fills with water, hooks to any riding mower, flattens ruts and soft spots - cheap to rent at Home Depot

Housekeeping and Season Four

• This is the official end of Season 3 - wrapping up since WorkbenchCon is not happening this year for the first time since the show launched
• All deep cut segments are now on beataroundthebench.com in their own section
• Welcome to new Patreon member Tony from Tonys Woodworkx in Houston
• Use code BATB at mullettools.com for 5 percent off dust collection gear
• Season 4 kicks off in March - send in your suggestions for the new episode naming theme