Spanish Cedar Liner Attachment

[Tim Malyszko]

My next project is a humidor and I need to find the optimal way to attach 1/4" spanish cedar to the humidor interior.

The approximate internal dimensions is 30" high x 17" deep x 20" wide. The exterior sides are 2.25" wide, 7/8" thick walnut rails and stiles and a 1/4" quilted maple veneered panel. The top is 3/4" walnut burl veneer ply with a solid walnut edge.

The back will be solid spanish cedar so that's not a problem.

I need to attach 1/4" cedar to the sides and the top. I was thinking of pinning it with 23 ga pins with no glue, to allow for wood movement. Is there a better way to go?

Thanks in advance.

[Matt Woessner]

Tim,
When I build my humidor several years back. I attached the cedar to the interior with pin nails like you mentioned, and just a drop of glue at each end. I have not had any problems with my so far. Good luck.

[David Christopher]

Tim, with constant humidity you should very little to no wood movement....I built one several years ago and used gule only and it is still like new

[Tim Malyszko]

Tim, with constant humidity you should very little to no wood movement....I built one several years ago and used gule only and it is still like new

I'm more concerned with the humidity changes on the exterior. Our house has huge humidity swings from summer to winter and I'm concerned if I attach the cedar to the walnut with glue, the cedar may crack due to seasonal wood movement in the solid walnut. I'm not too concerned with the top since that will be attached to plywood.

[Eric DeSilva]

The cedar isn't structural, is it? What about just cutting panels with mitered corners and leaving it in there loose? Won't the sides/back/front hold themselves in place that way?

[Todd Bin]

Shoot the miters on the corners of the spanish cedar with a hand plane to get the fit perfect. Then once you get the 4 pieces so they fit snug, just put a small dab of glue in the center of each piece and put them in position. Even without the glue, I doubt they would go anywhere if you get the fit tight. With the glue you would have to drop the humidor off a building to knock the cedar out of place.

[Eric Gustafson]

The cedar isn't structural, is it? What about just cutting panels with mitered corners and leaving it in there loose? Won't the sides/back/front hold themselves in place that way?
This is how my BIL does his and they stay perfect, plus no glue!

[Tim Malyszko]

Shoot the miters on the corners of the spanish cedar with a hand plane to get the fit perfect. Then once you get the 4 pieces so they fit snug, just put a small dab of glue in the center of each piece and put them in position. Even without the glue, I doubt they would go anywhere if you get the fit tight. With the glue you would have to drop the humidor off a building to knock the cedar out of place.

Great idea. The paneling is only 1/4" spanish cedar. It was a PITA edge glueing because it kept wanting to bow when clamped (nothing a few bricks didn't fix). Hopefully it won't bow if I use this method.

[David Keller NC]

Tim - Ideally, you probably don't want to attach the cedar at all. Spanish cedar loses its aroma after a couple of years, and if the lining's not attached, it can be removed and either sanded or hand-planed to refresh the aroma. Most of the time, the increased humidity in the box will be more than sufficient to wedge it in place if the initial fit is tight.

[Bob Johnson2]

I used a thin line down the center of the panels and mitered edges. Been 3 years and no problems.

[Todd Bin]

Just another note for the OP that spanish cedar dust is toxic.