Ep 135: Holly N' Oates

<p><strong>Season 3 Finale - Ross and Colton hold it down while Jess recovers</strong></p><p><strong>Stadium Food Debate</strong></p><ul><li>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</li><li>Colton goes giant beer first, then a thick hot dog with relish and the brownest spicy mustard he can find</li><li>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</li><li>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</li><li>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</li><li>Ross failed a 4-pound burger challenge at his brothers rehearsal dinner after eating two full baskets of appetizers beforehand</li></ul><p><strong>Random Jackassery Questions</strong></p><ul><li>Worst nicknames - Colton got Hagler in middle school, Ross got Ross the Bus and Buddha at sports camp as a kid</li><li>Most useless talent - Colton eats entire apples core and all, Ross fires off random facts nobody asked for including the tapirs three-headed anatomy</li><li>Personal chef vs chauffeur - both pick the chef, Colton wants to watch the knife work and learn the seasoning combinations</li></ul><p><strong>Coltons Year in Review</strong></p><ul><li>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</li><li>Coming up on a year sober - went to four weddings without drinking and almost nobody noticed</li><li>Cold Crate is on pause while the shop gets built but a big commission quote is close to going out the door</li></ul><p><strong>The Honest State of Custom Making in 2025</strong></p><ul><li>Middle tier custom furniture is nearly impossible to compete in when your raw material cost alone exceeds what the overseas finished product sells for</li><li>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</li><li>Ross pivoted to real estate agents and interior designers during the housing boom but that pipeline has slowed down hard</li><li>Repair and restoration is picking up as people choose to extend what they have rather than replace it</li><li>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</li></ul><p><strong>Yard Chaos and a Useful Discovery</strong></p><ul><li>Colton used a tractor as a giant leaf wheelbarrow which went fine until the ground started feeling like quicksand under their feet</li><li>Stabbed the soft spots with a pickaxe expecting a busted line, nothing came out, likely just ground compression from repeated tractor passes</li><li>Ross recommends a sod roller - fills with water, hooks to any riding mower, flattens ruts and soft spots - cheap to rent at Home Depot</li></ul><p><strong>Housekeeping and Season Four</strong></p><ul><li>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</li><li>All deep cut segments are now on beataroundthebench.com in their own section</li><li>Welcome to new Patreon member Tony from Tonys Woodworkx in Houston</li><li>Use code BATB at mullettools.com for 5 percent off dust collection gear</li><li>Season 4 kicks off in March - send in your suggestions for the new episode naming theme</li></ul><p><br></p>