Posted by Hello and welcome to my Blog. In this series I am building a walnut and gaboon ebony humidor. This post will detail the build from sawing off the top to creating the base panel and beginning to install the Spanish cedar liners.
To begin creating the liners I start by selecting the material I will use, carefully laying out my lines and cutting the stock to size. This requires espresso, of course!
Next I put the Ryoba to work! Every tool in the shop is treated like a new apprentice, it earns its keep or it finds new housing.
Most of what I will need is now cut to size.
Next I tune the edges to prepare for gluing.
Afterward, I glue the panels, amazing what tape can do. These wide and thin panels are easier to tape for a good glue line than they are to clamp.
Next I can begin planing the panels to remove their cup, wind and bring them to thickness. For the amount of stability claimed from Spanish cedar, I’ve had the exact opposite experience, it may not move much seasonally but it certainly twists while seasoning. It doesn’t surprise me that top humidor makers are aging their stock over 10 years. My stock is fairly old, having been seasoning for 6-7 years now.
Most liners that I have seen are sanded, however, I will not be sanding mine. Instead I will plane them to a finish and benefit from a more durable interior finish that will not bleed into the cigars.
Taking a brief moment away from that I have sanded and sealed the top of the case. It will offer some, but minimal protection to the veneer while I’m working on the box. I have also sealed the bottom of the box in preparation for the base panel.
The walnut panel promises to look quite nice under a french polish.
Next I begin sawing the top at the corners.
And continue to the center, the ryoba saw is a thing of beauty.
The top came off without issue and next I begin planing down the ledges.
I had one ugly corner, where I believe I undercut my line.
Looks nasty, but before I complete the planing operation I fill the gap with shavings made with a rasp. I use a rasp so that I’m not mixing silicone carbide in with the wood.
All fixed up.
If you’ll notice, I’ve clamped a piece onto the edge to prevent tearout along the outside of the ledge. I want sharp corners and getting them is a risky operation.
Next I’m test fitting the top. The ideal humidor has a tight seal around the lid, and getting that tight seal means that the lid seats nicely. I have a small teeter-totter here and so I plane the offending corners.
Now everything is sitting nicely.
In preparation for cutting the inset hinges I have chamfered the back edge on both the top and bottom.
Not sure if I will use stop hinges or quadrant hinges yet, but either will work.
Last bit of work to do on the exterior case, aside from cutting hinges is to create and install the bottom panel. I’ve started by applying leather to the panel.
I then wrap the leather around to the back of the panel and glue the edges down. Relief cuts are made at the corners so that they can lay flat. I’ve also chamfered the plywood to help things along. Finally I’m ready to install the panel. It fits so tightly that I use my marking knife as a guide to ensure that the edges do not come up while the panel is being inserted.
And we’re all set. The lines on that leather are natural wrinkles which remain in the hide. I use off cuts of the hide for this type of work that will be mostly hidden. A good bit of effort for a subtle luxury, but often subtle luxuries require quite a bit of effort. The panel stands barely proud of the gaboon ebony trim, so it will appear to float on the surface it ends up on….bit just slightly.
Enough rambling….back to the workhorse of this box. The base panel has a nice sheen thanks to the work of Yokohama Kunio.
Its installed into the box and has an air gap of about 1/16″ around the front and back edges to allow for expansion.
Next I begin work on the mitered liners, starting by marking their width.
Cutting, planing, then mitering them.
Finally installing the first one into the box.
Then two more. These are fitted but the side panels are tapered so that they can be removed again without destroying them.
Finally the last side is fitted but left loose, so that they can all be removed in order to cut for hinges. Once that last liner is seated they will be practically impossible to remove.
I took some close ups of the chamfer work.
Next I cutout the upper panel to make room for the hygrometer.
The hygrometer is tapered slightly and held in with a press fit. I worked toward the fit with a rasp.
The hygrometer has yet to be calibrated, the room is not at 65%. I finished up the top in the same fashion as the bottom, however utilizing only inside chamfers because the top liners are recessed.
In the next post I will detail building of a tray, installing the hinges and any remaining details required to wrap up the humidor interior.
Thank you for visiting!
Excellent work as usual Brian. I’ve been wondering what kind of glue you use when veneering the top? Also is that a replaceable blade Mitsukawa Ryoba? I’ve been eyeing one of those from Mandaraya. If that’s indeed the saw sounds like it’s working out well for you.
Thank you Jon! I use Better Bond glue for veneering. I’ve used Ultra Cat as well, with good success but I don’t veneer often enough to actually consume the smallest quantity of glue and so I found myself throwing it out too often. Better bond keeps for much longer.
That is the replaceable blade Shirogane from Mitsukawa, I’ve been very happy with them and acquired through Mandaraya.
Like what you are doing Brian , great work.
If you don’t mind me asking , why are you using western style planes ?
Is it because you already had them or do you prefer them above japanese style planes {kanna} ?
Hi Juryann,
Thank you! My preference is for wooden planes, both western and Japanese, I do also enjoy the #4 LN in bronze. I have a LN jointer which I use as a shooting plane, and a LN jack which I use a rough shooting plane, for when I need to take a lot of material from an edge quickly. I have two smoothers, one Japanese Kanna and one LN #4, which are set at different bedding angles, the Kanna is set at about 38 degrees and the #4 at 45 degrees. 38 degrees helps to make a very smooth surface of softer hardwoods and softwoods, while the #4 is more for my typical use, being quite a handy plane.
My western woodies, a Jack and Try plane were made for me by David Weaver, and they do a wonderful job of roughing and truing boards. Kanna can be setup similarly, but this is my preference for my work style.
You’ll see more and more kanna and western woodies showing up over time, especially those made for specific types of joinery.
Great project and excellent blog!
Thank you Ben!
Terrific work Brian, both in design and execution, quite the inspiration for me.
A few questions for you: Carpet? Do you sweep everything up with the Festool I see in the corner of some shots?
Can you write a word or two about your shooting board? It seems to have a return on the back that you use when sawing. Also, how tall is the edge mitering attachment? Do you find it sufficiently tall?
Your workbench looks like couple layers of chopping block with a dog block row attached to the front, true? Is that working well for you? I ask because I am not set up to do the large scale stock preparation required for a traditional top and am searching out other options.
Thank you for taking the time to share your work methods and projects, very educational for me.
Hi Joe, thank you for your comments and questions!
When I took over part of the basement to turn into a workshop, one of the requirements was that I had to wear out the carpet before replacing it with wood….unfortunately it wears like steel.
The shooting board does have a return, both for sawing and for planing, and sometimes for chiseling as well, basically anytime I need work backed up. The miter setup was makeshift specifically for this assembly, but I have designs on a quality donkey ear attachement.
When I built my workbench I was in the same situation as you are, building how I did which it is industrial workbench top with a dog row and vises. I had some issues with movement and ultimately had to make some significant battens for the underside of it. All told I think it was much more work than a proper lamination.
I will rebuild the bench In a few years and that industrial workbench section will be replaced. At which point I will also make the bench significantly narrower.
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