Humidor and Other Questions

[Matthew Morris]

Friends and fellow wood butchers, I need your help.

After 10 years away from dad's (aka Don Morris) woodshop I've decided to get back into it and build a couple of cigar humidors (one for me and one for a close friend getting married). I am planning to build them based on the plans provided by Rick Allyn at Fine Woodworking...in short, nothing too advanced.

I would like to make them out of Spanish Cedar veneered with some type of darker wood with figures (for example, burled walnut).

I can find decent supplies of Spanish Cedar local to me here in Rockville, MD. Unfortunately, it doesnt look like it is kiln-dried and that scares me for future sap release. No worries though, I can deal with that. What is harder to find is a good supply of burl veneers to choose from. I can buy them from Woodcraft on-line but there is no guarantee the sizes will be large enough for me to use. I can buy large 2x8 sheets from the local exotic lumbar yard but then I'm paying a lot for veneers that arent figured.

So where are people buying from these days? Are there on-line specialists or some other avenue I'm missing?

Warm regards,
Matthew

[Kevin Aylward]

Hi Mathew,
I'm also in Maryland, and I was just at the place you need to find. It's called "Freestate Timbers", and it's located in Timonium, MD, right down the street from the race track. The website is www.freestatetimbers.com (http://www.freestatetimbers.com) The guy who owns the place is really a good guy, and he'll take the time to not only show you the wood on hand, but also takes the time to help you select it. This man is very knowledgeable about the common and the rare species. He even warned me about the one species I was looking at, because it can have some nasty health effects of the dust. Glad I dodged that bullet!
I think you will agree that this place is a real hidden gem once you visit the store. Don't expect a fancy showroom, just some extremely good choices for the serious woodworker. His prices are fair too considering the quality of his offerings. This is a source of the good stuff, not the crap you find in the retail stores.
BTW- He deals almost entirely in rough sawn lumber, with a minimum 4/4 thickness, and varying widths and lengths. I did notice several rolls of different veneers on the upper deck, but I'm not sure if they are personal stock, or material for sale. Just saying where they are, so you can find them. I am always amazed at the huge slabs of rare species wood that he has laying around, but grab it while you are there, his stuff goes fast! This is where "The big boys" get their materials for those huge conference room tables, piano boxes, high end custom jobs and the like. I think you'll be REAL happy with what you find there!

[Matthew Morris]

Kevin, thank you, I think I recall visiting that place when the annual woodworking show is up that way? I'm plotting it into my GPS now!

Cheers,
M

[Kevin Aylward]

Have fun Matt! Going out there is like a trip to Disney World for a woodworker.

[Richard Coers]

So you are going to glue veneer to air dried solid stock? Expect trouble during the first winter when the solid stock dries and shrinks. Now if the humidity is kept up correctly it may help, but I would veneeer to a man made product and line it with the Spanish cedar. I mitre in the cedar, and let it extend up over the seam at the lid. This makes it almost air tight. I let that liner float, and can pull it out at any time and sand off any stains.

[Chris Fournier]

A&M Wood Specialty in Cambridge, Ontario Canada has great veneers and lumber, super service and they ship.

[Eugene Knopp]

I have had good experiences ordering veneer and supplies from http://www.veneersupplies.com/. Joe is located in MD as well so shipping is fast.