The sketchup model really helped me think about dimensions that I didn't consider when I was planing out my first few proposals. It was really nice being able to make components for all of the pieces I was actually going to cut so I could visualize it in three dimensions.
Front
Right
Top
Coronal Cut Short Side
Coronal Cut Long Side
Building Progress:
I went and bought Spanish cedar 1/4" x 4' x 36" (2x) for $20 from Woodcraft. I also went to Home Depot an bought birch plywood 1/2" x 2' x 4' for $20.
I began by planning out my cuts with the birch and I ripped a piece 8" wide for the base. This was also a good width because I could make the the sides that were all 4". I was glad I did this because I messed up the lengths for the first cuts I made and was able to use the other 4 inch length. Unfortunately, during the dado cuts Tim found a flaw in my 4" width pieces so I guess I suck at measuring things.
This brings the journey to the infamous dado blade. Tim had to take off the blade to the table saw and install the dado blade set. This consists of up to 8 blades. The purpose of the multiple blades is to obtain the specific width of a particular dado cut. We had to mess around with the different blades until we could get the right width of 5/16". Then, with a special tool, Tim eyeballed the height of the blade to 3/16". Notice the 4 blades in the picture.
After a bunch of practice runs and some improvising as a result of my faulty measurements, we were able to successfully get the dado cuts into all of the sides of the box. The picture below is of one of the long sides and the dado cuts are clearly shown along the edges. To do this, you flip the piece of wood upside down and run the blade under it as it shaves off the sides but doesn't cut all the way through.
I then assembled the box by running glue along the dado cuts and fitting them together like a puzzle piece to make the rabbet joints for the outer box. I clamped the whole thing together and waited about 20 hours to go in and rip the lid with the band saw.
Instead of using the band saw to cut the box open, Tim suggested we just take off the safety features to the table saw and expose the blade like the dado set up, except this time it was a single blade. I set the blade to a little over 2 inches and then cut down on each side of the box until the lid was created.
I then cut two pieces of cedar and pressure fit them into the bottom of the box. Notice the small 1/16" on either side to allow for stretch of the wood with the grain.
Then I cut the long sides and made sure they fit and then followed this by cutting the short sides. Notice the 3/16" overlay of the cedar to help with the seal.
After I made sure everything fit, I took the pieces out carefully and took a hand sander to the outside edges of the cedar that poked over the top of the bottom of the box. This was the improvised version of a bevel cut to round out the edges so the lid could fall gently over the cedar. Tim thought this was a better idea so we wouldn't risk splitting the wood. Hopefully you can see the rounded out edge on the top right side of the wood.
After playing guess and check with the sanding, the rounded out edges made a nice seal that wasn't too tight or too loose for the lid. I cut the spanish cedar for the lid and pressure fit these in. One of the pieces did not lay flat so I glued it down. Then I added the hinges on the back and screwed them in with an old fashioned hand screwdriver because of the delicate nature of the product. I also used a metal punch to get the hole started.
One of the flaws I noticed was the front right corner rabbet joint. When I pressure fit the cedar into the box, the glue came undone and split the joint open a little. To fix this, I ran glue down this area and along the inside face of the cedar. I clamped this and let it sit overnight.
The overnight clamping made this minor break a little better. I decided to sand down the outside edges of the box so they weren't so pointy. I also was able to recover some cedar scraps I threw away the other day and make a nice divider for the inside. I took the humidor back to the house and placed my propylene glycol beads in the box with a digital humidification sensor. Hopefully, after two days of letting the wood soak up the moisture from the beads, the box will maintain a steady 70% humidity to store cigars. I threw one of mine in the picture to make it look authentic. I'm very pleased with the way this turned out and wouldn't mind building another one someday - definitely keeping my cut list and drafting!
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