Possible Humidor Project Piece !?

[hollywood]

Have this great 80 year old Armoire that I am really considering converting into a cabinet humi. Very solid and is almost perfectly sealed with as well as it is built. It is American cedar, but with it being 80 years old and almost never used; has no remaining aromatic properties left.

Would love some opinions and some insight on whether it would work well and best methods to proceed. Also some interior design ideas would be cool.

Here are some crappy pics I took with the phone earlier. Better pics later.

[hollywood]

[Sancho]

Thats a really nice looking piece. I would imagine you would need to line the inside with spanish cedar to hold the humidity constant, perhaps RPB67/RPloaded can chime in on this I believe they are in the process of building humi's

[AnimageCGF]

Go for it dave. she's a friggen beaut

[xxwaldoxx]

I would seal the inside then line it with Spanish Cedar or Mahogany.

Over time aromatic Cedar develops a crystal like skin that traps in the aroma that you are used to. To remove this skin simply brush over it with sand paper and the smell will come back. Chances are you would do that or wipe down the inside to clean in in preparation for the cigars and bring back the aromatic qualities (potentially destroying cigars you may add later)

So with that in mind, I would say seal the inside with either Pre-Cat Lacquer or Urethane. Let it dry and air out for about 30 days then begin lining it with cedar.

[smokin' machinist]

Sweet looking piece of furniture. I'm in the process of modifying a dresser into a small cabinet. Spanish cedar is also sold in plywood form, 1/4" thickness that has a veneer of spanish cedar, that's what I plan on using. Looks as if you are further ahead than my project.
Good luck, hope all works well for you.

[luckybandit]

nice cabinet would be real pretty when done. hold a nice amount of boxes

[fireman43]

That's gonna be a kick a$$ humi once you get it done! You'll have to keep us updated with the progress along with pics.

[RPB67]

Do it !!

I am building a walk-in and its easy. You can line the sides with Mahogany or Luan sheets. Home Depot and Lowes has both.

For shelves you can go Spanish Cedar and between that and the boxes you will be good to go.

As for humidification. Call Stabell and get the set and forget. Great system.

Do it, you will not be sorry. That is a nice size humi.

[Rploaded]

Dave,

Nice piece, I would look at maybe putting a foil vapor barrier up between the spanish cedar and the old wood to prevent cracking, moisture transfer etc. There several companies that provide a great product that also provides an R rating of 1. Other then that look like you have a great piece to start with......Ron is probably a better source of info when it comes to cabinets but if there is anything I can do to help let me know......

[RGD]

Beautiful piece that you have there! It will be something to be proud of when you get done with it. Be sure to take pictures along the way. Now if it was mine - here is what I would do - and a few things to keep in mind.

First off it's a very old Armoire. As such you have very old and brittle hyde glues and most likely butt joints. And you have veneers. Water as in moisture is not a friend here. Neither is expansion. So you need to protect the Armoire against these two items. The moisture can be taken care via barrier - foil, tyvek, etc etc. can be used. You could also use an exterior grade urethane to seal it - but I would rather let the wood breath as it has for the last 80 years. So I would use a barrier.
Expansion - I would in effect - build a box to fit inside of the Armoire. I would use a 1/4" foam insulation to cushion the box against the Armoire. Build your box from Spanish cedar and/or Spanish cedar plywoods. Don't forget the doors. You will need to face the backside of the doors to protect them and use a seal to prevent leakage.

Good project - let us know how it goes!


Ron

[hollywood]

Right on! Thanks you for all of the comments and input so far!! I am very excited to get this project going.

Upon inspecting closer; I could not find butt joints or poor glue work. That was an initial concern of mine as well. This thing was obviously built by somebody that knew his sh*t!

I think I will be using 1/2" R1 Tyvek foil board and then 1/4" Luan sheet lining. I may have a line on Spanish cedar planks here locally(fingers crossed ) to build the shelves with.

I'm toying with a couple of different interior designs at this point. I would like a certain number of angled shelves for a sort of display feature; and also slide out drawers or trays for singles. Maybe I can do a couple of drawings tonight and post a couple of ideas for you guys to comment on.

Thanks again for all the tips. Now if somebody would just send me a few 4'X8' sheets of spanish cedar plywood for x-mas; I would be golden!!

[NCRadioMan]

Originally Posted by hollywood

Upon inspecting closer; I could not find butt joints or poor glue work. That was an initial concern of mine as well. This thing was obviously built by somebody that knew his sh*t!

Sorry Dave, but that is why I would not do it. Then again, I am a sucker for quality old furniture. Have you had it appraised to find out the "value" of the piece?

[hollywood]

Originally Posted by NCRadioMan

Sorry Dave, but that is why I would not do it. Then again, I am a sucker for quality old furniture. Have you had it appraised to find out the "value" of the piece?

Certainly understand your point Greg! No official appraisal was done; but with my experience and after seeing several similar pieces at auction at at vendor shops; I estimate the "value" at no more than $300-500. Since I get it for free; I cannot pass it up!

I'm guessing for less than $200 total; I'll have one hell of a cabinet humi!! I'm even thinking of putting glass panels in the doors!? Also have to include an electrical source and interior lighting.


Can you tell I'm stoked!?!?

[KyLongbeard]

Gonna be real nice once it's done. Please put up pics when finished, like to see it!