A Humidor

[BrokenolMarine]

I recently heard from one of my former Marines, who I first met when I saw his smiling face staring up at me from the front row of my classroom in Millington, Tn as a young PFC in my Aviation Electronics class back in the mid 80s, I mentor'd this young Marine thru his career, and wrote his recommendation to Marine Security Guard School.. which he passed, guarding embassies all over the world. Off and on over the years after he left the Corps I would get a call, just to say hello, or to ask for input or advice. He had done well for himself. I got a call a few weeks ago, asking if I thought I had time to make a humidor for his den. He wanted it to be something special, not something he bought off line or from a local shop. He wanted it to be from MY workshop.

I have never made one, but agreed to try, and if it came out nice... great. If not, then he could order one, no hard feelings on my part.

So far, I have gotten to the point where I am about ready to apply some stain, then prepare to inlet the hinges and line it with spanish cedar. Cutting the slots for the hinges is a high pucker factor... One slip, and I have to start over from the beginning. So far, the Bottom is Mahogany, and the top is Mahogany and Black Walnut.

sean's humidor in progress comp.jpg (144.75 KiB) Viewed 4811 times

I want this to turn out well, and am hoping for the best. I was going to cut the slots this afternoon, but chickened out. So much work has gone into the humidor to this point... I am a bit nervous. I'll set up and cut some practice slots in scrap tomorrow, then make the passes on the humidor. After that, it should be smooth sailing.

[RanchRoper]

Nicely done, very professional.

[ChefDuane]

Ya' know. Sometimes you Marines turn out to be alright. Ooh-Ra. Semper Fi from this Coastie.

[ESquared]

Just beautiful. Please continue to post progress pics. Great storyline, as well, thanks for sharing!

[BrokenolMarine]

My son spent four years as a coastie... his maternal great grandfather spent thirty...
Frankie spent his four on a cutter, mostly running out of Little Creek. He was on the Albacore if I remember correctly. I know the cutter was named after a tuna.

During his four years they:

Patrolled NY harbor following the attacks on 9/11 providing security. During that time they stopped a yacht entering NY harbor that at first refused to stop. When it did, it was found to contain heavily armed Secret Service personnel, and said to contain a former President. Someone had dropped the ball on notifying the CG. The crew was commended by the White House for their professionalism.

Ran drug interdiction in the Caribbean, making the largest seizure in CG history to date on one of his patrols. He left the CG and is now a respiratory therapist in TX.

[PT7]

Hey, Marine. Good to see the workshop humming again and spreading the wonderful smell of sawdust. It seems like a while since you last posted a project. When was that last one we tracked with you?

Anyway, great work so far, and looking forward to the finished project. I'll bet your Marine friend will be more than happy with it.
Take care.
PT7

[BrokenolMarine]

It's been a while since I worked in the shop due to health reasons. I have to take my time on this one for the same reason. I work when I can, so that I can be assured of full focus. I don't want to go out when the pain levels are high and mess up because I am distracted.

[BrokenolMarine]

Sorry I have been so distracted lately, visits to the doc for both Miss Tina and I, and other things going on. I finished the Humidor, finally. It took a while, especially fitting the Spanish Cedar. It cost me nearly $80 to ship it insured and have them pack it... but my guy told me that they could have shipped a bucket of eggs and they would have arrived undamaged the way the UPS store packed this thing. Since I insured it for $500 and told them it was a one of a kind... they didn't want to replace it.

The lady behind the counter said, "To make that claim, you'd have to be able to document it." I told her that I had step by step build pics and it was Black Walnut, and Mahogany, and took nearly two months... "No Problem then, sounds like you are covered."

Anyway, here are a couple pics.

The outside of the box was finished in a Mahogany Stain, then waxed and buffed three times for a nice sheen, but not glossy. If it dulls, My guy can rewax and buff. Right back to that soft glow.

done 1.jpg (155.11 KiB) Viewed 4702 times

He really liked the walnut insert in the top and the contrasting pins of the finger jointed sides.

The interior is all Spanish Cedar and there is a 1/16 inch lip that hangs down and locks into the lower portion to seal the interior. The Spanish Cedar gives off a vapor, (supposedly) that kills any little bugs that might be introduced by a bad cigar. It also kills any larvae. If the vapors fade, my guy can pull the four side panels, lightly sand the sides of the panels and then reinsert them. They are only press fitted.

done 2.jpg (194.34 KiB) Viewed 4702 times

He was so excited when I told him it was on the way, and then his wife texted him and told him she had signed for it. HE was tied up in meetings all day and couldn't cut out early. (Attorney in Tampa, Partner in the firm) Would have looked bad if HE ducked out cause he had a package waiting.

[BrokenolMarine]

Those hinges gave me fits. Took me three days to cut the mortises and then get them adjusted just right. I didn't glue the screws as I normally would with any box hinges as they are the way you'd adjust the lid to lay flat across the top. With the box needing to maintain 70% humidity with the cigars, there may be changes in the fit. He can adjust the angle of the lid by minutely adjusting the hinge screws.

[The Wiz]

Dang, your good !!!!!