Well, that’s it for August. David and I are at the bar on a quiet weekend—quiet at the bar because it’s a holiday here in the U.S. I think Labor Day is also celebrated in Canada this weekend. Linda G. Hill didn’t mention it, but she is offering the possibility of bonus points with her Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompt. We’ll give that a go.
“Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: ‘chews/choose.’ Use one, use ’em both, use ’em any way you’d like. Bonus points if you get ’em both in. Have fun!”
I do like that Linda always wants us to have fun. If we were having a beer, you’d be checking up on my progress.
“Good afternoon, Cheryl. I hear your subbing for Skippy this weekend.”
“He needed a favor, David. He’s a crummy bartender, but he’s our crummy bartender. Can I get you some John Howell’s bourbon?”
“Yes, thanks. I think I saw Dan pulling in the lower lot.”
“What’s that he’s carrying?”
“It looks like a bag of candy, Cheryl.”
“Hi guys.”
“Hi Dan. Is that a bag of Reese’s Cups?”
“Nope, it’s a bag of Reese’s Pumpkins—the only thing better than a Reese’s Cup. Would you like one?”
“I would.”
“David, would you like one?”
“I’d like three.”
“Here, enjoy. Cheryl, while David chews his way through those, can I get a Modelo?”
“You can, Dan, but if David gets three…”
“Here, put the bag behind the bar and help yourself.”
“Here’s your beer, Dan.”
“Cheers, David.”
“Cheers, Dan. I’ve been meaning to ask you, while you’ve been doing all this writing and stuff, have you had any time for woodworking?”
“I have. I tend to write early in the morning. I can’t use any equipment until later.”
“Oh. I was wondering how you choose between hobbies.”
“Well, there’re other things that take my time. You know, yard work and that kind of stuff.”
“OK, well your grass has been cut. Your bushes have been trimmed. Your book is almost finished, so what are you working on in the shop?”
“Frustration.”
“I would think you’d have enough of that while you’re writing.”
“There is that.”
“What are you working on that’s so frustrating?”
“A garden bench.”
“A bench? That seems easy enough.”
“It should be, but I had to make some changes to the plans I bought, and the plans have some problems.”
“I should know better than to ask, but if you bought plans, why are you changing them?”
“Because they’re for a sixty-inch garden bench and the longest piece of cedar I had was fifty inches.”
“Why didn’t you buy longer boards?”
“I didn’t buy any boards. I had these left over from that roof project we cancelled. I didn’t want to waste all that cedar.”
“OK, OK, this is getting too technical. I don’t know much about woodworking, but it seems to me you just make the bench fifty inches long instead of sixty. I mean, how hard can that be?”
“Not very. But like I said, the plans have problems.”
“David. You want me to freshen that bourbon? You know you’re going to ask about those problems.”
“Good idea, Cheryl. Dan, what was wrong with the plans?”
“Well, for one, they said the back legs could be made from a piece of cedar that’s two and three-quarters of an inch thick, and seven inches wide.”
“And?”
“It had to be eight and a half inches wide.”
“An inch and a half off. Is that a big deal?”
“It is when you had just enough wood to make the project.”
“I see. Well, I don’t, and I’m done asking questions. I’m sure you’ll figure this out, and show me the pictures when the bench is done.”
“I’d like to see some in-progress pictures.”
“Cheryl! Don’t encourage him.”
“I’ll show you some later, Cheryl.”
“Show her later? I thought we’d watch some football later.”
“What game?”
“Well, UConn already lost. Looks like Pitt is playing at three-thirty. Where the heck is Wofford College?”
“Spartanburg, South Carolina.”
“Where is that?”
“Who cares, the game is in Pittsburgh.”
“When does West Virgina get…I mean, when do they play Penn State?”
“Seven thirty.”
“I take it Penn State is favored.”
“By twenty points, but upsets are always possible.”
“Cheryl, can I buy this optimist another beer?”
“Sure, David.”
If you’re like Cheryl and want to see the work-in-progress photos, they’re in slideshow below.
That’s the 60″(152cm) version. Mine will be 48″(122cm) but generally the same shape 
The cutting list (and its errors) 
Everything is cut from leftover cedar 4x4s 
The rails are all 1½” thick. Rough cut 1/8″ oversized so they can be planed smooth 
All the surfaces that have to be glued together have to have the rounded corners planed away 
The plans call for a 7″ wide blank 
8½” will be required 
Once they ready to glue, each segment is wrapped up so they can rest and stay together 
Banded and labeled. A lot of these segments look alike 
Now we’re ready for some glue 
Keeping the template straight will make it easier to cut those mortises 
These two groups will be the blanks for the back legs 
Back legs will be cut from these once they’re glued together and surfaced 
The back leg blanks are in the clamps 
If you look close, you can see why I put plastic down 
Glue applied to both sides of the joint 
Front leg blanks going into the clamps 
Two front legs in the front, two arms in the back 
The arms will be tight, but I was running out of material 
The template is backwards, but this will be the Crest Rail 
Once glued together and cut, this will be the Front Rail 
The blanks for the back legs are out of the clamps (upside down in this photo).
All five of my current books are now available in audio book form thanks to Amazon KDP’s Virtual Voice process. The voice is AI generated, but I can honestly say, it’s pretty darn good. The audio books are reasonably priced (all below $7 US) and, if you already own the Kindle version and want to add an audio version, you can do that for $1.99. There is a five-minute sample on the book page for each book. If you’re interested, click on any of the Dreamer’s Alliance book links below the image or on the link below for my latest book.
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