Hot Tub Firewood Rack

May 1, 2026

My brother and I built my parents a wood fired cowboy hot tub for their ranch.

They go through a ton of firewood. To learn timber framing, I decided to make them a wood rack out of cedar 6x6s.

Design

I started by designing the layout in CAD. Originally I was going to use crossbraces and a center post. After starting construction I realized that was overkill and not necessary.

Initial CAD model of the rack

CAD model of a beam

Cutting the joinery

All of the joinery is hidden mortise and tenon, and held together by pegs. A chain mortiser is used to cut the slots in the posts. The tenons are cut by using a circular saw to remove most material, then smoothed with a chisel.

Chain mortising the beams

Batch preparation of the posts

Raising the frame

The individual pieces can be test fit while offsite. Assembly was relatively straightforward, starting with the floor joists and working up to the roof.

Fitting the posts and floor

Poolside setup

Evening assembly of the rafters

Peg joinery

Finished

The finished product ready for firewood

After assembly, dowel holes were drilled and the oak pegs were hammered in. The roof of staggered cedar fence slats was installed. At a later date Mom decided to stain the rack to help weatherproof it.

Stained and stocked with firewood