Armoire retrofit humidor project

[CRIMPS]

I have been planning/dreaming about building a cabinet humidor for awhile now. I have some woodworking experience, but wouldn't consider myself to be a pro by any means. So, even though I would absolutely love to build my own, I was also considering purchasing a cabinet from Aristocrat.

I believe it was my wife that brought up the idea of retrofitting an old armoire. The flat screen tv has essentially put an end to the tv armoire. In my area alone, there are hundreds of these for sale at any given time and can be had for a few hundred bucks. So, I considered this since I believed I could get one cheap. The first problem I had with this idea, though, is that my first requirement of a cabinet is that it has to be solid wood. Solid wood furniture is quite rare, these days.

I looked around and I even went and looked at a few that I thought would be promising but didn't pan out for a number of reasons. I was resigned to either just building my own or saving up for awhile and having one built that would last me the rest of my life. However, I couldn't help but think retrofitting an armoire would be a fun and rewarding project.

Then, this fell into my lap.





The wife really liked the look, which is pretty important since its going to be placed in our living room. The piece is solid oak with what looks to be a shellac/verathane finish. The construction seemed to be pretty solid. There are a few pocket screws, but mostly for some of the trim pieces.

I decided I would completely gut it, with the exception of the main shelf as this added some structural stability and also added to the look of the oak cabinet.



The back panel... wasn't really much of a panel at all and was just crappy, flimsy fiber board that was stapled in. This would need to be replaced with a solid wood panel. The drawers came out, which also meant I was going to have to add a bottom panel as well. The doors and the carcass were in great shape and, honestly, wont be touched other than cleaned up. I may consider changing out the hinges with something a little more up to date. That is yet to be determined.



Once I gutted the cabinet, I couldn't help but start to second guess my decision to take on the project for two different reasons. First, as you can see, there isn't much to the carcass and I started thinking I should have just started from scratch. Second, I was having a hard time figuring out where to start at that point. I pushed through.

I will discuss more of what my plan is in my next post. First, though, I want to share what my current thought process is on this project. I really didn't spend any money on purchasing this cabinet. I spent some money on spanish cedar, some other lumber, and a lighting kit. I have very little money in this project. I expect this humidor to be completely functional for a number of years. This humidor will be tight, look good (to me), and is going to be a lot of fun. I expect to sell it at some point and build something that is more of an antique quality. For now, though, I am going to enjoy this project and see what I can come up with and where I can learn from my mistakes down the road.

to be continued.