bench seat

Another fine day for working outside - not having anywhere undercover with room to work makes for a weather-dependent schedule. All the same, the sun was shining today so the tools came out, the new assistant was distracted into digging in the garden instead of howling at the gate and I pushed on with the woodwork.

Charlie the Fox Terrier - not an ideal workmate....

Today's plan was to get the framework in place for the bench that'll run the rest of the way along the driver's side of the van. A lot of metal brackets on the corners substituted for my inability to do fancy joinery but the result is solid and square. With a sheet of plywood on top, it's strong enough to be slept on or indeed stood on without a creak or a wobble, and that's what I was looking for! The next stage will be to fix hinges to the plywood and put in some simple interior dividers to help keep the contents of the locker in place while I'm driving - I envisage this as being the main storage for heavy and bulky items that don't need to be hauled in and out too often, like a selection of tinned food/soup for emergency use, the tents, spare bedding, camping gear, etc. Charlie's crate fits under the front end next to the framework, next to the whippet crate, although he prefers by far to sleep in my sleeping bag with me.