For some time I have wanted to make a chest humi. My question is , can one
be made with a faced plywood? I realize that with any wood that the inside
side would have to be sealed with something to keep the moisture from
ruining it. What are your opinions and experiences here.

--
Paul O.

Faced plywood can work just fine for the exterior. Make sure the plywood
has not been treated with anything that could impart a bad taste to your
cigars, or seal the exterior from the interior spanish cedar or Honduran
mahogany to prevent the odor from migrating inside the cabinet.

As for sealing the unit, this really depends on the area you live in. If
your in a very dry climate (desert) then you will need a full seal to
maintain 70%. However if your in a medium to full humidity climate then
it's ok to have less then a full seal. Your cigars need a little
circulation anyway which is why it's recommended you rotate them every
now and then, so it's ok not to have a 100% sealed box.

Depending on the size chest humidor you're building you may want to
consider active humidification versus the typical passive units (Oasis
foam etc.). These not only provide circulatory air flow via the
humidification fan, but also prevent over/under humidification via
active monitoring. I used one from Habitat Monitor in my chest humidor
http://pweb.netcom.com/~raptorlp/humidor.html
The link to that company can be found at the bottom of my humidor page
linked above.

Lee
Carter Products Company
http://www.carterproducts.com

Paul O. wrote:
For some time I have wanted to make a chest humi. My question is , can one
be made with a faced plywood? I realize that with any wood that the inside
side would have to be sealed with something to keep the moisture from
ruining it. What are your opinions and experiences here.

And if you live in a area where the ambient humidty frequently runs
MORE than the 70% you are aiming for, you need the OASIS and PG to
keep the interior humidity from getting too HIGH It will release
water if the interior humidity drops below 70% (like when adding a
bunch of cigars you found on sale) and will absorb humidity when the
interior environment gets too high

Active, and especially computer/electronically controlled
humidification may be all that is needed in a locale that is
consistantly below 70%RH

John


On Wed, 23 Jun 2004 11:15:30 -0400, Carter
wrote:

Faced plywood can work just fine for the exterior. Make sure the plywood
has not been treated with anything that could impart a bad taste to your
cigars, or seal the exterior from the interior spanish cedar or Honduran
mahogany to prevent the odor from migrating inside the cabinet.

As for sealing the unit, this really depends on the area you live in. If
your in a very dry climate (desert) then you will need a full seal to
maintain 70%. However if your in a medium to full humidity climate then
it's ok to have less then a full seal. Your cigars need a little
circulation anyway which is why it's recommended you rotate them every
now and then, so it's ok not to have a 100% sealed box.

Depending on the size chest humidor you're building you may want to
consider active humidification versus the typical passive units (Oasis
foam etc.). These not only provide circulatory air flow via the
humidification fan, but also prevent over/under humidification via
active monitoring. I used one from Habitat Monitor in my chest humidor
http://pweb.netcom.com/~raptorlp/humidor.html
The link to that company can be found at the bottom of my humidor page
linked above.

Lee
Carter Products Company
http://www.carterproducts.com

Paul O. wrote:
For some time I have wanted to make a chest humi. My question is , can one
be made with a faced plywood? I realize that with any wood that the inside
side would have to be sealed with something to keep the moisture from
ruining it. What are your opinions and experiences here.

"Carter" wrote in message
ervers.com...
Faced plywood can work just fine for the exterior. Make sure the plywood
has not been treated with anything that could impart a bad taste to your
cigars, or seal the exterior from the interior spanish cedar or Honduran
mahogany to prevent the odor from migrating inside the cabinet.

As for sealing the unit, this really depends on the area you live in. If
your in a very dry climate (desert) then you will need a full seal to
maintain 70%. However if your in a medium to full humidity climate then
it's ok to have less then a full seal. Your cigars need a little
circulation anyway which is why it's recommended you rotate them every
now and then, so it's ok not to have a 100% sealed box.

http://pweb.netcom.com/~raptorlp/humidor.html

Lee
Carter Products Company
http://www.carterproducts.com

Thanks for the info.My thoughts were, if ply was useable, to go to the big
lumber store here and get a good faced ply and treat the interior with a
good wood sealer and silicon all the interior joint edges before putting the
cedar in.As far as the outside, my finish of choice at the moment is wipe on
poly, however that may change depending on what faced ply I decide to use.
Currently making stuff out of red oak and may stay with that to match other
projects I want to do in oak. But we will see, I would kinda like to do
something in a nice dark wood tho. Thanks again.
--
Paul O.

If you must use a sealer I'd find a good FDA food approved cutting board
sealer of something that is odorless as you really don't want to leave a
residual odor that could effect your cigars as plenty of finishes will.
Most solid wood humidors have no finish on the interior for just this
reason. Your best bet would be to make sure all the joints are fully
glued with a high strength filling glue like gorilla glue. This should
provide an adequate seal for the cabinet, and as long as the interior
spanish cedar is well fit it should work just fine. You could go the
extra step and silicone all joints but as long as your joints are all
fully glue sealed this shouldn't be a necessity.

Lee
Carter Products Company
http://www.carterproducts.com

Paul O. wrote:

Thanks for the info.My thoughts were, if ply was useable, to go to the big
lumber store here and get a good faced ply and treat the interior with a
good wood sealer and silicon all the interior joint edges before putting the
cedar in.As far as the outside, my finish of choice at the moment is wipe on
poly, however that may change depending on what faced ply I decide to use.
Currently making stuff out of red oak and may stay with that to match other
projects I want to do in oak. But we will see, I would kinda like to do
something in a nice dark wood tho. Thanks again.