How to build a Cedar Wood Hot Tub

In this Video Craftsmen Tom Green demonstrates how to Build a Cedar Wood Hot Tub. We follow the process starting with a plank of cedar wood through to the completed steaming hot tub. The Plans and booklet which accompany these videos are available from www.heritagecraft.co.uk

[@iRonlMoNKleY]

Finally someone actually shows how to make a tub for real. Bravo. Excellent video.

[@heritagecraft]

thank you

[@mh3082mh]

Nice touch with taking your togs off at the end there Tom - inspirational and very down to earth presentation. Thank you

[@derekdunn4560]

well, now I have zero reason not to build one! great video, easy to follow and understand. thank you

[@kevinneumann3845]

This is a great video. I seen one done using a rotor to round one side of a a board and the other with a indent. I love these better then a regular hot tub. It's rustic looking and cheaper. Well done sir.

[@heritagecraft]

Glad you liked it!

[@CinntSaile]

This was a superb video. Good, clear instructions and some humour too!

[@heritagecraft]

I am delighted you enjoyed it

[@GarnettM]

Nothing smells better then waking up and smelling Red Ceder in Victoria bc in your home as a hot tub wow , Your tub looks awesome I`m envious .

[@heritagecraft]

thank you for your comments. I have been to BC and if that's where you reside I am the one who's envious. One of the nicest places I have ever been with some of the friendliest folk. tom

[@violeman]

Nice job!! You remind me so much of my grandfather, "GB his soul". So many younger people these days (Including Me), take some things for granted. I consider myself a lot more reliable and handy then many younger adults these days thanks to my Grandfather and his teachings over the years. You earned a +1 Sub from me and hopefully 1 from all my other subs. Thank you so much for sharing this with me and everyone else which will take your work in showing us all this, seriously. Thanks again. DEv

[@heritagecraft]

Thank you for your kind comments. A large percentage of my family were craftsmen and who took the time in the school holidays to let me visit their workshops, I was grateful at the time, and its only know many years later do I realise just how exceptional they were both as people and as craftsmen. Best wishes

[@thebitcoingarden]

haha awesome the way you seemed so joyed when you finally got to get in, great video!

[@andrewmcfaul3253]

Fantastic video rob, straight to the point no nonsense easy to follow instructions. Definitely one for the list ! Cheers

[@stekker1041]

You sir, are epic. No "look at me, I'm good, I have shiny tools" Just this is the job, here's how I do it, let's get on with it. Want one too? Here are the plans, sort it out yourself. Awesome. PS: sound quality could be better.

[@Qtv123]

Maarten hoi nederlander

[@cluxseltoot]

I love your videos - always good for lifting the spirits and learning useful stuff while having a laugh - Many thanks.

[@biguprochester]

I'll bet that shop smells amazing

[@heritagecraft]

when your working with cedar wood the aroma is wonderful

[@purplexenno]

i noticed that you had a table saw, why not just use it to round the edges of the slats that make up the walls? with the bottom slat cut out they would rotate and make it round.

[@LibertyFirst1789]

EXACTLY my thought

[@GILLEBRATH]

Nice simplified plan and straight forward plus looks affordable too. Thank you

[@LaBeadWorks]

Thank you Mr. Tom! Beautiful job!

[@finsteraarhorn286]

hey Tom, thanks for the inspiration, I am collecting ideas for my own tub - You have been an incredible source of inspiration! I am going for the ice tub though....Greetings from Germany, sincerely

[@heritagecraft]

thank you for your kind words. I wish you luck. Not sure I am ready for an ice tub.tom

[@RangerDave1959]

Wonderful video sir, very enjoyable and instructive. I have a small cabin in the woods and this is just the thing I need up there. I am subscribing to your channel. I look forward to going through your video archive as well as viewing new content. Cheers.

[@heritagecraft]

+RangerDave1959 your welcome and I look forward to hearing how you get on building a hot tub. Tom

[@99trampis]

Love this and love the explanations and the mathematics! Thanks for a great video!

[@heritagecraft]

You're very welcome!

[@OstseeStudio]

Hey Colleague, very nice work! I will planned the same Project. Best regards from Luebeck Baltic Sea, Axel

[@heritagecraft]

Awesome, thank you!

[@themoonwolfking7006]

Dear sir. I very much like you water heater build and would love to see more build's. I have plans to make a smoker or a hot tub with a heater build to it. Again thanks for the video for the build basic's. and would love to see more. Ps. would very much like to see a fire pit grill and a smoker.

[@x99raymond1]

I'm ready to get some wood and start building. Thanks for the great video!

[@stevehind7318]

Excellent work Tom, great video too. Thanks for sharing your hard work and success

[@dogoargentinoz]

Your video was highly inspiring. Thank you very much on your detail explanations.

[@jmklamm]

Congrats! Beautiful work all around!

[@rayurlich]

Well done Tom. Great video. Hope you've had plenty of use from the tub. :)

[@heritagecraft]

thank you. I have to say of all the things I have made this is one of my favourites which I thoroughly enjoy using

[@waltermessines5181]

The Duck made my day. Well done.

[@futureskills1881]

Great video and thanks for explaining how to calculate circumference

[@StephenLarkin]

Best vid to date. Top Job ad keep up the great work

[@heritagecraft]

your very kind. thank you

[@lucianadecarvalhomartins4006]

Thank you!!! Giving my hubby another DIY project lol

[@heritagecraft]

I hope you enjoy the result of his labours

[@joshuadelisle]

love it well done. I'm gonna give it a go one day

[@u13dmndmha12]

Just brilliant sir. Loved the video and hope to replicate for cabin someday! Thank you.

[@heritagecraft]

fair to good. Providing you keep a little bit of water in the bottom, it keeps pretty water tight. Having said that I wouldn't keep one indoors, for that you need a slightly different solution, and add a coating to the inside of the tub, but then you loose one of the great benefits of the cedar wood oils in the water which makes your skin very soft. A real treat

[@CraftyLittleMaker]

FANTASTIC WORK MATE!!!

[@DalyMalcolm]

This is a brilliant video. Throughly enjoyed it! I'm Defo going to build one of these tubs. I have the perfect stove for this too.

[@heritagecraft]

excellent news. thanks for the kind comment

[@realtruth1988]

Michael cane vibes! Good on you sir.

[@VCOOGAN]

Tremendously good work!

[@JodyLeeSchroeder]

Great video - nice explanations and some excellent work buddy - Good build and thanks for posting ya video.

[@963hz]

Fantastic! Fascinating! Thank you for the great video 🙏🏽🏆

[@denasewell]

@ 15:01 that maul is awesome!!!! Did you make that? Phenomenal tutorial! I can see why these wood tubs are so pricey! Great work!!! I subscribed

[@HolzMichel]

nice touch with the rubber ducky :) ....circumference is Pi*D... Pi*r2 is area... i would have put the inlet for the hot water a little lower in the water column of the tub to get a better mixing of cold and hot water. shaving that much off the bottom boards was a bit overkill.. i would have left them as thick as can be.

[@crystalburnham9757]

+HolzMichel The rubber ducky! Ahh, and did you notice the shorts hanging off the edge at 18:32? I would like to make one 1/6th the size of this.

[@carloszenteno]

From 6:03 to 6:35 you can see gaps in the side slats. How did you plugged them to avoid leaks? Great project and great video !! Thanks for sharing it...

[@heritagecraft]

once you get some water in the tub the wood swells and plugs any little gaps. Glad you enjoyed the video

[@valerieagnes3461]

wow...that is something. Thanks for the video.

[@phatcowboy76]

great video. Circumference is not pi*(R squared). Its 2pi(R) where R=radius.

[@grantminer8118]

Right, pi*r^2 is area, but it seems that it worked out anyway for him

[@BeeRich33]

All is clear and simple outside of the bands.

[@gordonmedley]

Nice work!

[@LesterSuggs]

British nerd with a tractor. Best videos. Excellent details and just enough instruction. How much did the cedar set you back?

[@tmaxxman21]

On the bucket list. Great vid besides the small math mistakes. School was a long time ago ;)

[@menormeh]

At 5:25 he's talking about the circumference of the bottom and he used Pi x Radius Squared as a formula. That's for surface area. The actual formula is Pi x Diameter or 2 x Pi x Radius.

[@newworldorder8002]

Bless ya! Amazing work xx

[@heritagecraft]

thank you your very kind

[@ImranShamsul]

taking the swimmers off at the end. nice touch!

[@teresal1392]

I am in love!!! Thank you so much.

[@TedAlexander24]

A very enjoyable video.

[@juliusgodinez1987]

I mean your still a awesome guy just wish you know more about making a video...just as much i wish i knew more about wood working

[@aryankashani8885]

love it well done

[@heritagecraft]

thank you

[@MrHetchins]

look fantastic would love to build one

[@novicabozunovich]

This is fantastic.

[@PhilippeDalcq]

nice video mister

[@fishrod6298]

Terrific video - is she still holding up? Well done , great job

[@heritagecraft]

thanks for the comment I am delighted to say its all good. I have tweaked the heater slightly to include a circulating pump but apart from that Its still working well

[@fishrod6298]

Great to hear mate .. keep up the good work

[@isaz597]

Can you make an indoor wooden version for a big downstairs bathroom? With a shower attachment would be great please

[@alexeaton3971]

One of the more satisfying jobs you've done, I bet. Can I ask though, when you were cutting the grooves in the boards to slot into the round base, shouldn't they have also been cut with a slight roundness instead of flat so the base fitted the groove more snugly?

[@heritagecraft]

Along with the wood fired oven and smoker the three projects I have had the most fun / use of since I made them. I did cut very tight mortices into which the base fits into so the shape of the rear of the hole theoretically doesn't matter its the front of the hole that's forms the seal, but you make a good point and something I will think more about. Best wishestom

[@modelleg]

Marvelous. Thank you.

[@markrainford1219]

Lovely job. Good job you stuck with your online calculator to work out circumference though.

[@existinthenow7443]

what a great video!

[@heritagecraft]

thank you

[@stuartmurphy6939]

Just about to start building one similar to yours. What thickness of stainless steel did you use for the bands and do you have a supplier in the UK? Seems to be getting the bands fabricated is my only issue now before starting. Thanks

[@heritagecraft]

I used 40 x 3mm stainless steel strip and just made the ends.If you dont do welding you could probably bolt ends on. Good luck

[@portpipe99]

Crackin job!! Its better to construct the shell first then measure the end after cutting the croze to fit using compasses. You are basicly making a coopered vessel.

[@rubarbstret]

What temperature does the water get to? Sorry if asked already. Thanks!! Great build!

[@heritagecraft]

I dont know the answer, I have never tried. The hottest we took it too was 38 degrees C but that was too hot for me. I suspect we could have gone hotter.

[@grotlek]

Thank you for sharing this. Very interesting, and not half as hard to make as I imagined it to be - or perhaps you just make it look easy! :-). I hope nobody uses pi r^2 to calculate the circumference -- that's the formula for area of a circle, not circumference. The actual formula you should use is 2 pi r, or since 2 r is the diameter, you can just multiply pi by the diameter without having to worry about the radius at all. I'm interested in how you made the metal straps though. Unlike the rest of the tub, your video just cut from saying you needed to make them a certain size to having them installed. Out of interest, where do you get your materials from? I don't think they're the sort of thing you'd find at your average B&Q/Homebase/Wickes.

[@basilrose]

Wonderful!

[@richardkilpatrick1943]

Just received your booklet. Looking forward to building it. Now it's a few years On, you still happy with it?

[@heritagecraft]

thanks for buying the book. I have now had the tub for three years and I still use it as much as I can. I have added a central heating pump to aid the water circulation about two years ago, but that's about the only change. Good lucktom

[@davehugg3226]

Great video! How did you source or build the stainless bands to keep it together? Thanks!

[@heritagecraft]

I brought from a local steel stockholder 40 x 3mm strip stainless steel, welded some ends on and pulled it round the tub.

[@davehugg3226]

Thanks for the information. Great video!

[@rivernet62]

Very nice! Can you estimate cost of material?

[@samualiam9981]

If I close my eyes I would think I was listening to Michael Cane.

[@rayurlich]

You were only supposed to blow the bloody doors off. :D

[@gustavovieira7]

Yes, is a big wooden bucket, but I like to think this like a frame with many sides as well

[@norfolkwanderer5633]

Great job. Did you have to make any adjustments or fill in any holes after your first test run?

[@heritagecraft]

not to the tub, the upgrade was to fit a water pump to push the water through the heater

[@mezimm990]

So how do you keep it clean? A normal hot tub you buy has filters and chlorine. How long does the water stay fresh here?

[@heritagecraft]

the water is good for a couple of days, and then it needs to be replaced

[@Avalanche2908]

A man’s dream

[@Avalanche2908]

...come true

[@Scotnish4U]

Great video Tom, just bought the cedar and off to start building my own now. I was going to angle each side of the staves but having watched yours this will double the work and also introduce the risk of compound error (if my angles are slightly out on the band saw). I also thought about adding tongue and groove joints - do you think this is overkill given your own experience? Have you found any issues with leaks once the tub hasnt been in use for a while?

[@heritagecraft]

I do like the keep it simple approach. I did see a commercial manufacturer who machined a rounded edge on one side of the stave and a concave matching hollow on the other, so whatever angle you used it worked, but that depends upon you having the right spindle cutters which I didn't have. If you let the tub dry out then the joints will open up, but once its had water in it for a while they stay tight.

[@iBeechus]

You are my hero.

[@Johnny663cz]

Big like, master

[@superdave2112]

Brilliant!

[@moniqueshaw4922]

Hi, nice work on the tub, Quick question instead of using 36mm across can you use 25 mm. Cheers

[@heritagecraft]

Its a balancing act between the width of the wood and the number of steel bands holding it all together. If you reduce the strength in the wood then I would increase the number of bands too compensate.tom

[@mikeblacker4273]

Hi, I bought your booklet on this a couple of weeks ago. Looking forward to cracking on with it now! Just wondering where you bought your stainless steel bands from? I can't find them anywhere in the UK for a decent price. Thanks

[@heritagecraft]

I brought some stainless steel from a steel stockholder and made them. good luck tom

[@walkavil7]

Can you tell me Tom, what is the glue you used on the base. All the specialty wood glue I have looked at do not recommend for use in an underwater situation!

[@heritagecraft]

The glue is really there to hold it together whilst I assemble it. Once its all in place and gets wet the wood swells and blocks any leaks, and the whole structure is held together by the steel bands. Good luck

[@walkavil7]

Thanks heaps for your quick response. Makes sense :)

[@GRIBBO-77]

Great video! I would just like to ask where you purchased the hoops please? Thanks

[@heritagecraft]

thanks for the comment. I purchased strip stainless steel and made the hoops. It pulls round quite easily

[@GRIBBO-77]

Heritage Craft, Thanks for the reply, I'll look online now, have a good weekend

[@sfefsew]

when you first filled the tub, how badly did it leak? and how long did it take to stop leaking?

[@heritagecraft]

It depends how good your joints are. I had a trickle in 4-5 places for about an hour and slowly it stopped. If you leave it with an inch or two of water in the bottom when you not using it, it keeps the joints tighter

[@robertlarter3696]

Great vid, however, circumference is 2 π r not π r squared :)

[@ortizhernandezvictoralejan3295]

Tengo la duda de por qué no usa pegamento al poner las tablas que forman el círculo?

[@markbird1965]

Wudnt we ideally need to divide that 5.5 degrees between both faces ?

[@heritagecraft]

if you follow the maths through it works

[@andersjakobsen9906]

Dos the water flow, just because of the heat from the oven? Do you know the time it took to heat the tub? Really like the video 😀Anders - Norway.

[@heritagecraft]

In its original form it was convection current that kept it flowing, but I gave in and put a pump in it, it doesn't get any hotter but it does mix the water up more. The heater can lift the temperature by about 2 degrees an hour so it depends on where you start and want to finish. We have an underground rainwater harvesting system so if we take the water from there its considerably warmer than from the cold tap, so we heat it up in about 6-8 hours which compares favourably to the electric heater versions I have seen

[@amygrace331]

@@heritagecraft it works better if your cold water source is higher than your heat source. Put the hot tub up on a platform and you wouldn't need the pump.

[@heritagecraft]

@@amygrace331 I understand the logic, but the practicality is when full with water the tub weighs close to 2 tonnes which is an awful lot of weight, which would need a considerable structure to support

[@amygrace331]

@@heritagecraft thats true, I'm in the process of building something similar using an old cast iron tub and thankfully have two convenient things going for me: I'm in rocky New England and have access on my farm to plenty of large flat stones for building a stone platform, and my back yard has a slight slope to it so the woodstove is going to be lower even though it's only a few feet from the tub... it's like it was destined to have a one built there! haha. Hope you are still enjoying your tub 4 years later. Was happy to discover your channel yesterday!

[@SlendaN]

How good does it keep tight?

[@hwr965]

Seems like a super nice guy

[@benjaminmaule8190]

how long did this project take you??

[@416rex]

Got a little comfy there in the end didn't ya!

[@heritagecraft]

certainly did.

[@iamjackalope]

Nice job, but I think I would have used tong and grove on the floor though.

[@beausizemore4167]

↑ This guy ↑ is thoroughly impressed.

[@kyle88hojem]

What a great video! One question how did you fasten the stainless steel band to each other? Did you weld a fastener to it?

[@heritagecraft]

Glad you enjoyed it. I welded a piece of angle iron to each end of the stainless steel strap, and used threaded rod to pull it tight

[@59vaughn]

What a treat....!...:)...

[@heritagecraft]

thank you

[@rustykelly2004]

excuse me for being crass but how much did you spend on the tub itself? Just wondering the cost of the lumber etc

[@heritagecraft]

+rustykelly2004 The whole tub came in at under £1000

[@rustykelly2004]

+Heritage Craft thanks for letting me know, definitely value for money then!

[@heritagecraft]

having spent several summer evenings in it I would say its priceless

[@richardkilpatrick1943]

I couldn't find cedar cheap enough

[@rty1955]

LOVE METRIC!!!! USA needs to change

[@bartdeboer8495]

how many meters wood did you use

[@craftlingsworkshop]

Thumbs up!