Humidor Wood, Effect Others?

[NordicJim]

Hey, i am building my first humidor, i want it to be simple, maybe hold 10 to 15 cigars, and i want to incorporate it into my dry bar i am building (probably of oak or maple). The bar is going to be a cabinet style, small.


My question is, if i make it of oak or maple, with a cedar (i think this is right) humidor in it, will the hunidity affect the other wood in the cabinet? (warping, bending, twisting, expanding)

this may be a question for another forum but any help is appreciated.

also, what type of wood do you recomend?
also...

seasoning?
hygrometer?
meter?
does it need to be sealed shut to keep humidity?


thanks!


Jim

 

[Dadster1960]

Fist off you need to be aware I don't know much. Second, It'd be good form to introduce yourself in the proper forum, it doesn't take long.

On to your questions;

Humidity affects everything, so I'd think you'd want to have the humidor float in the bar, so it's expanding and shrinking won't deform it or negatively affect it. Given the (minuscule) size of the humidor, I don't think it'll affect the structure more than the ring a cold beer bottle would leave on top of it.

The only wood for a humidor is Spanish cedar. As I've found out is neither Spanish nor cedar, but that's the name of it. Good old cedar is much too aromatic and will ruin your cigars.

Season it as you'd season any humidor. You can do a search and find many, many threads and topics on it, including a "how to" that addresses exactly how to do it.

You'd do well with a digital hygrometer, as opposed to the cheaper dial ones. Cigarswag.com has an outstanding deal for under $20.

I don't know what other meter you'd need, but if you elucidate I (or someone else who happens to know something) will be probably able to help out.

And, finally, yes, it needs to seal shut to keep the humidity. I'm not a woodworker, although I play one in the garage, but most humis have a lip that protrudes into the cover and fits rather snugly in order to keep the moisture in (or out, as the case may be) of the box to keep it stable. You will also need some sort of humidification device. Many here are fans of the beads, and you may want to check that out.

Being that your planned humidor is so small, perhaps you'd be better served by purchasing a cheap one and building a shelf/drawer in your bar to fit it. Just a thought.

Best of luck.

 

[Not A Nice Person]

Real Spanish Cedar is a type of mahogany and very stable. It's also pretty hard to find. Most run of the mill humidors are really only lined with Spanish Cedar veneer. Humidity won't affect much, I wouldn't think . . . after all, desktop humidor cases are made of a variety of woods, and don't come undone from it.

I'd second the recommendation to get a nice desktop humi and recess it into a well or mount it on a sliding drawer. For one thing, if something goes wonky---beetles, mold, sap, or what have you---you'd probably want to be able to remove it for cleaning and treatment.

~Boar

 

[northernmoris]

Third if you think your gonna be a member of CP with a 20 count humi your def. out of your mind. I would build a vinotemp into it. You'll build it to fit 10-15 sticks and a week later you'll regret it. Almost everyone here starts off small and jumps up real quick. I know I did.

 

[Gawl]

Third if you think your gonna be a member of CP with a 20 count humi your def. out of your mind. I would build a vinotemp into it. You'll build it to fit 10-15 sticks and a week later you'll regret it. Almost everyone here starts off small and jumps up real quick. I know I did.

No doubt! I started with a 50-75 count humi (they never hold that much, I got a box of padron 2000's in it and a few singles and that’s it) and 2 weeks after joining started looking to expand. A good 300 humi runs around $100 - $175 depending on where you look. A 28 bottle vinotemp which I opted for ran me $139.99. Add some cedar shelves and toss your current desktop humi (if you have one) and some empty cedar cigar boxes and your set. Do a search and you will see the directions for how to make them.

 

[northernmoris]

Do a search and you will see the directions for how to make them.

Heres a hint. Two members with nice setups yet very different are: MTMouse and Rectifythis.

 

[Allofus123]

The only wood for a humidor is Spanish cedar.

Absolutely false. Honduran Mohogany is a great wood for humidors as are several others.