Jake's Second Project Idea: 20 Count Cigar Humidor

My plan is to build a small 20 count humidor where I can place my special sticks away from the larger majority. This project will be a little bit more detailed than a typical theater project from a close up view. My dimensions I plan to use will be 9" x 8 1/2" x 2 1/4." This will be a decent sized box to allow two rows of 10 cigars and the 8 1/2" is just long enough to accommodate the largest standard 8" cigar.

I will use a variety of wood types to build the outer box. Dried Spanish cedar (veneered MDF on the outside and plywood on the inward facing side) will be used on the sides, front, and back. Birch plywood will be used for the base and medium density fiberboard will be used for the top. I will need to make special cuts called rabbet joint to fit the sides together. This can supposedly be accomplished by using a "dado" blade. Water resistant glue will be used to fuse the outer box together by clamps for an hour. After drying, the band saw will be used to cut the box in half to make the lid and base. 

For the inner box, which is most important for humidity levels, Spanish cedar will be used for every side. This will be a thin piece (3/16" thick) and the front piece in the base will overlay the top by 3/16" as well. The base piece of wood will fit snug but will be cut to provide an 1/8" gap for the movement of cross grains. A bevel cut will be used to make sure the opening seal is just loose enough but not too tight where the humidity would reach higher levels than 70%. 

Rabbet cuts along the outer edges of the box will be used for round edge banding with harder wood as well. So the project in a nutshell is to build a box inside of a box with rabbet joints for strength and then bevel the inside layer to provide the right seal for opening and closing the box. The link below is the reference for the information above and what I will reference while building the humidor. 

http://www.finewoodworking.com/FWNPDFfree/humidor.pdf