New humidor conversion

[Klaoutdoors]

I came across a solid oak cabinet on marketplace and looking at purchasing it for a humidor cabinet conversion. Is there anything particular that I need to look out for and also would it be feasible to just build Spanish cedar shelves and seal it good or would I need to line the whole thing? It is 18” deep by 27” wide by 55” tall. I love the stained oak look, also thought about just doing the back in the cedar and leaving the sides and bottom oak. Thank you in advance!

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[Klaoutdoors]

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[Nacho Daddy]

don't waste time and $$$ on cedar.
I would build an insert that fits inside the cabinet for structural stability, and you could put a glass/plastic door inside to make it seal .

this way you could just pull out the insert if you ever wanted to convert it back.

make your shelves close together so you will not have to re- make everything when you realize you have too many sticks......

 

[Klaoutdoors]

don't waste time and $$$ on cedar.
I would build an insert that fits inside the cabinet for structural stability, and you could put a glass/plastic door inside to make it seal .

this way you could just pull out the insert if you ever wanted to convert it back.

make your shelves close together so you will not have to re- make everything when you realize you have too many sticks......

When u say insert, are u talking about a full size box that would fit inside the cabinet and what would be good to make that box out of? I’m fairly good at woodworking, just not building humidors.


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[Jakethesnake]

Seal the inside with epoxy. I’d have to do some thinking on how to make the door airtight. It would hold humidity better sealed

 

[Boudie]

How are you planning on keeping the humidity steady? Will the temperature of the room you keep it in be good for cigars or will you need to do some refrigeration also?

It can be a bit of a job getting everything sealed up tight so you might keep the cabinet as an outer box and use either plastic or custom built inserts for humidity control. All depends on how much work u are willing to put in and how tight the original door is

 

[Klaoutdoors]

How are you planning on keeping the humidity steady? Will the temperature of the room you keep it in be good for cigars or will you need to do some refrigeration also?

It can be a bit of a job getting everything sealed up tight so you might keep the cabinet as an outer box and use either plastic or custom built inserts for humidity control. All depends on how much work u are willing to put in and how tight the original door is

The room in the house I am keeping it stays around 68 all year and I live in middle Georgia so a fairly humid area any way. I’m thinking about insulating the interior of the cabinet and probably doing 3/8 to 1/2 inch Spanish cedar, guy about an hour away sells 4/4 Spanish cedar for 8$ a board foot so not too bad if I resaw in half. As far as the door, I’m not completely sure yet, going to look at cabinet tomorrow. I can trim the inside in order to make a seal for the door and seal the glass and trim it also. I was planning on using active humidification and an extra fan for circulation and build the sc shelves for it.


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[Boudie]

Yea. If you have access to good water and an oversized humidifier you can power through some leaking issues

 

[Glass Half Full]

Great humidifiers (and very nice and helpful people): http://www.aristocrathumidors.com/electronic.htm

 

[icehog3]

Great humidifiers (and very nice and helpful people): http://www.aristocrathumidors.com/electronic.htm

Bob's been retired a few years now.

 

[Bruce T.]

I would use a rubber gasket similar to a refrigerator for the door, not foam. I would frame the inside of the opening so that the frame of the door presses well on the rubber gasket and use a good latch such as 3 magnets down the side. Make sure the door presses evenly so the gasket doesn't warp the door. Put a bit of food safe caulking around the inside joints and that's it. That's my 2 cents.

 

[Klaoutdoors]

I would use a rubber gasket similar to a refrigerator for the door, not foam. I would frame the inside of the opening so that the frame of the door presses well on the rubber gasket and use a good latch such as 3 magnets down the side. Make sure the door presses evenly so the gasket doesn't warp the door. Put a bit of food safe caulking around the inside joints and that's it. That's my 2 cents.

That’s what I was thinking, probably going to use aquarium sealant, heard good stuff about that. I was thinking about using the Spanish cedar to make the frame for the door to close against with a seal, haven’t thought about a rubber seal.


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[Bruce T.]

That’s what I was thinking, probably going to use aquarium sealant, heard good stuff about that. I was thinking about using the Spanish cedar to make the frame for the door to close against with a seal, haven’t thought about a rubber seal.

If Spanish Cedar is easily available for you then use it but I wouldn't worry about it. I keep several cedar cigar boxes in my humidor so that's all the spanish cedar I need. All wood species will hold moisture so any type of wood is good for keeping the environment stable.

 

[Klaoutdoors]

If Spanish Cedar is easily available for you then use it but I wouldn't worry about it. I keep several cedar cigar boxes in my humidor so that's all the spanish cedar I need. All wood species will hold moisture so any type of wood is good for keeping the environment stable.

Just learning. So do you think I could maybe use some shellac or something and aquarium sealant on inside of the cabinet and maybe do Spanish cedar shelves and some boxes that I would be ok. I like the oak stain on the cabinet, or could I get away with lining the back and leaving the sides?


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[Boudie]

Just curious why would you want to shellac the interior? Do you want to prevent the wood acting as a humidity sink/stabilized?

 

[Klaoutdoors]

Just curious why would you want to shellac the interior? Do you want to prevent the wood acting as a humidity sink/stabilized?

Was thinking shellac because I don’t know what is sealing the wood currently and shellac is odor free and would help seal the oak is my thinking, not sure if I would have to do anything to it. It’s an older cabinet and doesn’t have any smell as is


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[Boudie]

Seal the door and any visible cracks then see how it holds humidity. Old wood is good.

 

[Klaoutdoors]

Seal the door and any visible cracks then see how it holds humidity. Old wood is good.

Will do and see where we go, thank you


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[Boudie]

Remember when you start controlling the humidity inside the cabinet it may shrink or expand to adjust so let it run a while and do more work only if you have to. Cedar boxes are great and if you have access to cedar and a table saw you can always build some trays to store singles.

 

[Bruce T.]

I defiantly would not use shellac. You want the cabinet walls to absorb moisture and store it so it is available to give back to the air when needed. It will help stabilize the interior.
Aquarium silicone is a good choice for the joints. Don't forget to do around the glass. That is where the greatest leaks will be. If those are individual panes (I don't think they are) then each one will need to be caulked. When using caulk remember that more is not better. A small bead that is not noticeable will be the best in this situation.
Get your empty cigar boxes in there and any shelves you are going to make and then start to humidify. It may take a few weeks to get things stable. It can be frustrating but it is a beautiful cabinet so the effort will be worth it.
I would suggest kitty litter as the media since you will need a lot of it for that size.