Impatience is killing me....

[mithrilG60]

.... half way through the 6th week of my wait. Hoping to receive an email from Texas this week -(P

[N2 GOLD]

http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQ60bS8bsKja8XiM8nx0_Q2TmXTxkbtD QIcUfUiSG2zx6QyrctG

[irratebass]

:cf2

[Ogre]

:tt:tt:tt














;s I know the feeling!!!

[iamsolitary]

Is this about something everyone should know? Perhaps I'm just too new here to understand.

[DPD6030]

Texas, what's in Texas? I know everything's bigger in Texas so they say.

[TBone]

Texas is, who is issuing his passport...and sounds like he's impatient

[mithrilG60]

Is this about something everyone should know? Perhaps I'm just too new here to understand.

Bob Stabel quotes 6 to 8 week waits when you order an Aristocrat ;)

[OldDirty]

6-8 weeks that's nothing I've been waiting for my humidor since February.

[OldDirty]

I can't complain too much though I got a great deal.

[mithrilG60]

6-8 weeks that's nothing I've been waiting for my humidor since February.

Did you order a fully custom piece or one that requires rare/hard-to-get figured wood? Mine's just a simple plain Jane Mini-Tall with an extra drawer and beveled glass so hopefully it's not going to require anything more than the quoted time to build and ship. Going to need that extra storage space after my trip to Cuba in 5 weeks :tu

[OldDirty]

Mine is a prototype build so the bugs are being figured as we go along. But we both have different wood workers that work at their own pace.

[mithrilG60]

Ah I see, that makes our orders very different beasts and kind of an apples to oranges comparison.

[OldDirty]

Here our the last pictures I received from Ed, it's in the final stage. Can't wait to get it!

http://img717.imageshack.us/img717/9719/dsc01450k.jpg

http://img847.imageshack.us/img847/4814/dsc01461s.jpg

http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/5956/dsc01452eq.jpg

http://img30.imageshack.us/img30/9697/dsc01093hw.jpg

Have fun in Cuba make sure to load up :D

[falconman515]

Wow this thing looks amazing!!

[WittyUserName]

Holy Cow, that is awesome!!! I cannot wait to see the final product. Please post updates as you get them. do you have any pictures from earlier in the build?

[mithrilG60]

Ahhhh..... so you're the one that bought the WaxingMoon cabinet development project. Good work, that looks like it's going to be an amazing humidor and I can only imagine how good a deal you're getting compared to what the normal retail will be once Ed puts it into regularly production :tu

[ucla695]

Waiting is the worst part! As I recall, mine arrived toward the end of the delivery window he gave me. Either way, I was like a kid on Christmas when it arrived! Be sure to post pics when you get it.

[Newbie_nick]

WOW!! Very cool... I was sweating the idea of buying a second, $100 humidor, but that doesn't seem like a very big purchase anymore! lol...

[mithrilG60]

WOW!! Very cool... I was sweating the idea of buying a second, $100 humidor, but that doesn't seem like a very big purchase anymore! lol...

Trust me, instead of buying several small cheap humidors save your money towards a big(ger) humidor purchase in the long term. Humidors from Bob @ Aristocrat or Ed @ WaxingMoon look expensive as individual outlays but if you add up the money that many of us here have spent overtime on multiple smaller humidors they are really quite a good bargin... and MUCH higher quality. If your out of space use tupperware or a cooler for the time being. By the time you've saved enough to buy something like an Aristocrat or WaxingMoon you'll also have a couple coolers worth of cigars to stick in it ;)

[Don Fernando]

Texas, what's in Texas? I know everything's bigger in Texas so they say.

so we can assume you're not from Texas then?

[mithrilG60]

Spoke to Bob today, all the rough cuts have been made and assembly should begin next week. He's expecting it to ship out on or about the 15th :tt

.... and of course a chat with Bob is always an opportunity to tack on additional options. Today was no different as I'd managed to convince myself both that the Set & Forget was a much better option than using my existing Cigar Oasis XL Plus and according to many of the threads apparently full extension shelves are much easier to use.

Final config: Mini Tall in light red mahagony w/ beveled glass door, 2 full extension drawers, 2 full extension shelves and the Set & Forget.

[vinnydisilvio]

hope you hear from your humidor maker soon, geoff! i'm sure it's an exciting project. please make sure to post when you get an update/pics.

[mithrilG60]

Bob is just going to space and install the second full extension shelf then it ships on Monday -(P

http://www.mithril.ca/aristo/Mini-1fullext+2drws-800.jpg

http://www.mithril.ca/aristo/Mini-2fullext+2drws-800.jpg

[kickerb]

nice!

[irratebass]

:noon very nice!

[falconman515]

These things are nuts! One of these days I need t invest in something like this for the future man cave.

[mithrilG60]

Now I'm starting to get excited, before I'd seen pictures it was more of a concept.... now I just want to get it home ;)

[mithrilG60]

I know I searched all the Aristocrat threads before and during this process trying to get an idea of what I wanted and what it all looked like, so for anyone else in that position here it is the full options list:

Aristocrat Mini-Tall w/ Set & Forget active humidification system

- custom light red mahogany stain*
- brushed nickel hardware
- 2nd full extension drawer
- beveled glass for door
- 2 full extension shelves**

* Bob told me it was a multi-layered process that started with a base of the stain he uses for the brown mahogany finish and then had red mahogany added to in until he was happy and it produced a light red-brown.

** Bob didn't realized until after the fact that I had meant 2 full extension shelves so the lower shelf has to be offset to the left to clear the door hinge. If I'd been more clear he probably could have raised the lower hinge up during hardware installation to avoid that issue.

[Cobra 19 & 54]

Here our the last pictures I received from Ed, it's in the final stage. Can't wait to get it!

http://img717.imageshack.us/img717/9719/dsc01450k.jpg



:dr

Nice piece of Furniture there...

[Newbie_nick]

That isn't just a humidor...it's a beautiful piece of furniture! Gorgeous!

[mithrilG60]

Well the wait will need to continue for another week, my wife told me she thought it looked "unfinished" without the a base molding so that is being added next week which offset shipping to a last week of Sept arrival.

Also spoke to Bob about ways to minimize the visual appearance of the need to offset the lowest shelf and it seems that he'll only need to offset by about 3/8ths so it shouldn't bbe visible at all with the door closed and only if you know what to look for with the door open.

[OldDirty]

Geoff your humidor is coming along nicely. Going to look real good when done :tu

[mithrilG60]

Thanks, it's all self-inflicted. It would ship a lot sooner if I'd stop making changes ;)

[Tbagley]

Looks great, you won't notice the offset once it is packed with your favorites.

[mithrilG60]

It's shipped..... :D

[mithrilG60]

Well, today was the day. Drove down to my wife's aunt's place in Blaine for what turned out to be a day long wait for the FedEx guy to receive this beauty. The point of driving down was meant to be to inspect the box and humidor before signing off on delivery, unfortunately the girl at the front desk was new and the FedEx guy lazy so she actually signed for the parcel and it was left out at the office instead of to the door at the unit (where I was of course waiting for it). If the damage had been less superficial or less easy to repair then I would have been pretty upset. As it was I didn't feel like making a scene, especially give that it's a great advantage to be able to ship to my aunt-in-law's US address so I don't want to cause her any unnecessary problems. More on that below.

The Good:

Firstly I'd picked up a 3-pack of Padron 44th Ani's from klipsch which were waiting for me at the wife's aunt's place which had miraculously spawned a couple different Padron tag-alongs somewhere between RI and WA. Then on the trip home I ran into a great CBSA agent at the Pacific Truck Crossing. He was obviously having a good day, just enjoying the sun and his job, so even though I declared the full value of the humidor (and I had to explain to him why something that "just looks like a nightstand" could be worth so much money) he just waived me through without needing to pay taxes. Another $130 to add to the vacation fund for the trip to Cuba on Sunday :D

http://www.mithril.ca/aristo/Aristo004.jpg

http://www.mithril.ca/aristo/Aristo008.jpg
The smell of fresh cedar coming off this thing is just unbelieveable! It's almost like the first day of Christmas when you've just brought the tree inside and the house is filled with fresh pine.

http://www.mithril.ca/aristo/Aristo011.jpg
Filled with empty boxes both for visual effect and to rehydrate the boxes so the cigars can go back in them.

http://www.mithril.ca/aristo/Aristo016.jpg
Once seasoned and repaired the Aristocrat will move into the corner where the wine rack/printer stand currently sits.

[mithrilG60]

The Bad:

I got lucky enough to be the 1 - 2% of shipments from Bob that experienced shipping damage. I was relatively lucky though in that it the knock the box took was right on a corner of the DX base, causing the base to break leaving the main unit completely undamaged. I've already spoken to Bob and a resolution is in the works. Unlike all other Aristocrats, the DX Base on the Mini is just an add-on base to replacing it is a simple process of Bob making a new one and shipping it to me. The down side is that the finish on this humidor is a custom stain roughly halfway between Light Red Mahogany and Brown Mahogany so Bob can't finish and ship me the new base until I sent him the damaged one back so he can colour match the finish.

http://www.mithril.ca/aristo/Aristo014.jpg

Just for the record, the damage was certainly no reflection on the packaging of the humidor for shipping. It took me a lot of work to get into the box, just bad luck in terms of where the box was impacted during shipping.

[irratebass]

Sorry about the damage, but that is one amazing humidor and now that is what I call a man cave :tu

[deadrise]

nice humi right there to bad about the damage

[charleswelchjr]

wow, these humidors need to be posted in the humidor thread as well.
awesome stuff

[mithrilG60]

Yes, the damage is a bit frustrating but these things do happen. Since the damage is so superficial and easy to fix, plus it doesn't affect the function or finish of the main humi, I don't see a huge point in getting upset, stressed or worried about it. Other customers, including some of the guys on this board, have suffered bigger hits that have required much bigger humidors with customer inlays/etc to be made over again from scratch.... those guys had to wait a lot longer for their resolution than I will. Bob will make it right for me, of that I have no worries.

[mithrilG60]

And some new friends all ready to move in once they've had a nice sleep in the freezer. Gotta love weeks in Cuba and border service agents that don't feel the need to impose fines, penalties or taxes on you when you go over your limit :D

http://www.mithril.ca/aristo/Cuba_score_001.jpg

Boxes:

2011 RyJ Short Churchills
2010 Cuaba Divinos
2011 Partagas Serie D4
2011 Monte Edmondo
2011 Trinidad Coloniales
2011 Vegas Robaina Famosos
2011 Cohiba Behike 52
2011 Cohiba Behike 56

Singles (gifts from the staff at the RyJ Factory Store):

RyJ Cazadores x 5
H. Upmann Sir Winston
Cohiba Robusto

[mithrilG60]

Consolidated down my other 2 humidors, a small 7 drawer cabinet and a 100ct desktop containing a total of about 250-ish sticks, into the Aristocrat today and did a test fit of the new boxes before putting them into the freezer. It was funny, I'd been regretting a little that I hadn't bought a box of the Behike 54's just to complete the set, but now I'm glad I didn't since I don't think it would have fit! Empty to full in one easy step...

... and like everyone else has said, if you're ordering an Aristocrat make sure you spend the little extra and get the full extension shelves. They make life SOOOO much easier!

http://www.mithril.ca/aristo/aristo-full001.jpg

http://www.mithril.ca/aristo/aristo-full002.jpg

http://www.mithril.ca/aristo/aristo-full003.jpg

http://www.mithril.ca/aristo/aristo-full004.jpg

http://www.mithril.ca/aristo/aristo-full005.jpg

[Lonely Raven]

Wow that's quite a stash!

[deadrise]

very nice stash right there I think you needed 2 of them humi's

[mithrilG60]

So just a quick update on this. I installed the replacement base a couple weekends ago, Bob actually had it shipped out to me well before that but it sat at my drop ship location in WA for a couple weeks before I was able to get down and pick it up. Don't have a picture yet but it definitely "finishes" the look of the humidor, especially for one like mine that will sit on the floor and not on a desk, sideboard or end table.

Unfortunately the door also needs to be replaced due to a hairline split in the bottom corner, likely from the shipping impact, that I hadn't noticed until I had the humidor upside down to install the base and new fan wiring (see below). Bob is currently moving shop so it'll take a little bit of time before he can make me a replacement, but I'm sure it'll all be resolved in time. The humidor has been rock solid at 70% +/- 0.5% since it finished seasoning so the door it's fully functional which means it's not an emergency by any stretch. It's more about ensuring I'm 100% happy with my humidor and not hurting potential resale on the off chance I ever decide to sell it.

I have to say, I'm constantly blown away not just by the quality but by the attention to detail. There are so many little things, things that the majority to customers may never notice, that make it what it is. I wasn't really happy with the noise coming off the 40mm reservoir fan in my original Set & Forget so I asked Bib to make me a replacement lid with a 60mm cutout instead. At the same time I replaced the 40mm recirculating fan at the top with an 8db 60mm and added a second 60mm recirc at the bottom firing upwards to better even out the humidity as the reservior was causing the bottom to settle 2 or 3% higher than the top. That second fan was exactly the ticket, recirc and humidifying is now completely silent and there zero variance it RH from top to bottom.

Of course that additional fan required adding new wiring, and the thing that really struck me as I was adding it was that Bob had thought to take the time to notch out the slider spacers at the back to allow the fan and power wiring to pass behind the spacer along the cabinet wall instead going around it, thus making a MUCH cleaner install of the wiring runs. The big thing that blew me away, enough that I actually called him to compliment him on it the next day, was the spacer for the included recirculating fan. On the face if it it just looks like a small block of Spanish Cedar square stock meant to raise the fan and allow airflow. Howevr Bob has actually cut an exact 40mm diameter semicircle out of the block to ensure maximum airflow and reduce noise from turbulence. A very simple and logical thing when you think about it, but one of those little design features that makevan Aristocrat what it is... and 99% of his customers will never even realise it's there. An absolutely amazing attention to detail that you unfortunately just don't see in most products nowadays.

[mithrilG60]

With base installed.

http://www.mithril.ca/aristo/aristo-full006.jpg

[Gophernut]

Very nice! It's absolutely gorgeous.

[OldDirty]

Great looking humidor!

[mithrilG60]

As is yours, they both turned out beautifully!!

[racerX]

Great post.:dr Thanks for sharing. Speaking of sharing it's the holiday season. You know... where it is better to give than receive so I'll send you my address.:D