making a humidor

[andy_mccabe501]

hi guys
I wanted to ask a few questions about making and designing a humidor.
I have read the humidor 101, but i do have different questions/ideas that were not brought up in that thread.

My dad's recently finished alot of work he was doing (DIY type stuff) and asked me if i wanted anything done - So i thought for a day or two, and I asked him if he could make me a humi, and he's cool with that. He has lots of tools and knows a little bit about woodwork, but nothing about humidors (like what woods to use inside or out, joints etc)

firstly here's my idea: I read maximum contact with joints is good, what if there are no joints, would this be the ideal solution? Let me explain.
If i got a "block" of wood, say 10",10",10" (theoretically speaking), what if my dad cut the top away(for a lid) and routed the inside? basically hollowing out the wood, then lining the inside with spanish cedar? (I hope you understand what i mean as i'm not very good at explaining lol).

For the outside wood, is Oak ok? or are there more preferable woods ( i personally like zebra)

And the last thing i was gonna ask is, is inlaying hard? i've seen it and it seems to add an awesome affect to a humidor (especially if you use light on dark wood or vice-versa)

I did do a search before i posted this, but couldnt really find anything that looked like what i was asking - i hope i have not repeated anything

thankyou for your time

Andy

[czartim]

I can't help you, but I'll be watching this thread as I'll be in the same situation this summer. Father-in-law and I will do a little bonding (or not) over some projects.

[BostonBull]

Originally Posted by andy_mccabe501

hi guys
I wanted to ask a few questions about making and designing a humidor.
I have read the humidor 101, but i do have different questions/ideas that were not brought up in that thread.

My dad's recently finished alot of work he was doing (DIY type stuff) and asked me if i wanted anything done - So i thought for a day or two, and I asked him if he could make me a humi, and he's cool with that. He has lots of tools and knows a little bit about woodwork, but nothing about humidors (like what woods to use inside or out, joints etc)

firstly here's my idea: I read maximum contact with joints is good, what if there are no joints, would this be the ideal solution? Let me explain.
If i got a "block" of wood, say 10",10",10" (theoretically speaking), what if my dad cut the top away(for a lid) and routed the inside? basically hollowing out the wood, then lining the inside with spanish cedar? (I hope you understand what i mean as i'm not very good at explaining lol).

For the outside wood, is Oak ok? or are there more preferable woods ( i personally like zebra)

And the last thing i was gonna ask is, is inlaying hard? i've seen it and it seems to add an awesome affect to a humidor (especially if you use light on dark wood or vice-versa)

I did do a search before i posted this, but couldnt really find anything that looked like what i was asking - i hope i have not repeated anything

thankyou for your time

Andy

I am no preo cabinet maker, but I like the idea of a solid piece. What if you could find/afford a solid piece of Mahogany (Spanish Cedar), and just routed that out and made a 100% Pure SOLID Spanish Cedar humidor?

I am sure this is an expensive endeavor, but in my mind would be the BEST humi around......although someone will tell me I am wrong I am sure.

[dbradley]

Originally Posted by andy_mccabe501

firstly here's my idea: I read maximum contact with joints is good, what if there are no joints, would this be the ideal solution? Let me explain.
If i got a "block" of wood, say 10",10",10" (theoretically speaking), what if my dad cut the top away(for a lid) and routed the inside? basically hollowing out the wood, then lining the inside with spanish cedar? (I hope you understand what i mean as i'm not very good at explaining lol).

I don't see why this wouldn't be ideal...except I imagine it would be difficult to find a block of wood that big.

As long as you're lining the inside with spanish cedar I think any wood would be fine.

[andy_mccabe501]

Excellent! Sounds good to me! Hopefully it wont cost TOO much, but i just thought it would keep humidity ideally!

and i'll definately line it with spanish cedar! Hopefully (Time permitting, and sourcing wood) it should be done in about 4 weeks as a guess.

I'll get some pics up!

anyone else have any thoughts on this ?

thanks

andy

[dbradley]

Just curious...

how big are you thinking about making this?

[andy_mccabe501]

hmm, im thinking internally, as its the first - quite small, i was thinking, single layer of cigars, holding maybe 15 in a row, so im guessing, height 2inches? length 10-12 inches and width 9 inches. I'll measure tommorow to get 100% accurate measurements

andy

[iceman95]

Originally Posted by andy_mccabe501

hi guys
I wanted to ask a few questions about making and designing a humidor.
I have read the humidor 101, but i do have different questions/ideas that were not brought up in that thread.

My dad's recently finished alot of work he was doing (DIY type stuff) and asked me if i wanted anything done - So i thought for a day or two, and I asked him if he could make me a humi, and he's cool with that. He has lots of tools and knows a little bit about woodwork, but nothing about humidors (like what woods to use inside or out, joints etc)

firstly here's my idea: I read maximum contact with joints is good, what if there are no joints, would this be the ideal solution? Let me explain.
If i got a "block" of wood, say 10",10",10" (theoretically speaking), what if my dad cut the top away(for a lid) and routed the inside? basically hollowing out the wood, then lining the inside with spanish cedar? (I hope you understand what i mean as i'm not very good at explaining lol).

For the outside wood, is Oak ok? or are there more preferable woods ( i personally like zebra)

And the last thing i was gonna ask is, is inlaying hard? i've seen it and it seems to add an awesome affect to a humidor (especially if you use light on dark wood or vice-versa)

I did do a search before i posted this, but couldnt really find anything that looked like what i was asking - i hope i have not repeated anything

thankyou for your time

Andy

I'll defer to those more experienced in woodworking than I, but I would say that hollowing out a solid block of wood to form a box would not make the ideal humidor. All the grain will be running in the same direction. This will lead to some sides having long grain, and some others having a short, cross grained situation. The short grained sides will be very weak and susceptible to splitting.

[discdog]

I'm not a professional cabinet maker but I have been working with wood for over 20 years. And Iceman is exactly correct. Using a solid block of wood would not be a good idea. It will crack,check and/or split in a fairly short period of time. You would be much better off for the construction and the cost to to take some square pieces and glue them together making a wider board, then using joinery, fasten the pieces together to form your box.

Now the fun part is the joinery. There are so many different joints to use, but the most common would be dovetail, box, or mortise & tenion. Or variations or combinations of each.

Also remember that you are basically building a box in a box. The cedar box has to fit inside your outside box, snugly but not so tight at to swell and do damage to to outer case. Most of the time when I am doing this, I will humidify the inner case materials to the desired RH and then machine and assemble the parts to ensure that they will be the maximum size, but this step is not required, it's something I choose to do.

Also, wear a dust mask when working with Spanish Cedar as the dust is poisionous.

I would also suggest buying a book on box making, they are cheaper than the wood you'll be working and will explain the details and process of orientating the grains and the proper techniques of the construction.

Also, have fun. You may find yourself with a whole new hobby.

[daviddunn]

I'm no expert... But I do have a bit of experience building things, and I have somewhat of an engineers mind. In my mind, the ideal humidor is not one solid piece, but a properly made box, with four sides, a bottom, and a top. I prefer dovetail joints, because it really shows what wood is all about, and it looks amazing if it's done well. When I say it shouldn't be one piece, I'm also talking about the fact that it should consist of an outer structural shell, and an inner spanish cedar lining that is free-floating, of about 1/4 inch. This is ideal, because it allows the liner to expand and contract with the climate inside, keeping the exterior in top shape for the life of the humidor. It also allows the box to hold humidity better, because the liner will be protected from the dry outside air by the outer shell.

[Dr. Stogie Fresh]

My son made me a humidor in his high school woodshop class using these instuctions.

Doc

[andy_mccabe501]

thanks for the instructions Dr stogie fresh!

does anyone know anything about lnlaying? and whether it is easy or not?

andy

[Silhanek]

Originally Posted by andy_mccabe501

thanks for the instructions Dr stogie fresh!

does anyone know anything about lnlaying? and whether it is easy or not?

andy

Watch the hour long podcast at THIS SITE. I think it will help. They go over the basics and a simple way to do them with a router. It's all about getting the template you want and then cutting the wood so it's an exact match.

[andy_mccabe501]

thanks for that link, That's a cool video - Watching it now!

thanks again

andy

[Silhanek]

Podcast #1 on that same site will probably be very good information for jointery on making your basic box.

I also like to watch Matt's Basement Workshop Videos. He's just some dude in his basement as the title says. He doesn't have big name sponsors behind him and the videos are a little more crude, but has a 6 part series on jointery that has some great information.

Ok, and while I'm linking podcasts, I'm not sure if The Wood Whisperer has any that will help you out, but I love his videos. Great humor mixed in with his knowledge.