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Would this make a decent Humidor?

Highlander

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So we are moving furniture around. For years this was the wifes "china cabinet". It's actually part of a 3 piece wall unit we bought early on when we were in a small house. It was going to the salvation army but I grabbed it and out it in my office t store my cigar stuff in.
It is solid cherry and 30 years old. I'm thinking the top half might make a good humi if I could get a good seal on the doors.

Thoughts?
 

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mdwest

mdwest

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javelin377 said:
I think @mdwest has made one from a similar cabinet.
Click to expand...
I did..

Took less than $200 to completely line it it Spanish Cedar, seal it up tight as a drum, and add trays.. I got my cabinet off of Craigslist for $100... so all in I've got less than $300 invested.. probably 5 or 6 hours invested.. and have a really nice cabinet (I think its nice at least)...

Ill post up some pics tomorrow..

If you need any suggestions or advice, let me know... it really wasnt all that hard to do... and was rewarding in the end...
 
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mdwest

mdwest

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Highlander said:
200 dollars in cedar Ha! I'd have to spend 3 grand in tools lol.
I have a skill saw and a drill.
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Not $200 in wood...

$200 all in...

For $200 I got 10x trays, enough 1/16" x 6" x 6' SC to line the cabinet, and all the sealing materials I needed.. After that it was just a few hours of work.. And voila! A new cabinet was born..

The only tools I used were a measuring tape, a circular saw, a little sand paper, some wood glue, a hammer, and some finishing nails... (I am no craftsman)..
 
Cigary43

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What has 2 thumbs and loves a humidor project? This guy. Sealing is the biggest obstacle and these days one doesn't buy tools. ..they rent them. Cedar and trays...cut to size and that humidor project is a huge win.
 
mdwest

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a couple of pics of the cabinet conversion project (already converted.. sorry.. I didnt grab any pics of the process while it was taking place..)....



Foam weather stripping around the doors (Home Depot.. less than $10 for 25')...



rubber window seal around all the glass (Home Depot.. less than $10 for 25')



Spanish Cedar.. you can buy veneer super cheap (about $25) if you want to go that route.. or special order 1/16 or 1/8" planks from Woodcraft (Ive got one of their stores local.. but you can order online as well).. for about $100 for all you need to line your cabinet..



Standard trays you can buy off of ebay for $10.99... I've got a wholesale account at Quality Importers and can get them a bit cheaper... Im guessing with your connection to the cigar industry you can get trays like these on the cheap as well...




Took me all of about 5 or 6 hours from start to finish... (I also "flex sealed" the back of the cabinet.. no pictures of that.. I dont want to pull the cabinet away from the wall right now.. that cost about $8 for the can of sealant...)...about $100 in wood, $20 for sealing materials, and I think I spent about $80 on trays.. so roughly $200... and I paid $100 for the cabinet on Craigslist.. so $300 total investment to achieve:



Finished product...


I use the left side of the bottom (unsealed) for storing travel humis, accessories, etc.. and the middle and right side compartments act as my pipe cellar..

and there is still tons of space left if needed...

I keep about 4lbs of KL in there (hidden under the trays), and probably a dozen bovedas.. as well as an Oasis XL active unit... keeps a rock solid 65 RH for about 3 months at a time.. (extremely low maintenance)..

Best $300 I ever spent on my cigar hobby/habit...

Next project is going to be a DIY thermoelectric unit and make it climate controlled.. I think I can do that for about $65 all in... Its not really necessary... my house pretty much stays 68 all winter and never gets above 72 in the summer (it stays about 70 ten months out of the year...)... but.. if I could keep it a rock steady 65 degrees in there.. and a constant 65 RH.. I'd be even happier than I already am... and I'll still have less than $375 invested all in (not too bad for a cabinet that will hold a couple of thousand sticks)...
 
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apaniagua

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mdwest said:
Next project is going to be a DIY thermoelectric unit and make it climate controlled.. I think I can do that for about $65 all in... Its not really necessary... my house pretty much stays 68 all winter and never gets above 72 in the summer (it stays about 70 ten months out of the year...)... but.. if I could keep it a rock steady 65 degrees in there.. and a constant 65 RH.. I'd be even happier than I already am...
Click to expand...
How are you planning to do that by only spending $65?
 
mdwest

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You can build a pretty substantial Peltier / Thermoelectric cooling unit for about $50.. it takes a couple of fans, a couple of heat sinks, a cooling module, and some wiring.. and thats it...

Another $15 buys you a temperature control unit off of ebay...

The rest is just figuring out how to mount it without it looking like a bag of ass (Im thinking I can hide it behind the facia on the top of my cabinet and you'll never see it)... and getting it sealed up where it is installed so that you dont ruin the cabinets ability to hold RH..


If/When I undertake the project Ill take lots of pics and post..
 
apaniagua

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Oh I got it now, you mean making the humidor climate controlled...got it. I thought you could get a wineador for that price! (I wish to have one so I was hoping to find it in that price haha)
 
Cigary43

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Thx for this thread...I keep seeing all sorts of china cabinets and other furniture that would make for a great humidor and while I was at Costco I saw a beautiful piece of furniture with roll out drawers and such and could possibly keep about 3000 or more cigars in it. Simple things like you suggested would be simple and for the price of humidors that tend to hold about 400 cigars were more than the cabinet I was eyeballing. I keep my house at 72 degrees year round so temps wouldn't be a problem...just ensuring that everything gets sealed properly would be the only challenge but that seems to be an easy thing to do,,,,just time consuming but look what you have when done. I like the idea of keeping a few drawers for pipes and tobacco which would be nice storage as well...but I'd show off the pipes since I spent so much on them.
 
mdwest

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should have mentioned that this is the second time I have done a cabinet conversion..

the first one started life as a gun/rifle cabinet.. it was about half the size of the one in the above pics.. roughly the same size as the "tower of power" that a lot of guys have.. I picked it up for $50 at an estate sale.. spent another $150 on it (bought custom fitted trays for that one).. and had a 1000 stick cabinet for $200 all in.. I loved that cabinet (probably more than this one).. I just outgrew it..

Now Im thinking about upgrading again (more because I enjoy the process than I need the space... I actually have fun doing the conversions..)...
 
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