building a new humidor, questions

[Rppadovano]

So I have recently started planning to build myself a 200-250 count humidor. I really enjoy wood working, and it should be a little cheaper than buying a new one. So, it feels like a good project.

- First problem is how expensive Spanish Cedar is. Granted, I could buy a veneer and just line the inside of the humidor, but I would prefer not to. So I have looked into other woods, and the next best thing I found was Honduran Mahogany (similar traits, without the added smells of cedro). Also very expensive. I looked into what Davidoff uses for the humidors they build, and they seem to use Gabon/Okoume. They say it is odorless and does some nice things with humidity (not as good as SC, but still good). As much as I love the smell of SC when I open my humidors, I am very interested in the idea of smoking cigars that have been allowed to keep their original, intended flavors. I have found stuff that I can use to build a nice humidor in my price range if I use Okoume.

So my question there is: has anyone seen/used a humidor made from Okoume? Any positive or negative reviews?

- Second problem is that I want to put trays into the humidor. It is about the same price (or more expensive) to build trays than it is to just buy them. However, no one seems to carry or sell Okoume trays. I have found some decent Spanish Cedar trays for a good price, but I wanted to see if they are ok to use. I feel like it can't truly hurt, they still might add some nice smells to the humidor and do a little humidity regulation. It sort of goes against what I said above, but at the end of the day, I just want a nice product and don't want to mess it up

So my question here is: If I do make the interior of the humidor out of Okoume, is it still ok to use Spanish Cedar trays?

-Final question: I would need to use glue to keep a lot of the wood pieces together and arranged properly. Assuming I keep all glue outside of the inner box, is there a glue that is better or worse to use for my humidor? I don't mean to ask what your favorite wood glue is, I just want to make sure I don't use a glue that could potentially harm my cigars. Again, I will keep all glue away from the inside of the inner box, so there would be no true means of contamination of the cigars, but I wanted to double check.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Shooting4life]

Spend the money in Spanish cedar. In the end it won’t add that much to the total cost. Tight bond III I believe is food safe and odorless. Making your own humidor is basically making a box in a box. Make sure to do your work while the wood is at an RH level similar to what it will be kept at otherwise your joints will pop.

Here is a humidor a friend of mine made me. All solid wood sans the maple veneer on top.

 

[Rppadovano]

problem is... Spanish Cedar is super hard to come by. Maybe it's the time of year or my location, but the only piece I can find is about 3-4 times larger than I need. So therefore, the cost is astronomical for the project overall. If I could get the proper sized pieces, then sure it would be a slam dunk. For the piece they'd sell me, it would be almost $300, of which I would need something like $75 worth of. Now, the Okoume will also cost me about the same ($75-80), but it comes in the size I need.

So per square foot, it's a no brainer. But for the overall price, it is very hard to spend so much money (knowing I also have to spend a decent amount on other items as well), considering I can buy a pretty good humidor of similar size for about $225. It's hard to basically "waste" the extra $225 on wood I wouldn't need.

 

[Nacho Daddy]

If you build it to hold 500 you will wish you had made it bigger.

 

[Shooting4life]

problem is... Spanish Cedar is super hard to come by. Maybe it's the time of year or my location, but the only piece I can find is about 3-4 times larger than I need. So therefore, the cost is astronomical for the project overall. If I could get the proper sized pieces, then sure it would be a slam dunk. For the piece they'd sell me, it would be almost $300, of which I would need something like $75 worth of. Now, the Okoume will also cost me about the same ($75-80), but it comes in the size I need.

So per square foot, it's a no brainer. But for the overall price, it is very hard to spend so much money (knowing I also have to spend a decent amount on other items as well), considering I can buy a pretty good humidor of similar size for about $225. It's hard to basically "waste" the extra $225 on wood I wouldn't need.

Buy what you need online and have it shipped to you.

 

[Shooting4life]

If you build it to hold 500 you will wish you had made it bigger.

Amen, I wish mine was bigger but even at the size it currently is it is annoying to move.

 

[PetersCreek]

Buy what you need online and have it shipped to you.

My suggestion as well. Bell Forest Products is one option. You can buy lumber by the board foot or hand-pick individual boards from photos.

 

[Bruce T.]

I do a lot of woodworking. Here's my 2 cent opinion.
Unless the smell of Spanish Ceder is important to you, don't bother. All woods will absorb moisture and give it back, which helps regulate the environment inside. Okoume is a good choice because it doesn't smell.
Mixing wood types won't bother the cigars. You just have to be careful about gluing different types because they expand and contract at different rates and this can cause splitting.
Make sure your wood sits in a 60 - 70% RH environment for a couple of weeks before building so that it will remain dimensionaly stable after construction. If you are using a wood moisture meter to check the wood then look for a reading of around 10 -12%.
Leaks are the biggest problem with wood humidors. Do your best to get a tight fitting lid.
Most wood glues are fine to use. Don't worry about bothering the cigars. Just avoid using silicone to seal seams because most types of silicone outgas for a really long time.
I suggest building your own shelves. It's not difficult and will save you a bunch of money.
BTW, Spanish Ceder is almost impossible to get around here (Ottawa, Ontario). I can get lots of exotic woods but SC is not one of them. When I do find it it is crazy expensive for some reason.
Good luck and have fun.