At long last, the Humidor is done (lots of pics)

[Bill Wyko]

You all may have heard rumor of the humidor I've been building for the last few months for My BIL Eric Gustafson (a member here) I told him a couple years ago I'd build him a Humidor for X-Mas. I just didn't say which X-Mas.:D So I felt I owed him a good one. It's made of Bloodwood, Quilted Maple, Gaboon Black Ebony and Spanish Cedar. It weighs around 40 lbs and will hold a couple hundred or so cigars. The drawers have double dovetails and the doors have Black Ebony hinges. The clasp on the front door was made with my Festool Domino and slides to the left to open it. I really hope you all like it. It took me a few months to finish it. Speaking of finish, it's 6 coats of Tung Oil and 4 coats of Minwax paste wax and hand rubbed every coat.

Guess what, error on page won't let me post pics:mad::mad::mad::mad: I'm going to close out and come back and try again.

[Bill Wyko]

More pics:D Please enjoy. There's more pics below as well.

[Larry Fox]

Bill - that is extraordinary. Beautiful work.

[Jay Kilpatrick]

Bill,
I'd almost take up smoking if I were presented with that humidor... but where would one put the hygrometer (sp?) and moisture resevoir? (I think they're supposed to have that stuff, right?)

[Mark Springer]

That is gorgeous. Much better looking than most anything I have seen in the stores.

[jason lambert]

Wow that is really nice. Probably one of the nicest humidors I have sceen in a while.

[David DeCristoforo]

Sweeeet! Now....where's my stogies....

YM

[Mike Null]

Must be a pretty good BIL to merit something as fine as that.

[Tim Malyszko]

Wow. Your humidor is amazing. I cannot tell for sure from the pictures, but did you make the drawer sides out of spanish cedar also?

EDIT - Nevermind. I saw what you did. Excellent work.

Nice work.

[Glenn Clabo]

Ho-hum...JUST another perfectly stunning...mind blowing...piece of work.

Bill...you are simply amazing.

[Mark Engel]

A humidor that beautiful deserves a good humidifier.

http://www.cigaroasis.com/

Absolutely gorgeous work!

[Bill Wyko]

Here's a few more pics.:D

[Matt Day]

Wow, and those drawer fronts are solid wood huh? Very nice.

[Thomas Walker]

Holy smokes, batman!

[Bill Wyko]

Wow. Your humidor is amazing. I cannot tell for sure from the pictures, but did you make the drawer sides out of spanish cedar also?

EDIT - Nevermind. I saw what you did. Excellent work.

Nice work.
Thanks Tim, the drawers are made from quilted maple for the front and hard maple for the other 3 sides. The double dovetail is bloodwood. The bottom is dadoed in and is spanish Cedar and slotted to keep moisture even between drawers. Then an insert was made of spanish cedar to line the interior of all the drawers. :)

[Lori Kleinberg]

That has to be the largest and best looking humidor I have ever seen. Would probably make someone a nice little jewelry box
if they didn't have cigars :D.

[Bill Wyko]

Bill,
I'd almost take up smoking if I were presented with that humidor... but where would one put the hygrometer (sp?) and moisture resevoir? (I think they're supposed to have that stuff, right?)
It goes between the slots on the top. I leave the hydrometer choice to the end user. Some people prefer one over the other.

[Mike Cutler]

That has to be the largest and best looking humidor I have ever seen. Would probably make someone a nice little jewelry box
if they didn't have cigars :D.

Hmm... I was wondering the exact same thing, and also wondering just how long it took his sister to decide that it would make a fine jewelry box. Only Eric will be able to tell us the real story.:)

Bill.
That is a fine humidor you made there. I think it's finest I've seen. It belongs in a magazine spread.
Stunning work!!

[Stan Welborn]

For your BIL!!!! :eek: Jeepers! Ummmm... Got anymore sisters?....

[Eric Gustafson]

I have to start ordering some more cigars to fill that thing! :D

[Larry Fox]

I have to start ordering some more cigars to fill that thing! :D

Eric, you are one lucky dude - 1) because that humidor is an amazing piece of art and 2) because you can even contemplate having enough sticks on-hand to fill it.

[Eric Gustafson]

because you can even contemplate having enough sticks on-hand to fill it.

cigar-monster.com

[J. Z. Guest]

Bill, Eric must be one hell of a good friend!

I'm sure the nightstands I'm working on will take at least a few months and be much more...humble.... than that humidor.

My wife says it is a waste, that it is a humidor and not a jewelry chest.

Do you make this sort of thing professionally too? I bet you could get a couple grand for something like that on ebay if you were persistent.

[Ray Scheller]

As an avid cigar smoker who keeps no less than 250 cigars on hand at all time I'm very jealous. Vey nice work and a piece of furniture any one would be proud to own.

[Bill Wyko]

Nope, just a hobby:D If I call it a job that'll make 3 jobs for me. I own a car stereo business and a dune buggy business too. As you can see, I still have too much time on my hands.:eek: (I'm being sarcastic):D I guess you could put jewelry in it but it'll smell like cigars and be around 70% humidity. I'll be happy to make a jewelry box for the right price though.;)

[Mark Valsi]

BILL,

that is some piece of work !! One of the best ever I hvae seen posted.

I always thought ARLIN LISS made the best humidors, but I can see now that he has some ssssserious competition.


WOW

[gary Zimmel]

Bill

Now that is one smokin humidor!

The workmanship is unbelievable, you did a first rate job. My hat is off to you.....

Thanks for the post.

[dan grant]

that is just way to cool for cigars, very nice

[John Hain]

That's amazing. Excellent design and craftsmanship!

[John Shuk]

http://famoussmoke.com/

Another good cigar site.
The humidor is AWESOME.

[Bruce Pennell]

Bill great job, thanks for your earlier reply. Love the finished project. The Domino hardware is great! Thanks for the new idea. You should post your pictures on Festools site. I'm always amazed when I learn a new way to use a tool....these web sites sure teach new applications for me and my tools. Thanks again for all the pic's and info. Bruce:D

[glenn bradley]

Wow. That's enough to start me back on stogies. Beautiful work.

[Gary Herrmann]

Now that is a humidor. Well worth the wait.

[Bill Wyko]

Thanks everyone. I guess I should explain why Eric is so deserving. Every weekend Belinda (My SIL) for about 10 years, has made fantastic meals for the 4 of us (I got the sister that doesn't like to cook:() and Eric has always supplied the Cigars and booze to enjoy around the fire. He never asked for payment or acted as though I owed him. We have had fantastic conversations every time and never run out of things to talk about. It's great to have a friend that is so different than you and yet can have so much in common to talk about. Woodworking is our commonality, we talk about building stuff for hours. We talk plenty about you guys' work all the time too:D. You are all very talented and are a great inspiration. As far as Belinda goes, she wasn't left out, if some of you rember, she got a segmented turning I did about a year ago. When it comes down to it, one or two great friends are all you need to be happy. To Eric, Merry Christmish.:D
Thanks again everyone you're a great bunch. BTW:D check out the staved turning I did yesterday in the turners section if you like.:)

[Jeffrey Makiel]

Absolutely stunning! Your brother in law has a good buddy.
-Jeff :)

[Jack Briggs]

Holy double corona!!!

Super nice work and choice of woods, Bill!

[Mark Hulette]

Bill- what's left to say that hasn't already been said?

Wow? Nope, that's already been used. Amazing? Several times. Awesome? Just doesn't quite cover it.

Thanks for sharing a project that took longer than most of us in this "microwace" (I want it now!! :rolleyes:) society couldn't or wouldn't hang in to do justice. Truly an heirloom.

Did you get inspiration from David Marks' "Egyptian Dresser"? It reminds me of a scaled down replica! Very cool!!

[Dylan Smith]

That's absolutely gorgeous. Nice work!

[David Tiell]

Wow!!!!! Beautiful!!!!

[Lori Kleinberg]

Nope, just a hobby:D If I call it a job that'll make 3 jobs for me. I own a car stereo business and a dune buggy business too. As you can see, I still have too much time on my hands.:eek: (I'm being sarcastic):D I guess you could put jewelry in it but it'll smell like cigars and be around 70% humidity. I'll be happy to make a jewelry box for the right price though.;)


You know Bill, I was wondering why those things were parked in front of your store. Luckily, my boys don't get down that way to often.

[Chris Padilla]

That belongs in FWW. Well done, well done!

[Ron Bontz]

Only one thing to say. WOW!

[Jon Lanier]

Dude that is gorgeous.

[Hans Braul]

Fabulous work! I love the quilted maple - stupidly beautiful! Eric, I envy you. I have often said though, that I'm glad I can't afford cigars - I'd be dead if I could. Absolutely fantastic work.

[Bill Morgan]

Alright. The obvious beauty of this humidor has been commented on lots. But I must say, I can't stand looking at pictures of these types of projects! As a beginner, I get insanely jealous! It makes me wonder if I'll ever be able to complete projects of such quality and beauty! And where the heck do I even begin to acquire the vast amount of knowledge it requires to do this type of work?! Very nice job! It is truly a work of art.
Bill

[Stephen Edwards]

How do you get the darker piece of wood on the dovetails between the drawer fronts and the drawer sides? Beautiful work!

[Bill Wyko]

I hate to say this but this is my first real Humidor.;) Built a couple dozen boxes though.

[Jon Crowley]

Absolutely SICK! I love it! Great work! :D

Question - Do you have to make many changes from a typical box/cabinet design due to the humidity? I'd think having ~70% inside and low outside would be the ultimate stress test of wood movement. Say for something like the paneled side, is that one set of rail/stiles with a sandwiched spanish cedar and figured maple panel?

[Bruce Page]

That belongs in FWW. Well done, well done!

I second that!
Strikingly beautiful!

[John Lucas]

I give you mucho kudos for the whole job...wonderful...and a special pat on the back for doing the double dovetails on the drawers.

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

Ohh you can feel the love that went into that one.

[Pat Zabrocki]

Holy smokes.... literally!!!

thats just awesome!
Pat

[Bill Wyko]

Absolutely SICK! I love it! Great work! :D

Question - Do you have to make many changes from a typical box/cabinet design due to the humidity? I'd think having ~70% inside and low outside would be the ultimate stress test of wood movement. Say for something like the paneled side, is that one set of rail/stiles with a sandwiched spanish cedar and figured maple panel?
When I built this piece, I used dowell pins and biscuits.(I didn't have my Domino yet.) When I put the Cedar in it, I left room for movement in ways you can't see. I hope it holds together. We'll know soon. My BIL is ordering Cigars today. BTW this was a major hit at the show.

[Bill Wyko]

Eric Got it up to 68% humidity and it seems to be holding strong. I'll put up some pics when it's full of cigars.

[Danny Thompson]

Absolutely beautiful. Inspiring.

[Craig Thompson]

Truly great.....

Thanks for the inspiration....

[Don Bullock]

Bill, I've seen some inspirational pieces here on Sawmill Creek and your humidor now ranks up with the very best I've seen. Thanks for sharing your work with us.

[Lee Koepke]

Thanks everyone. I guess I should explain why Eric is so deserving. Every weekend Belinda (My SIL) for about 10 years, has made fantastic meals for the 4 of us (I got the sister that doesn't like to cook:() and Eric has always supplied the Cigars and booze to enjoy around the fire. He never asked for payment or acted as though I owed him. We have had fantastic conversations every time and never run out of things to talk about. It's great to have a friend that is so different than you and yet can have so much in common to talk about. Woodworking is our commonality, we talk about building stuff for hours. We talk plenty about you guys' work all the time too:D. You are all very talented and are a great inspiration. As far as Belinda goes, she wasn't left out, if some of you rember, she got a segmented turning I did about a year ago. When it comes down to it, one or two great friends are all you need to be happy. To Eric, Merry Christmish.:D
Thanks again everyone you're a great bunch. BTW:D check out the staved turning I did yesterday in the turners section if you like.:)
The story behind it is as good as the piece of work.

That is amazing project. Thank you for sharing.

[Jim Becker]

Beautiful work, Bill!

[Bill Wyko]

How do you get the darker piece of wood on the dovetails between the drawer fronts and the drawer sides? Beautiful work!
That is done with the INCRA JIG router fence system. It comes with guide strips that align your cuts. I do it a little differently than they say in the instructions. I feel I get slightly better results but it requires a drum sander. You can see more of my work on their site www.incra.com (http://www.incra.com) in their gallery.

[Dennis Peacock]

Ho-hum...JUST another perfectly stunning...mind blowing...piece of work.

Bill...you are simply amazing.


Yup....my thoughts exactly Glenn.....Bill just keeps putting them out and we all have to suffer looking at all those beautiful pictures of all that beautiful woodworking Bill does....in his spare time. :D

[Don Bullock]

Yup....my thoughts exactly Glenn.....Bill just keeps putting them out and we all have to suffer looking at all those beautiful pictures of all that beautiful woodworking Bill does....in his spare time. :D

They should go to his website and see what he does for a "living" on his regular job. That work is just as stunning. Bill is definitely a talented guy.

[Bill Wyko]

Bill- what's left to say that hasn't already been said?

Wow? Nope, that's already been used. Amazing? Several times. Awesome? Just doesn't quite cover it.

Thanks for sharing a project that took longer than most of us in this "microwace" (I want it now!! :rolleyes:) society couldn't or wouldn't hang in to do justice. Truly an heirloom.

Did you get inspiration from David Marks' "Egyptian Dresser"? It reminds me of a scaled down replica! Very cool!!
Actually I was watching a discovery episode on egyptian architecture then I watched the episode on the dresser by david then around 2AM it all came together. He is quit an artist. I'd love for him to see it. PS Sorry it took so long to reply. I was getting ready for the show last week and went to a wedding this past weekend.

[Bill Wyko]

Now that this piece has had the humidity in it for a long time, the lid has ever so slightly cupped upward. Barely noticeable but I'd like to correct it. The lid can't be removed because the wood hinges are glued in place. Any ideas? It's only about 1/16th of an inch but it bugs me.

[Allan Froehlich]

I don't have an answer to your question, but I would like to inquire about your dovetail-making technique. Did you use a WoodRat?

[Bill Wyko]

I don't have an answer to your question, but I would like to inquire about your dovetail-making technique. Did you use a WoodRat? Actually I used an Incra Jig router fence. It would be difficult to do large projects on the Incra but it works great for projects like this. It has strips that tell you where to make the cuts.

[Al Willits]

Simply amazing, just simply amazing, someday I hope to post something just half as good...
whoa! a work of art....congrats.

Al

[Mike Minto]

WOW. I'm awestruck! Mike

[Bill Wyko]

Thanks Mike. I'm working on a taller one similar to this one. It'll still be a while before it's done though.

[Dewey Torres]

Thanks Mike. I'm working on a taller one similar to this one. It'll still be a while before it's done though.

As always...can't wait to see it!

Take care my friend.

[Allan Froehlich]

Thanks Mike. I'm working on a taller one similar to this one. It'll still be a while before it's done though.

Could you include a photo of construction?

I bought a bunch of tools from one person and the Incra fence was one of them. I have yet to use it, but now I know its potential.

[Robert Bailey]

wOw, Job well done. I really like the drawer idea.

[Bill Wyko]

Hi Allan. I'm trying to do a photo document of the tall one but it's taken so long that I've missed a few steps. I haven't got to the drawers yet, but when I do them I'll take pics. If you check out my other Humidor posted here, there's a link to the complete build. I've started the story of the build here on SMC and the complete build is on www.festoolownersgroup.com (http://www.festoolownersgroup.com) in the gallery. Let me know if I can help with your Incra system.