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The M*A*S*H Trunk Humidor - Will It Work?

JayBay

JayBay

WTB Bratalias
When I was a kid, I found this trunk in our basement storage room...and dubbed it the M*A*S*H trunk. My parents ended up giving it to me about 10 years ago, and I've just used it to store crap I don't use very often...Christmas tree ornaments mostly. My wife and I separated about a year ago, and new living arrangements forced me to stash a bunch of my stuff in a mini-storage place - this trunk was part of that stuff.

Recently, I've been contemplating building out a coolidor. A few months ago I started kicking around the idea of using this trunk for a mass storage humidor, and I pulled it out of the storage unit today. I'm curious what you guys think. The inside wood is sealed with some sort of shiny lacquer (I guess), but as the date stamp indicates - it was made in 1943, so there's no odor remaining from the finish. It was designed to transport medical supplies, and the thing is built to be sealed tight. It has shelf tracks already built in, so I can have Spanish Cedar drawers and shelves made to slide right in. I don't see any reason why this wouldn't work - what do you all think?

Here's the outside. It's got that battered, shabby look from 65 years of use.

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Here's the date stamp on the inside.

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This is the marking on the inside of the door.

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Here's a shot of the inside, showing the shelf tracks. The dark line where the panels join is some kind of seal...unknown substance.

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Finally - this is a corner, showing the existing door seal.

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I'm thinking this would be a damned cool humi....anybody with me?
 
I am with you!! It is indeed a very cool idea. May have to do a bit of work, but it would be worth it IMHO.

Jim
 
As long there is not an offensive smell in it and it seals well, you can make a humidor out of anything. All a humidor is, is a controlled environment.

If the seal isn't working you can always apply some weather stripping around the edge.

With some Spanish cedar shelves in there, I think that would make a great humidor and conversation piece.

Add 4 old grenades or mortar shells for legs.
 
Mtmouse said:
As long there is not an offensive smell in it and it seals well, you can make a humidor out of anything. All a humidor is, is a controlled environment.

If the seal isn't working you can always apply some weather stripping around the edge.

With some Spanish cedar shelves in there, I think that would make a great humidor and conversation piece.

Add 4 old grenades or mortar shells for legs.
Click to expand...

I like the way you think!


Awesome Idea JayBay! I think the first thing to do is check and see how it holds humidity, if it holds well than you're more or less set, if it doesn't then you just need to add maybe some weather stripping. Should be a pretty incredible humidor all finished.
 
That would be awesome, and +1 for the grenade/mortar shell legs. Keep us updated with more pics as you go!
 
I'm with you on this one Jay! You can turn many different containers into a humidor, just make sure it hold humidity and no smell. You may want to add an interior veneer of cedar along with those cedar trays/shelves. Get a lock on it as well. A tray of beads will probably do the job for humidity. Mortar shell legs are the way to go! Very cool, keep us updated.
 
I thought about a Spanish cedar lining, but I'm going to try to avoid doing anything to it that would lessen its value from an antiquity perspective. I'm thinking one Spanish cedar drawer in the top slot for singles and two Spanish cedar shelves in the remaining slots will give it plenty of cedar aroma. I might even dry fit a piece on the bottom.

Step one is going to be a good cleaning. It has that kinda old musty antique smell inside right now. So I'm gonna bust out the shop vac and get all the dust and bits of junk out of it. Then I'm thinking a wipedown with a soapy solution with just a touch of bleach...and then a good air dry outside in the sun.
 
Wow. That sounds really cool. Great thinking. Good luck with the build.
 
There's been a lot people to do these type of conversations. I found an old ammo box humidor on ebay awhile back. While it's too small now, it's still neat to have.

humi1.jpg
 
Very cool, I thought about doing that to an old trunk I had. The plan was to line the inside with a vapor barrier (plastic) and put spanish cedar over it. I understand what you are saying about the integrity of the piece though. The cedar from a shelf or two and the boxes will probably be enough. Get some beads and fire her up!
 
Sweet! The project aspect alone has to be exciting! Keep us posted on progress. The strap on top is a nice touch- makes it just mobile enough to travel with to a herf.
 
I do some WWII reenacting with my son from time to time - very cool idea and re-use of something from the military.

John
 
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