: Hey Rob-

: Roy Underhill's The Woodwright's Shop had a show about coopering pails at
: some point, and I think the expert was someone from Colonial Williamsburg.
: I think the process would be the same for a barrel- and in fact I think
: they talked about barrels. I can't remember too much about the steel
: strap.

I saw a cooper at Sturbridge Village in Massachusetts making buckets that were
banded together with a strip of sapling that had interlocking notched ends. I wish
I could see that now.

The steel bands used on wet-barrels for whiskey/wine are riveted and put in
place hot out of the forge so as the steel cools the bands shrink tight.

Too bad I got rid of all my welding forging equipment years ago.

However, barrels rely on their tapered ends to slip the hot bands over
and slide toward the center to snug up.

Hot tubs have straight sides which could make placing hot bands interesting,
and fun to watch.

: There is a book called The Japanese Bath by Gibbs Smith that might have some
: information on tubs. I've seen the book through The Japan Woodworker
: before, but Amazon would probably have it too.

: Keep updates posted!

: m

I have that book, - by Bruce Smith and Yoshiko Yamamoto. Nice book,
beautiful pictures, about the "experience" of the Japanese bath.

Not "how-to" information. You have to stare and figure how to reverse engineer it.
Trouble is true Japanese craftsmen are very good at hiding the construction
details of how something is made.

But now that you've got me to look at the book for the fifth time today, I realize
in two pictures you can just make out a woven band of bamboo? holding
the tub stays together.

Now that is cool! I wish I could figure out how to do that!
I might be able to substitute white oak or ash strips for bamboo,
and make interlocking notched ends like the buckets I saw.

The Ofuro shown in that book still hide their secrets.

Thanks, your comments are activating sleeping gray cells.

Now I have to do some searches on bucket making. What the heck are the right words to search!!!

Rob