Humidor 101

AAlmeter

HOT for HILLARY!!
A bunch of guys have asked me to write about building your own humidor (wooden, not Edison-a-dor), so I figure Ill just put it in one big post for future reference. Hopefully some of the other guys on here (MattK, Gordon, Im talking to you) will chime in with some of their hints and suggestions.

First, safety. I like getting bombed, but I don’t want to receive your cigar collection because you no longer have fingers to smoke with. Read up and learn to use a splitter, blade guard, push stick, stop block, etc. Wear your damn safety glasses too. Oh, and also wear a dust mask. I know, I know, youre tough and you don’t need it. Well, neither do I, except when Im working with Spanish cedar. The dust is less than enjoyable to inhale.

Everyone knows the table saw can cut through your hand as well as wood, but it can also launch wood through you very easily. Watch where you are standing and be sure your lumber wont get pinched or fall onto the blade after cutting.


Before you build:

Go through all of your steps before you start. I shoot from the hip a lot, but its helpful to have some dimensioned drawings of what you want to accomplish. Think about your cuts, especially your joints, before you cut. Imagine how things will fit together and don’t forget to take into account the thickness of the board when youre designing your humidor. Also, when you buy your lumber, it will often be called ¾” when its actually 7/8ths or greater. Its assumed you will be planing the lumber down to get a good surface, so factor this in as well.


Basic box humidor:

This is your basic box humidor. Size it according to your needs. Generally, the best way to do it is just to build the box. Don’t worry about the lid just yet. Just make yourself a wooden box with all six sides. Ill get into joints later. Once you have this done, then you cut your box apart to allow access to the inside. A large bandsaw is best, but if you have one, you don’t need this basic how-to. You can use your table saw to make these 4 cuts, one on each side of the box. Use your fence as a guide and be careful. Remember though, that you will be losing the wood that gets cut out by the blade (this is called the kerf). So if you are making your box with finger joints, you will have one finger that will not be the same thickness as the others. You can figure this into your design or you can cut in the joint between two fingers to minimize the appearance. Using a bandsaw (which has a much smaller kerf, maybe 1/32” compared to 1/8” for table saw blade), the difference will not be nearly as noticeable.

You now have your box and your lid. It’s a good time to finish. I like tung oil because you don’t need to worry about dust or fumes, Ive never noticed it giving off any flavors or odors when Im done, and I like the warm glow. Another populat choice is lacquer. Lacquer will give you the nice gloss finish. If I get around to it, Ill post more about finishing later, but I am far from a finishing guru.

Take a break, a long break after you are satisfied with your finish…especially if you use lacquer. Let everything air out for a week or so to make sure your cigars don’t taste like spray paint.

Now, line with Spanish cedar. Cut it, glue it, miter in the inside corners (Ill define that in the joints section). I use 3/8” thick cedar, and I promised MM2(SW)S I would come up with a definitive answer as to the minimum thickness, but Im lazy and didn’t get around to that yet. I haven’t had a problem with 3/8”, so I think youre safe. Sp cedar will give you that nice aroma, supposedly keeps the beetles and boogie men away, but most importantly it isn’t bothered as much as your case material by humidity (meaning it wont swell like the maple, walnut, cherry, oak you use for the outside of the box). This is the only difference between a humidor and a jewelry box…the difference in humidity. If youre generally around 50% RH outside, youre OK, but when youre above fiber saturation point inside and below outside, it can cause problems with creep as part of your lumber swells and the other part does not. For this reason, it is always best to store your lumber for a while in the same climate it will be living in once you build your humidor.

I usually have my Spanish cedar rise about ¼” above the bottom case (Ill illustrate later) and leave it ¼” short on the lid to provide a good seal. If you do this, you will need to round the edges so the lid can close. For 3/8” thick cedar, you can do this by hand with sandpaper…it doesn’t take long and you don’t need to set up a router.

Install your pretty brass hinges and other hardware, and youre done.


Cabinet humidor:

Same concept, a box within a box. The main question I got concerned the door, especially for those who want glass. An illustration is the best way to describe this. There are 2 ways, one using a dado cut, and the other a rabbet cut. See below. A rabbet cut can be made by making two perpendicular cuts on your table saw. A dado cut can be made using a dado blade (theyre pricey) or making multiple passes with your regular table saw blade and then cleaning out the cut with a chisel. Ill also show door design in an illustration below.

For a cabinet humidor, you will most likely need to edge join 2 or more boards together to get a piece large enough. YOU NEED TO MAKE SURE EVERYTHING IS PERFECTLY SQUARE. This is always important, but very important in this case. If you mess this up, it will look like poo (unless you go back and do a lot of hand planing and sanding). If you are the anal type, you can get a good square board using your table saw…assuming you set it up perfectly. Jack the blade up to its full height and use a square. Make several cuts and keep adjusting. If you have access to a jointer, use it. If you have a local shop that will joint the boards for you, explain what you want and have them do it. There is nothing worse than a gap in your joint. You also need to make sure your boards are the same thickness. This can only be done with a planer (or with a hand plane, some skill, and patience). Boards of different thicknesses can be edge joined together, just make sure the good side is outside, the bad will be covered by the cedar lining. But to keep things simple, just plane the damn things. I don’t think Rockler will do this, but a lot private woodworking stores will and any regular woodworking shop will as well.

When youre putting your boards together to edge join…take a look at the coloring and grain. Try to match them up to make them look purty.

Line everything up, glue the edges, and then use furniture clamps to clamp in place. Use waxed paper (especially if youre using iron clamps) to cover the clamps because the iron will react with the glue and will leave a blue/black stain. Trust me on this. Also use pads (scrap wood will do) on your clamps so their imprint doesn’t become a part of your humidor. Let glue that seeps out (it will, and that’s good…it should be a nice continuous line of glue oozing out, not too much though) dry. Some say wipe it with a wet rag, but that will raise the grain of your wood even more and make the glue you will surely miss difficult to see. Let it dry, and invest in a $2 glue scraper (or a real cabinet scraper if your really into woodworking). Scrape it off and sand down. If you leave glue, even if its tough to see, you WILL see it when you go to finish.

Now, glue your box together, finish, and line. Again, Ill explain more on joints below.



And remember, the worst thing that you can create is the most precise and expensive firewood on the block.
 
This is a butt joint. It sucks. There are two things to consider when making a joint...surface area (how much area of each piece will be in contact with each other and glue) and mechanical joinery (pieces naturally having some strength and "stickability"...like a finger joint). A butt joint has neither, plus its ugly...hence, butt joint.
 
This is a miter joint. Each side is cut to 45 degrees and they match perfectly together to create a 90 degree joint. You will need to adjust and readjust your table saw using a carpenters square and a bunch of test pieces. Do not trust the 45 degree mark on your table saw.

A miter joint, if well done, is nice looking. It has more surface area than a butt joint, but does not provide any sort of mechanical linkage. Plus, when you apply pressure to a miter joint, it forces the joint apart.
 
This is a finger joint. The dovetail joint is its cousin. This is also called a box joint and some call this a dovetail joint as well. Technically, the dovetail joint is different...it looks, well, like a dove's tail. Im not going into a dovetail joint here because if you can cut one by hand, you should be writing this, and if you have a jig and router, you dont need to read this.

A box joint can be made on the router or tablesaw (using either a regular or dado blade). Ill stick to the tablesaw version. Mark out and think about where you want your fingers and voids. Then cut. If youre using a regular blade, you will need to make multiple passes and clean it out with a chisel. Remember that the thickness of the board will need to match the depth of the cuts. I like to cut a hair deep, so the fingers stick out, and then sand down to a perfect fit.

If you are using a tablesaw to cut these, think about what you are doing. You are standing a board on edge and cutting it. You WILL need a jig to do this. You can buy or make them, if you have any questions, ask.

Im not writing how to do this with a router, because im trying to keep this piece fairly simple for those who dont have access to a lot of tools, but if you want to use a router, ask away and Ill be happy to help you out.

Notice with a box or finger joint that you have both a lot of surface area for glueing and you have the mechanical linkage...its a strong joint and when done properly looks very nice (take a look at what Gordon did).

It is not ideal for a cabinet humidor because thats a lot of fingering ( :D ) and it will look pretty busy. But, if you like it on a large piece and you have the time and energy, go for it.

Im pretty sure there are jigs out there for making box joints (you could use a dovetail jig and some chisel time), but Ive always just used a table saw or on occasion the router.
 
This is a rabbet joint. Two perpendicular cuts and youre done. I like this joint because it is easy, precise, provides a medium level of surface area and mechanical linkage, and because, for a cabinet, its not as busy as a box joint. This is what I used.

All you do is cut out a notch and glue. Look at the top drawing. If you move the top horizontal piece down a bit so its flush with the edge of the vertical board, you have your basic rabbet joint.

What I did was leave it halfway short (like in the bottom drawing). Then I made some quarter round to fit on the router and glued that in place. This way, you have no exposed end grain (it stains differently unless you use a variety of homebrew recipies to get it to match...plus its ugly), and you have a little extra bit of glueing area.
 
Here are two ways to install your glass. On the left is a dado cut. Just multiple passes on the table saw (or one with a dado blade) and some cleanig up with a chisel. You do this all the way around the inside of the door and then buiild the door around the glass. If you break the glass, youre screwed. I did this, however, because I think it looks a little nicer.

On the other side, you can make a rabbet cut, insert your glass, and rip a strip of wood (or quarter round on your router) to glue in place around the window. If you break it, all you have to do is remove the strip and replace the glass. Essentially you are making an indentation for the glass to sit in, and then filling it up with wood.

There are also fasteners that will hold the glass in place, but they wont give a tight seal, they dont look good, and a real man wouldnt use them. :BS
 
This is the door design I used. Its pretty self-explanatory. You could also build your door so that it fits completely inside of your case, but then you have the edge of a board exposed on the front of your cabinet. Or you could have the door sit completely across the from of the case, like a kitchen cupboard. The choice is yours, but I find that doing it this way provides a great seal. With precise cuts and a little sanding, you will get a door that only needs friction to keep it sealed. I had no need for hardware to keep mine closed.

Also, a little trick my dad showed me. I couldnt find a door handle I liked. My humidor is walnut and maple, and I didnt want a big chunk of brass for a handle...but an all wood one looked too rustic. I went into my moms sewing drawer, found an old brass button from a sport jacket, drilled out a wooden handle to the diameter of the button, and glued it in. I couldnt be happier with it.
 
Forgot this joint...it may be useful for you guys putting in shelves. Its a dado joint. Same as the dado used for glass, except its wood instead of glass. I know, I know...you already knew that.
 
As I said, Im no finishing guru. So heres a bunch of links

http://woodworking.about.com/od/finishing/

Unfortunately, my finishing skills are only slightly above my drawing skills (EEF HELP!)



Another bit of advice is get a good blade. It will save you a lot of time, especially if you are somewhat inexperienced with your table saw. Tossing out lumber because you made a deep burn sucks.
 
Excellent introductory treatise AAlmeter!

"First, safety. I like getting bombed, but I don’t want to receive your cigar collection because you no longer have fingers to smoke with. Read up and learn to use a splitter, blade guard, push stick, stop block, etc. Wear your damn safety glasses too. Oh, and also wear a dust mask. I know, I know, youre tough and you don’t need it. Well, neither do I, except when Im working with Spanish cedar. The dust is less than enjoyable to inhale."

A Big "AMEN" there, speaking as a man with only 9.7 fingers. The missing .3 of a finger departed after I had been working wood proffessionaly for over 15 years. I have had hand surgery three times so far. Accidents happen sometimes because of lack of experience, but much more often it comes from complacency, innattention, or simply trying to go too fast.

Remember the Golden Rule:
"Don't cut your f-ing fingers off!!!"

Here's a more closeup illustration of a dovetail joint for those interested, but as was neatly pointed out in the article, to paraphrase, "If you know how to do these, then you don't need the article".

dovetail.jpg


Great article, and a great introduction for the handy types out there who might want to try there hands at this. I can see you put a lot of effort into this post.

Thanks for doing this,

Gordon in NM
 
Great info AalmeterI would love to learn wood working. As a matter of fact I've been considering signing up for some classes. What are the basic tools needed to build humidors? I want to get an idea of the cost my new hobby will bring me. Thanks.
 
MM2(SW)S said:
Thanks for putting this together. I guess I asked you to many questions :D


No...keep asking. The more you ask the more I learn....and, hopefully, everyone else learns as well.
 
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Nely said:
Great info AalmeterI would love to learn wood working. As a matter of fact I've been considering signing up for some classes. What are the basic tools needed to build humidors? I want to get an idea of the cost my new hobby will bring me. Thanks.

To build the humidors above, you will need a tablesaw, chisels, maybe a hand plane, sandpaper, clamps, and a square. And of course Gorilla glue.

As far as getting started in woodworking (specifically humidors and cabinet-type work), Id say this would be my order for purchasing. 2-4 are interchangable, since theyre all pretty necessary.


1) Tablesaw

Cant live without it. Get the best you can afford.

2) Clamps. C clamps furniture clamps are must haves, miter clamps are nice to have as well. You can never have too many clamps.

3) Chisels and handplanes. Assorted sizes for the chisels and 3 handplanes will serve your needs for the rest of your life, a stanley #3/#4, a #5, and a rabbet plane.

4) Squares. Carpenters squares, framing squares, and combination squares are all pretty inexpensive and handy to have around.

5) Router

6) Planer

7) Bandsaw

8) Jointer

I hope Im not pushing anyone down another slippery slope.
 
Gordon in NM said:
Remember the Golden Rule:
"Don't cut your f-ing fingers off!!!"


Im going to have to make a cutout sign of that warning with the bandsaw to hang in my workshop. :r
 
I'm considering building my own humi. Sounds like a fun wood working project. What type of hinges do you use (i like the concealed kind of hinges) and where do you get them from?
 
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