Building your own Spanish cedar lined humidor can be a rewarding project for either the cigar enthusiast or the woodworking enthusiast. The list of materials isn’t too long or too expensive and everything can be conveniently purchased online. Building your own humidor is not just a great way to preserve and store your cigars. It can serve as a showpiece in your home, a beautiful objet d’art that will enhance any room. Like all do-it-yourself projects, the real joy is being able to select the components to fit your individual needs and style, as well as the pride from knowing you put them together yourself.

 

Building Plan

If you’re an occasional cigar smoker who likes to have cigars on hand or if you regularly buy more expensive, imported cigars, then having a humidor is a must. The tobacco leaves in cigars start to lose their texture, burning consistency and most importantly flavor if they’re not kept in a warm, moist environment. Preferably around 70% humidity and 60-70 degrees Fahrenheit. Overly moist cigars are undesirable as well as they can develop an acidic taste and even start to mold over time. Aficionados claim that once the airtight seal on a box of cigars is broken, whether you purchased them online or from a local tobacconist, the quality of the smoke can start to decline within hours.

When deciding on the overall dimensions of your humidor you should take into consideration the size and number of cigars you’ll be storing. The humidor pictured above is 18”x9”x6” with a divider 10” from the right side. This will allow me to store about 50 cigars of various sizes. Cigars six inches or less(coronas, robustos etc.) will fit nicely in either direction on the left side of the divider, while the longer cigars(churchills, double coronas etc.) will lay horizontally on the right side.

Building the Humidor

A variety of hardwoods can be used for the humidor exterior. Woods such as cherry, walnut and maple are common choices because of their natural beauty, but more exotic woods are routinely used as well. As always, choose whatever fits your own unique style and price range. I chose a 12’ x 1" x 10" piece of S4S black walnut for this project, based on what I envisioned it would look like displayed in my den once completed.

First, the board was cut into the desired lengths to make all the sides of the humidor exterior. The top(lid) was cut to 9” x 18” while the bottom was cut to 7 ½” x 16 ½”. The bottom was cut smaller so the other four sides would cover the bottom’s edges and make sure no end grain would be visible. The top edges were also shaped with a 3/8” round over bit to give it more of a finished appearance.

The front and back were cut to 5 ¼” x 18” while the sides were cut to 5 ¼” x 9”. The ends of the front, back and sides were mitered to 45 degree angles to form the corners of the humidor and again make sure no end grain would show. Next, four ¾” x ¾” pieces of blocking were cut to make a stop on the underside of the humidor lid to make more of an airtight seal when it's closed.

The humidor exterior was assembled with wood glue and 1 inch 18 gauge pneumatic nails. Use wood clamps to hold the pieces tightly together and let the glue dry for at least an hour before removing the clamps and nailing. It’s important to use high quality glue, especially on the corners, to make sure the wood doesn’t warp and break apart due to the high humidity inside your humidor.

Sanding and Finishing

The interior and exterior should be well sanded to ensure an even coating of the polyurethane or stain. For this project two coats of polyurethane were applied to the interior and five coats to the exterior. Sanding with steel wool in between coats on the exterior was done to give it a smooth, polished look and feel.

An oil based clear gloss polyurethane was used to not only give the humidor a shiny and elegant look but also to protect the wood from water damage. Humidity in the 70% range would wreak havoc on unprotected wood. That’s why the inside of the humidor should be given a couple coats of lacquer even though it will be covered up in the next step. It’s definitely worth the extra effort to protect your humidor!

Spanish Cedar Lining

Humidors are typically lined with Spanish cedar for a couple reasons. It's a very aromatic wood which enhances the flavor of cigars and helps the tobacco blends mellow as they age. It's also a great absorber and releaser of moisture which makes it a natural humidity regulator inside a humidor.

A Spanish cedar liner can be as thin as veneer or as thick as 3/8”. Spanish cedar veneer was selected for this project even though some humidor designers suggest a liner no thinner than ¼” be used. Whatever thickness you choose, installation involves just basically cutting the pieces to size and gluing them in, making sure to cover all the inner areas. The Spanish cedar must be left unfinished in order for it to do it's job.

Premium grade Spanish Cedar Premium Grade Spanish Cedar
All of our hardwood and softwood species are premium grade stock. NOTE:The lumber on this page is offered in random widths from 3'' to 6'' and is priced in units of square feet (SF). To order, check..

Important Note: Be very careful when working with this wood. The dust is toxic and irritating to the respiratory tract and lungs when inhaled. Wear a respirator and work in a well ventilated area while doing any cutting or sanding!

 

Adding the Hardware

The only necessary hardware is the hygrometer, the humidifier and some brass knobs and hinges for the lid. Most humidifiers come with a magnet that can be glued inside the top, allowing you to attach and remove the humidifier and refill it as necessary. Hygrometers can also be installed this way as long as the sensors are on the sides of the device. Another option is using a digital hygrometer which can be placed anywhere inside the humidor requiring no installation at all. I like both the look and the functionality of the analog front mounted hygrometer. It looks great while also allowing you to monitor the humidity in your humidor without having to open it. Make sure the humidity sensors are on the back of the hygrometer you purchase if you decide on this type of design. For this humidor I just center drilled the hole and then glued the hygrometer in place. I also attached brass knobs on the front of the lid for easier opening and as a decorative effect. Finally, the hinges were attached to the back of the humidor and the project was completed.

 

If you have any questions about your own humidor project or if you would like to have a custom humidor built for you and want a price estimate, please contact me here!

 

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