Custom Humidor From My Dad

[Khimerah]

My father is a custom cabinet maker, so for Christmas I asked if he could make me a humidor as both a function piece but also as a memory for the rest of my life. While he has extensive expertise with woodworking he did not really have experience with humidors and what goes into making them. What I find particularly fascinating about the design he ended up going with is that in certain ways it goes against what is normally recommended for a properly functioning wooden humidor. 

He used walnut for both the box and lid, lined the inside with Spanish cedar, and included both a soft close hinge design and glass top. The lid design is just a normal flush fit no overlapping and definitely a gap between the lid and box. That design and a glass top normally screams leak issues and potentially even total failure. But,  there’s a few things that likely have not led to this case. He used a rubber glass retainer to seal the glass top and prevent leakage, this essentially acts as a compression gasket and negates a lot of the issues you typically run into with glass tops. As can be seen below in the pictures, the wood is thick, both the walnut and cedar act as a huge humidity buffer and soak up more during the seasoning process. After 2 weeks of seasoning there was a noticeable difference in the gaps between the cedar panels, practically every gap was closed. The lid is also very heavy so despite there being a gap, the humidity is able to be kept pretty stable and actually function. 

I can’t give super in depth answers as to how it all exactly works, but it’s very clear after 6 months of use the design is working works well. I’m running 2 69% Boveda packs and just had to change them out a week ago, I keep it in a cool and dark environment and have about 45 cigars in it, what I love about the soft close design is it also prevents the lid from closing on you accidentally, you don’t even have to fully open the lid and it keeps open. I kept a close eye on the hygrometer readings over the past several months too, in winter it was keeping pretty solidly 65-66% RH 65-67F but as spring has closed in and my thermostat has changed we’re sitting in 65-67% and 67-69F more frequently. I’m very happy with the setup and think it’s a good example of how a perfect seal isn’t needed, just good quality materials and a design that counteracts the seal issue. 

Any feedback or knowledge is greatly appreciated but I wanted to show off how such a humidor can and is working despite some potential design drawbacks. 

[JohnS]

Pass on my congratulations. It looks awesome. Well done!

[ha_banos]

What a lovely piece. 

My tower has holes in the back and there's no seal around the door. It's a shop style unit and keeps humidity 65-68 very well. And I guess the air gaps stop humidity build up. 

May it bring many decades of humidity and joy.

[Socrates]

So cool to have a one-of-a-kind humidor like that. It looks fantastic.

[joeypots]

Very nice. Soft closed hinge on a table top humidor? That's a first class feature. Your old man seems like a guy worth knowing.

[Khimerah]

8 hours ago, joeypots said:

Very nice. Soft closed hinge on a table top humidor? That's a first class feature. Your old man seems like a guy worth knowing.

Appreciate the kind words! He’s big on those features in his cabinets so it felt like a natural upgrade, when he was first making it he noticed how easy it was for the lid to slam down on its own weight. He found a soft close system that works extremely well and looks good too, sure you lose a small amount of internal space but it still holds enough that the trade off is worth it in my opinion. 

[Nevrknow]

As a woodworker, NICE box! Those small humidity fluctuations, I wouldn't bat an eyelash at. You will never notice them in real world use.

👍

[Duder]

Awesome!

[Ford2112]

Pops did a good job 👏 👍 👌 

[Khimerah]

On 5/9/2026 at 4:15 PM, Nevrknow said:

As a woodworker, NICE box! Those small humidity fluctuations, I wouldn't bat an eyelash at. You will never notice them in real world use.

👍

Thank you!!! Had a few cigars out of it yesterday and today! Was sitting roughly 67-68% and 68F, no issues whatsoever! 

[zacca]

Gorgeous box...wow! Very nice work. Enjoy it!