Mini cabinet conversion (Project Thread)
 

Over the next month or so I will be converting a small case into a mini cabinet humidor
for one of the BOTL’s here. I will attempt to update this thread like I do the tray threads
with photos and descriptions. Please feel free to ask questions, advice or general banter.

Part one - Tear apart and prepare sides

Below is what I had to start with:

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j9.../elevcab01.jpg

As you can see from the photo the sides (only 3) are attached to the base and top
by metal brackets and screws.
It appears the sides were routed out to install glass in them at one point.
The first thing to do is tear it down and inspect the damage.

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j9.../elevcab02.jpg

There was one of the sides that came loose and the base was separating.
The sides were a tad uneven and the joints had swelled in a few places.
A little wood glue and clamps were in order.

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j9.../elevcab03.jpg

Once the repairs were finished I ran the sides through the surface planer
a few times to level everything out and re routed the inside edge of the opening.

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j9.../elevcab04.jpg

Next I built a temporary frame on the bench to hold the sides while I enlarged the
groves on the inside for the wood inlay. A second board is screwed on top of the
temporary base to act as a guide for the router.

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j9.../elevcab05.jpg

Cont….

Re: Mini cabinet conversion (Project Thread)
 

Here is a shot of the veneer that I will be using for the sides.
I have no clue what it is; it has a few bad spots in the run as
seen in the right half of the photo, so I got it for free.

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j9.../elevcab06.jpg

Here you can get an idea what the sides will look like once completed.
The spots that are bad will be outside the size I need for these pieces.

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j9.../elevcab07.jpg

Part 2 will be the construction of the inlay and the top and bottom.

Chas

Re: Mini cabinet conversion (Project Thread)
 

subscribed! :)

Re: Mini cabinet conversion (Project Thread)
 

Very cool project.:tu

Re: Mini cabinet conversion (Project Thread)
 

:tpd:
Yeah me too! Andy This is the kind of stuff I would so like to do if I had any talent for it.

Re: Mini cabinet conversion (Project Thread)
 

I love these threads!!!:D

Re: Mini cabinet conversion (Project Thread)
 

I honestly thought this thing would sit around another 25 years doing nothing useful. Here is the background on this piece:

This was a high school woodshop project, it was supposed to be a curio cabinet but of course it was only graded on the wood parts, so that is all I completed.

After that it has sat around being abused and neglected for over 25 years, doing nothing more than serving as a place to put things I didn't care about too much.

Sometimes it was in storage facilities, sometimes it was in unheated garages, and its even been in basements that have flooded.

I fell down the slope very recently. Fathers Day this year, my son gifted me a few nice smokes and that was all it took. So I found a decent humidor for the short term and after 1 lotto winning here, it was full. No room for 5'ers or boxes, so I started thinking of a larger humidor.

One day I looked over and saw this poor thing sitting there with DVD cases on top of it and photo albums inside of it and I realized its potential. I very briefly considered trying it myself and when that 2 minutes was over I started thinking about who could do it justice.

I posted a picture of in the 'show us your humidor' thread with my smaller one and stated my intentions to have this raggedy thing turned into a cabinet.

Chuck contacted me and it just so happened that he was coming through my area that weekend on his way to a HERF in Cincy. So him and the Mrs. stopped by and took a look, and the rest is history in the making. Poor old unfinished curio cabinet left my house and began its new life of transformation.

After all the looking and talking with others, there is no one else I would even want working on this. I know this remnant from the past will soon be an heirloom for the future and I couldn't be happier!

Thanks Chuck!

`
 

Thanks for the Background on this piece. It will make the watching of this thread more enjoyable.

Re: Mini cabinet conversion (Project Thread)
 

Good to see you getting the project done, Scott!

The veneer looks like it could be Cocobolo.... very nice looking wood! I can't wait to see how she turns out for you.

Keep up the good work, Chuck!

Good stuff - sawdust & cigar smoke! Volatile combination!
:cb

Re: Mini cabinet conversion (Project Thread)
 

Great looking project. Subscribed and looking forward to see how it goes. Funny ed I was thinking cocobolo as well.

Re: Mini cabinet conversion (Project Thread)
 

That's what I first thought, but its different somehow.

I know there are variances in the wood but I just cant put my finger on it.

Chas

Re: Mini cabinet conversion (Project Thread)
 

can t wait to see the progress

Re: Mini cabinet conversion (Project Thread)
 

in for updates! :)

Re: Mini cabinet conversion (Project Thread)
 

:tu:tpd::tpd:

Re: Mini cabinet conversion (Project Thread)
 

My first subscription.

Re: Mini cabinet conversion (Project Thread)
 

I got the inlays glued, sanded and sealed and some other things started this week.
Just need to edit the photos. Planing on taking a few days off to spend with the family
so I will try to get them posted this weekend.

Happy holidays,
Chas

Re: Mini cabinet conversion (Project Thread)
 

Re: Mini cabinet conversion (Project Thread)
 

Never even took it that way :tu

I do these threads in hopes that one person sees something that makes them try to build something for themselves.
Its good to see people following them :tu

I truly enjoy working in the shop and the satisfaction when a job is complete is addictive.
It makes you want to start the next project as soon as you can.

Chas

Re: Mini cabinet conversion (Project Thread)
 

I'm subscribed to this too, and waiting to see more. :tt :dance: Merry Christmas! :dance:

Re: Mini cabinet conversion (Project Thread)
 

Nice project Chuck. I am eagerly awaiting new photos to see how this project has progressed. :tu Happy New Year to you and your family!

Re: Mini cabinet conversion (Project Thread)
 

With Chuck's schedule being what it is, I am going to post these 2 pics with the most current updates to the project.

After a lot of time looking at other cabinet style humidors, I have opted to go with a traditional door, matching the other panels, as opposed to my initial idea of a glass door.

It will also have traditional Chasden style shelves or drawers with an area under those for box storage, all scaled to the inside of this baby, which I think is smaller than the average Vinotemp.

Here is the back, and close up of the router work on one corner. The base will be added back on for the final product.

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j9.../elevcab15.jpg

And:

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j9.../elevcab17.jpg

Re: Mini cabinet conversion (Project Thread)
 

Nice!

Re: Mini cabinet conversion (Project Thread)
 

very nice

Re: Mini cabinet conversion (Project Thread)
 

Looking good. How many cigars are you planning on storing in there?

Re: Mini cabinet conversion (Project Thread)
 

Very nice!! :tu

Re: Mini cabinet conversion (Project Thread)
 

I have my Mini-Cabinet!

Went and saw Chuck and his wife today, he is busier than a one legged man in an a$$ kicking contest.

I didn't take a ton of pics, I wanted to get it seasoning asap, so with the others already posted here this should give a great idea of the finished product. I will make sure to take more, and better pictures once its seasoned and has product in it!

http://img682.imageshack.us/img682/1...1007052314.jpg

Re: Mini cabinet conversion (Project Thread)
 

That's awesome, I really dig it:tu

Re: Mini cabinet conversion (Project Thread)
 

Looks very nice:tu

Re: Mini cabinet conversion (Project Thread)
 

Beautiful Work!:banger:tu

Re: Mini cabinet conversion (Project Thread)
 

That is really cool :tu I need to try out something like this. Seems like my parents have a collection of old cabinents in various sizes.

Re: Mini cabinet conversion (Project Thread)
 

Wow! Great job! That is one good looking humi, right there!

How's the seal on it? Hard to tell from the pic (I can't see the build pics at work :( ) how the lip is on it.

Re: Mini cabinet conversion (Project Thread)
 

That looks amazing! :dr

I'd be curious to hear how well it holds the RH. What are you going to use in there... beads, ?

Re: Mini cabinet conversion (Project Thread)
 

Going to be using beads. The door was added of course, in those 'before' pics you can see there are only 3 walls :)

So Chuck made the door in the same fashion as the other 3 sides, but he said sealing it looked like it may be an issue. He went with weather stripping and those 2 locking clasps on the door to pull it in tight. They are adjustable to pull the door in more or less onto the stripping.

I started seasoning it last night, so we'll see how that seal holds up soon. As he was re-planing the sides, top and bottom, he made sure to seal the outer box completely before lining it with spanish cedar, so as long as the door seal holds up, I think it will be ok.

The original wood is poplar, blame my parents for not giving me enough money to buy walnut or oak in high school! He made the door from oak, with the same inlay in the center as the other sides. The oak didn't hold the dark stain quite as well as the rest of the piece, so it is slightly lighter shaded. Going to look at getting that darker as it seasons.

Re: Mini cabinet conversion (Project Thread)
 

Looks great cant wait to see it filled and love the lamp on top. :dr

Re: Mini cabinet conversion (Project Thread)
 

Looks great, now filler up. Love the Christmas Story lamp too. :tu

Re: Mini cabinet conversion (Project Thread)
 

It's a major award!

Re: Mini cabinet conversion (Project Thread)
 

I seasoned this for a week, and then let it set a week with Shilala beads in it. The seal seems to be holding up just fine, and my hygrometer shows it sitting dead on 65. I moved all my smokes over to it almost a week ago and they sure look like they love it there!

Re: Mini cabinet conversion (Project Thread)
 

:np

Re: Mini cabinet conversion (Project Thread)
 

:tpd::tpd::tpd::tpd:

Re: Mini cabinet conversion (Project Thread)
 

I love that NP tag, use it often myself!

http://img42.imageshack.us/img42/4200/140wh.jpg

http://img801.imageshack.us/img801/2875/141y.jpg

http://img294.imageshack.us/img294/9683/142z.jpg

Re: Mini cabinet conversion (Project Thread)
 

Lookin great!

Re: Mini cabinet conversion (Project Thread)
 

That is downright gorgeous... nice work!!

Re: Mini cabinet conversion (Project Thread)
 

Looks great but I see a lot of extra room :D

Re: Mini cabinet conversion (Project Thread)
 

How's it holding temp and humidity?

Re: Mini cabinet conversion (Project Thread)
 

So far so good. Ambient temp in the room is always around 70, its a basement and all the heat generating goodies (PC, plasma tv) have been taken out of the room, its nice! It rarely gets above 72.

RH held steady at 65 for almost 2 weeks, just dropped to 64 a day ago. The beads came straight out of Chasdens Vinotemp, so I am not sure how old they are, but they seem to be holding up fine as well.

In the latest pics with the smokes in em, the more accurate hygrometer reads 64RH and 70degrees.

Leaving the other hygrometer in there to make sure its truly steady and its going back into the desktop humidor.

And yea, lots of room still! Nuttin but singles and a couple small 5'ers in boxes, and a couple of coffins.

Real boxes to follow :)

Re: Mini cabinet conversion (Project Thread)
 

Just came back to check this thread out after being away for a while. This came out awesome, great job and congrats on the awesome new humi.

Re: Mini cabinet conversion (Project Thread)
 

I'll take a new pic...I added a couple more drawers.