China Hutch Humidor Conversion with Pics!

[Goble]

Step by step guide with pictures, as I take a Vintage Basset China Cabinet and convert it into a Humidor for my cigar collection. Plans are to seal and line inside of cabinet with impervious insulation for help in maintaining temperature and sealing followed by 1/2" tongue & groove Spanish Cedar lumber. Shelving will also be made out of Spanish Cedar. A Habitat Monitor will be added to automatically control and maintain humidity at a constant 70% with two humidifiers. One in the top of the cabinet and one in the bottom, as well, as maintaining the inside cabinet temperature at a constant 70 degrees via a Thermoelectric cooling unit and a heating rod installed within' the cabinet. The Habitat Monitor also includes an alarm for low water, low/high humidity and temperature + or -2 the set range. It will also be hooked directly to my Home Security System for theft and fire protection. Last thing that will be installed will be LED lighting throughout the interior of the cabinet. Gonna' be a long Summer project, so keep checking back often for new phases to be completed!

#1 Began with a Vintage Basset China Cabinet I picked up at the local Peddlers Mall.

#2 Back off getting ready to remove factory shelves.

#3 Rear view of factory shelves to be removed.

#4 Shelves removed.

#5 Inside front being sanded, as it will receive four coats of Polly to seal the wood. This will be the only interior wall that will not be sealed with insulation and Spanish Cedar.

#6 Using GE II 100% Silicone to seal all the cracks and seams. Very low VOC 28g/L, with very low odor and zero smell after cured.

#7 Inside Polly'd with corners and glass sealed with Silicone.

#8 All cracks and corners sealed with silicone.

#9 Tongue & Groove Spanish Cedar Boards in today! 1/2"x4"x96" There was just barley enough wood here to complete the lining of the cabinet with nothing but scrapes left over!

#10 Ready to start insulating the cabinet. Using Reflectix roll insulation. Has a great R rating and is impervious to water and moisture for a excellent seal. All seams sealed with aluminum Duct Work Tape. All edges of tape then sealed with a thin coat of silicone to insure a airtight seal.

#11 One continuous run around the inner walls of the cabinet with only one seam.

#12 Folding the excess insulation inward.

#13 Back of cabinet put back in place.

#14 Insulation placed in strips on back of cabinet.

#15 Insulation job inside cabinet done and completely sealed from the original wood of the cabinet. All tape seams then sealed with silicone to ensure no leaks.

#16 Opted for Phillippine Mahogany for the top. More than adequate and can only be seen by persons 5' or less, as I am 6"6" LOL!

#17 First cedar board in. The first run around the front was the hardest, due to having to cut out and notch for the door and windows up the sides.

#18 Complete bottom laid in. Getting excited now!

#19 Boards were already sanded on one side, so I just sanded a little to knock the dirt off and release the aroma of the Spanish Cedar.

#20 Cabinet fully lined with Spanish Cedar. Also notice the seal strips at the top and bottom of the door. They still need a little finishing work, but are going to seal the door great!

#21 Trim work added around the top of the cabinet. You can also see the top door seal a little better in this pic.

#23 Looking good! next will be to start on shelves. Pictured is a shelf from my other humidor. They are to long to fit two together, so I will have to shorten them. I have enough to make four complete shelves and then I will have to make two or three from scratch. Which means more Spanish Cedar is needed!

#24 Making brackets to mount the shelves on. Cut two pieces of 1/8" Phillippine Mahogany and glued them together for strength, I then cut out their shape.

#25 Mount for the rear of the brackets made out of Spanish Cedar. Much smaller Stainless Steal Screws will be flush mounted inside the groove and screwed into the back wall of the Humidor.

#26 Shelf will then be glued into the bracket and a couple Brad Nails from the nail gun shot into each side.

#27 First row of shelves in with at least five to six more to go.

#28 Shelves will be staggered with the short tray being alternated from one side to the other on each successive row to maintain uniformity.

#29 Final sand and prep of the inside before installing the side mount rails for the trays.

#30 Glued in the side mounts with Tite Bond Wood Glue and then two Brad Nails in each one.

#31 Bottom two shelves in with all the side rail mounts installed on both sides. As can be seen by the lines on the rear of the cabinet there will be 6 full shelves. The seventh shelf will be split in the middle to allow for the Thermoelectric Cooling Unit to be installed in the top center @ 7" wide.

#32 Three inch space in between shelves.

#33 Installing the tray mounts on the back wall. One stainless steel screw on the top and a Brad Nail in the bottom.

#34 A little Tite Bond Wood Glue in the joint and a couple Brad Nails in each side.

#35 A little better look at all the side brackets.

#36 Four trays in with three more to go. The next three I will have to build from scratch by ripping a 6"x48"x3/4" board, which means nothing more I can do till the next wood order comes in. I think the 3" spacing is more than enough.

[fingerburner]

Bravo!! That is one fine looking piece of work. Can't wait to see it chock full of cigars.

[Jeremy Festa]

Top work!

From my mobile phone

[Hypersomniac]

That looks awesome. Great work!

[Carts]

Looks awesome! great work, well worth it

[Dmatzkin]

Nicely done!!!!! Looks amazing!!!!

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[oliverdst]

Any word I could say in English or Portuguese couldn't express my feelings.

Congratulations.

[potpest]

Amazing, such a quality finished product. I hope i get round to tackling a project like this sometime soon, although something tells me it won't look that professional. How many hours did it take?

[Goble]

Thanks everyone! I still have a ways to go on it. I am waiting on the wood to come in to build three more shelves from scratch, as well, as finish the seal on the door. I also still have to install the LCD lighting along with the Thermoelectric Cooler and heater. With that being said, expect a few more pics before completion!

[Stanislaw]

This is one entertaining post!! I love this kind of thing and if I can ever get away from city living and have a space to do this sort of thing.... Well, okay, most likely the fifth or sixth picture would include me slicing open my hand and then being driven to hospital....

Brilliant work, thanks for sharing!

[cottierm]

Brilliant! Congratulations.

Michel

[ayepatz]

Very nicely done. Top work!

[finecigar]

Incredible work there. Well done mate!

[PapaDisco]

Most awesome! (Love the woodshop too! Very well equipped!)

Can't a TE unit be made to run both ways? (For cooling and for heat?)

[stargazer14]

Lovin' it! Nice job and thanks for taking the time to share the work with us.

[Bartolomeo]

Thats impressive and thanks for sharing all of the details, very cool!

[Goble]

(#37) Last 8"x3/4"x48" piece of Spanish Cedar in today to finish building the last three shelves.

(#38) Ripped into four separate 2x3/4x48" strips.

(#39) Then ripped into 12 - 2x1/4x48" strips. These will form the outside rims of the trays.

(#40) I guess it was bound to happen! I used a Push Stick on every cut I made except the last 3" of the last cut on the last board and BAM! Yep, the Table Saw strikes again. Due to cutting such thin strips, as you can see the blade sucked the wood strip down through the table and....! Just happy, as it could have been so much worse!!!

(#41) All fixed up and on to Planning LOL!

(#42) All strips planned and smooth, Will start the actual building and constructing of the shelves Monday!

[Goble]

Most awesome! (Love the woodshop too! Very well equipped!)

Can't a TE unit be made to run both ways? (For cooling and for heat?)

I think so, by reversing the polarity. The Habitat Monitor, however will run the TE and a heating rod independently, thus no need for rewiring, just set and forget!

[Pedro2486]

I think so, by reversing the polarity. The Habitat Monitor, however will run the TE and a heating rod independently, thus no need for rewiring, just set and forget!

Yep that's how a peltier works

[CUBANO]

Wow! This is a great project, I wish I had the skills to do a humidor like that.

[PapaDisco]

Ouch! But a little blood is a small thing to shed in the pursuit of finely aged stogies!

Looking forward to seeing how you set up your Habitat and heating/cooling (I'm in the planning stages on a similar humidor project).

[stanleyns]

Wow!

This is an amazing piece of work mate.

Cant wait to see it finished and filled up!

[Pedro2486]

Fantastic work bro, well done. I wish I had the fine wood working skill you demonstrate. It will look fabulous once it's filled.

What colour LEDs are you using for lighting?

[Stogieninja]

Goodness gracious. That's a thing of beauty.

[Goble]

Pedro, I'm using Cool White LEDs.