Wisdom of using spalted maple for a humidor

[Jeff Willard]

Looking for opinions about this. Many have concerns about working with spalted material to begin with. I have no qualms about this. I am concerned about the moisture content of the air within a humidor, and the effect on the dormant spores in the wood.:confused: I am also wondering about possible contamination of the contents of the humidor.:eek:

[george wilson]

If you don't inhale the spalt when making the humidor,I'd suppose that some good coatings of polyurethane would protect the cigars,unless SOME air leaking through is desired. I'm not a cigar smoker.

[Ronald Kellison]

Looking for opinions about this. Many have concerns about working with spalted material to begin with. I have no qualms about this. I am concerned about the moisture content of the air within a humidor, and the effect on the dormant spores in the wood.:confused: I am also wondering about possible contamination of the contents of the humidor.:eek:
I wouldn't worry about the spalting. The moisture content in the wood (rather than the relative humidity) should be relatively stable at room temperatures and the spores remain dormant. If the spores continued to be active there would have been health warnings on every forum! I suspect you will receive far more comments about your concern over the use of spalted wood rather than the dangers of cigar smoking! :D

Regards,


Ron

[Peter Scoma]

You are going to line the box in spanish cedar, correct??

If so you'll have no problems

ps

[Jeff Willard]

Actually, yes and no. I was considering making a few of these, if the sales are there, and there are some cigar smokers-myself included-that prefer a cedarless environment for their sticks.

[Rob Sack]

I am curious why you would not want a Spanish Cedar interior, since by all accounts, the Spanish Cedar improves the aging of the cigars.

[Jeff Willard]

Some feel that it imparts it's own distinct flavor and aroma to the tobacco, and that it doesn't necessarily make an improvement.

[David Keller NC]

It would be unwise to make a humidor out of spalted anything and not line it with either spanish cedar or throughly seal the inside with a liquid epoxy (like epoxy heads or System III). The simple reason here is that unless the spalted wood has been through a kiln, the spores of the fungus that created the spalting are still very much capable of growing if given a warm, humid environment. You could easily wind up with moldy cigars.