I was planning on making my dad a humidor for Christmas 2005, but with the Santa, I just never got to it and time slipped away. I’ve spent the last couple of weeks working on it, though.
The top is a piece of slightly spalted maple I grabbed out of a scrap bin, with birch as the main other wood. There’s a thin slice of wenge framing the maple, with alder wrapping the wenge. Everything but the maple I got from a crusty cabinetmaker’s scrap bin when I went to buy some tool or other.
I lined the interior with aromatic cedar, although I learned this weekend that that was the wrong choice. It’s supposed to be Spanish cedar, which I picked up but have yet to put inside. Smells quite a bit different. Good thing I didn’t glue the aromatic stuff in place!
You can probably still see some burn marks, and I need to oil this baby yet. But I did mortise the hinges without too much trouble, which I was really paranoid about. I’ve been using hand planes a little more frequently lately, and I have to say, they’re very handy for snug-fitting things, as well as “pre-sanding” for things like the edge banding to flush it up with the box surface. Quiet, too.
Dave Says:
March 6th, 2006 at 10:14 pmVisit Dave
Gabe, you might have noticed I added a “Furniture” category for projects like this, your wine rack, etc. If you have a few minutes, would you go back and add this category to relevant posts?
Phil Says:
March 6th, 2006 at 10:43 pmVisit Phil
that’s a beautiful piece Dave. nice work. the banding and mortising look very professional. are you going to splise in cedar on the inside lip of the lid? i guess it’s not really that important (i’m just kind of too much of a perfectionist sometimes). the wenge really sets of the edge transition nicely. i like the light to dark to medium. the spalted top is a nice touch also. i’ve always appreciated your dedication and thoroughness towards the quest for knowledge (wouldn’t have thought about the difference in cedars).
Gabe Says:
March 7th, 2006 at 7:25 amVisit Gabe
Are you going to add a humidifier and hygrometer? Looks great!
Dave Says:
March 7th, 2006 at 8:20 amVisit Dave
I have a hygrometer for the top, but I haven’t found a humidifier I like just yet. I’m impressed you knew what those were - I sure didn’t before I started this project!
I think I will do the inside lip cedar as well, Phil. Apparently a tight-ish seal is a good thing to lock all the moisture in there.
Did you also know that you’re supposed to have one humidor for every kind of cigar you have? Apparently the flavors would mingle over time, regardless of contents.
nate logan Says:
December 28th, 2006 at 2:39 pmVisit nate logan
Okay, I have no idea how to even go about doing something like this. A million questions, but I guess I’ll just wait for a writeup sometime and be in utter awe until then.
Beautiful work. And thanks for sharing.
Descending Ashtray » Lacewood Jewelry Box for Sarah Says:
December 28th, 2006 at 3:44 pmVisit Descending Ashtray » Lacewood Jewelry Box for Sarah
[…] This was my second finely-crafted box, and I think I am improving. Perhaps I’ll make myself a humidor in 2007 with the leftover lacewood. […]