Humidors and cigar boxes?

[BJRPorter]

Beautiful work!

Looking forward to seeing more.

I know when I put a box in my wineador, the Rh seems to be a bit more fragile for a couple of days.

[PapaDisco]

Beautiful work!  

Cigars from FOH consistently arrive at my house; 1 week or 4 weeks after shipping, at a solid 65%rH.  I've measured that several times.  They pack and seal them very well.  So the cigars should not suck much H2O out of your Bovedas.  I've never put an entire box into a desktop humidor, but the cardboard ought to be equally well humidified upon arrival (it's all wrapped in the same plastic of course), so whether you put the sticks in naked or in original packaging you should not see much change in your Bovedas.

I have a cheapo desktop humi that I got lucky with: it's got an excellent wood on wood seal, and Bovedas in that thing last much more than a year.  For longer term storage I use large Tupperdores in my cellar, so anything going into the wood desktop has a 65%rH to start with.

[BellevilleMXZ]

Wow very nice! My Grandfather was a great craftsman with wood.....sadly I inherited none of his skill in that department 

[Colt45]

Love it!

[Romka]

Beatiful work, congratulations. 

[Eric05]

If i was you i would not be wiping down the cedar. I would simple put in boveda 82 packs, there seasoning packs. Leave it in for 2 weeks. And then put in 65 or 69 whatever you like and thats it. 

[Raskol]

Very nice humidor. Great craftsmanship. 

[wolfain]

Amazing looking humidor! Looks really good. I’m guessing you come from a dryer climate than mine (
Using 82RH packs or a small bowl of water in the box for a week should be fine, then 65/69 packs to maintain your cigars, I wouldn’t fuss too much over this. Over time, your box will acclimatize with your 65/69 packs.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[BTWheezy]

Humidor part deux completed.  Siggy 1’s for scale...

Details:

Cherry case.

Spanish cedar interior (duh).

Maple accents, and spline joints.

No interior trays or anything...intent was for boxes to sit and age.

22” x 15” x 10”

Basically a slightly larger version of the walnut one.  I enjoy making these, but it really didn’t address the problem of more storage.

[BTWheezy]

And what looks like little blotches on the case is simply the light catching the grain at a funny angle. The cherry will age beautifully to that rich red-brown patina that many of us love.

[Georgebrightman]

Humidor part deux completed.  Siggy 1’s for scale...
Details:
Cherry case.
Spanish cedar interior (duh).
Maple accents, and spline joints.
No interior trays or anything...intent was for boxes to sit and age.
22” x 15” x 10”
Basically a slightly larger version of the walnut one.  I enjoy making these, but it really didn’t address the problem of more storage.

Every bit as good as the first, in fit and finish. Have you ever thought about matte finish , or semi-matte? As opposed to a spray lacquer, gloss finish. Just wondering. Congrats though: these are really lovely.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

[BTWheezy]

@Georgebrightman Comment, and a question:

I used a satin polycrylic finish on both boxes.  I chose this type of finish, thinking it might help protect the interior from greater humidity swings...essentially wrapping the box in a (very, very) thin layer of plastic.  That said, I’m a huge fan of tung oil and wax, the time-honored fine furniture finish, as I suspect you know.  ? That rich, natural finish, feels great to the touch...tough to beat.

 

So the question: am I over-thinking the environmentals of the humidor?  All things equal, I’ll take a traditional finish in a heartbeat. But if a modern finish helps protect my stash better, then maybe the trade off is worth it?  Thoughts?

[BTWheezy]

13 hours ago, wolfain said:

....I wouldn’t fuss too much over this. Over time, your box will acclimatize with your 65/69 packs...
 

@wolfain

Thanks for the comments.  As a new guy to cigars, drawing upon the knowledge of FOH is incredibly helpful.  Sometimes, digging in on a topic is necessary, and sometimes “dude...relax, it will be OK” from a veteran is equally helpful.  Those Boveda packs are pretty slick in their two-way function. Yeah, they’re more expensive than old school methods, but for a relatively small box, they’re tough to beat.

[Martin_F]

Wow, this second one is another piece of art!

I'd like to see some more pics of the inside as well, if you have them. As I mentioned before we'll be starting on my first humidor as well, any little details help!
Really like how your lids are very shallow, compared to all the other humidors you see with the hygrometer and humidification in the lid, that just waste a lot of space in the box.

I will be using Bovedas in the back and my SensorPush, so no need to put anything in the lid.

[Georgebrightman]

[mention=24465]Georgebrightman[/mention] Comment, and a question:
I used a satin polycrylic finish on both boxes.  I chose this type of finish, thinking it might help protect the interior from greater humidity swings...essentially wrapping the box in a (very, very) thin layer of plastic.  That said, I’m a huge fan of tung oil and wax, the time-honored fine furniture finish, as I suspect you know.   That rich, natural finish, feels great to the touch...tough to beat.
 
So the question: am I over-thinking the environmentals of the humidor?  All things equal, I’ll take a traditional finish in a heartbeat. But if a modern finish helps protect my stash better, then maybe the trade off is worth it?  Thoughts?

I always worry that any polymer somehow imparts aromas that are anathema to long-term , whereas natural ( meaning organic ) oils have a shorter impact, if any. Regarding the effect of sealing a unit from environmental forces - I've always believed that they represent one of the intangibles that contribute personality...much like where a whiskey barrel resides is reflected in the outcome ( think of the difference between Scotland and Kentucky, or aboard an ocean-going ship ) the ability of a fine humidor to breathe, incorporating swings in both temp & RH are what marks the difference between maturing and simple stasis. Sorry if that's a dollar answer to a nickel question!

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

[moteyi]

A couple of very nice humidors. Making a couple of humidors is on my to do list and I have sourced the same smarthinge from Andrew Crawford that you have used, plus some Spanish cedar from Belize and I have the other wood that I intend using too. The idea is to make them to match this bedroom furniture that I've recently made -Afromosia carcase, Maple drawer fronts and Wenge handles. Hope to have some time to myself over Christmas and the New Year to make a start.

For your humidor, did you work to some plans or did you make it up as you went along?

[clutch5150]

Very nice work!

[Fatshotbud]

Lovely piece!
I once did a lot of woodworking but never tried a Humidor. Very clean looking work from the pictures. Update on how it functions in a month or two

Sent from my KYOCERA-E6560 using Tapatalk

[BTWheezy]

@moteyi

Thanks!  Looks like you know your way around the shop too!  That’s a fantastic chest of drawers. Your choice of woods for the different parts really makes it pop.  Well done! Never heard of Afromosia...what’s it like?  How does it machine? Is that the natural color, or is there a stain applied?

 

As for plans, I always noodle on things for days/weeks before starting a project.  When it gets down to cuttin’ time, I’ll usually do a sketch with dimensions on my iPad to keep things relatively structured. I’m constantly seeking inspiration from other guys’ work online, and in person (like galleries, marketplaces, etc.). So many talented folks to draw knowledge and ideas from.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[BTWheezy]

On 11/19/2017 at 5:57 PM, Martin_F said:

Great looking Humidor. Really like the light colored spline joints.

Getting ready to build my first Humidor here. Well actually a buddy of mine is the woodworker and I'm coming up with the design.

Hopefully it comes out half as nice as yours!

Hey Martin, if you and your friend want to kick ideas around, PM me.  Happy to share what I’ve learned over these 2 projects, plus the other years of mistakes and corrections. ?

BTWheezy

[backbone]

Beautiful work BT!

[moteyi]

19 hours ago, BTWheezy said:

 

Thanks!  Looks like you know your way around the shop too!  That’s a fantastic chest of drawers. Your choice of woods for the different parts really makes it pop.  Well done! Never heard of Afromosia...what’s it like?  How does it machine? Is that the natural color, or is there a stain applied?

Hi @BTWheezy. I really like Afrormosia but it isn't easy to get now in the UK. It is known as African Teak, and like a lot of African hardwoods is fairly easy to work although it does have reversing grain which can cause some tear out when planning. The boards I had together with some Wenge, Ebony and Bubinga I brought back with me to the UK from my last posting in Lomé, Togo. I've only got a couple of boards left, but have made quite a few different pieces with what i had. In terms of finish, I use a hard wax oil (osmo polyx) which has a satin finish. No staining. The wood does change colour though when exposed to UV light, and on one cabinet that I actually made in Togo but had to adapt to fit it into our current house, I ended up buying a second hand tanning lamp from ebay to darken the wood to match!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[BTWheezy]

@moteyi What a great idea. I’ve never thought of getting an artificial light source to alter the color, but it makes perfect sense.  To alter the natural color, was it a matter of hours, or days, under the lamp?

[Sean3]

Once again...well done!

[Martin_F]

After using your desktop humidors for a couple month now, how are you liking them?

Are you happy about how they hold humidity?

Anything you'd do different if you were to build another one?

I'm nearing completion on my project, just figured I'd check in with you