Okay, if you really want to save money and you like tinkering, then you might be a good candidate to build your own box (BYOB). Building your own humidor can be an educational and rewarding experience, albeit risky. The stakes are high, you are putting your hard earned smokes at risk if you are not persistent, careful and vigilant. If you are determined to BYOB, you can use materials from plastic to precious woods to craft your box. Below you will read about several ways to go about it. [NOTE: Site that are in BLUE TEXT are clickable glossary terms. Click on these if you want to learn more in-depth information about key concepts.]

Tupperware/Igloo Humidors

Depending on the size you need, one of the easiest humidors to put together is one that uses a Tupperware or Igloo® container. On the left is a photo of a Tupperware humidor that I built to handle a couple of boxes of stogies. I purchased a 33 cup container that measured 14" L x 10" W x 4" D. To make sure you get a box with a good seal, test drive the container in the shop and make sure it holds air by closing the lid securely and then pushing down on the lid. Listen for any escaping air.

Next, I placed a couple of old cigar boxes in the Tupperware container, primarily so the cigars could be easily stacked and could benefit from the Spanish cedar lining of the boxes. Using cigar boxes also prevents the cigars from direct contact with either the humidifier or the plastic of the container, which might sweat if the box is too humid.

Finally, I added a digital HYGROMETER (see photo at right) and a Mr. Moisture™ small HUMIDIFIER (hidden behind boxes). You can also use a damp sponge, silica gel, or superabsorbent polymers to humidify the box. The cigar boxes will protect the cigars from direct contact with the moisture source, or you can put the moisture source in a small plastic container. You don't need a big humidifier since the Tupperware box is airtight and will hold the moisture in quite effectively. In fact, it holds in humidity too efficiently, since the box is air tight, you need to be sure to open it up and allow your cigars to breathe about once a week. This would be true with all air tight boxes, but plastic boxes make this a more important consideration.

The bottom line with plastic humidors is that they are fine for temporary storage of stogies that you plan to smoke in short order. However, they retain a lot of moisture (since the excess water vapor can't escape), too much for long term storage of high priced stogies. Be careful not to overcharge the humidifier of a plastic humidor and remember to open the box at least weekly to allow air circulation. Cigars will take in a small amount of oxygen and emit other gases as they age, if you keep cigars stored for long periods in a plastic container, they will build up a nasty smell (not to mention rot before your very eyes). Keep an eye on the hygrometer!!!

If you need a bigger box, try using the instructions found on the following sites:

Instructions for How to build a Coolidor. Step-by-Step with photos (StogieReview.com)

Instructions for How to buld a large Tupperdor. (http://how2dostuff.blogspot.com)

Instructions for building an inexpensive humidor using an Igloo cooler.

My entry into the Coolidor/Refriger-Ador class is pictured. When an old wine cooler motor froze up, I removed the motor and gutted the refridge. I built a palette out of Spanish cedar and then built a drawer for singles. Since it is cheaper, I lined the box with mahogany. Spanish cedar is a type of mahogany and they both have the same properties when it comes to the ability to take in and release humidity. The mahogany doesn't have the same pleasing aroma however.

Humidification is maintained using a Cigar Oasis XL Plus, an electronic humidifier/hygrostat. The Cigar Oasis is an easy, albeit fairly expensive, humidifier that you can just set and forget. It is preset to 70% RH, but is easily reset to other humidity levels. It has a digital readout of the humidity levels.

Humidor Crafted from Old Wine Cooler click each photo to see larger image
Newly gutted wine cooler	Mahogany lining	Finished product
With Cigars	With Drawer Out	Outside front

Wood Humidor Kits

The humidor shown at the top of the page, and at left, was built by my son in his high school wood shop class. Yeah, I know, you might be asking "Is that even legal?" Maybe he told his teacher he was making a jewelry box, he wouldn't be too far off on that account. Anyway, I didn't ask. The do-it-yourself kit came from a Popular Mechanics article titled: Fresh and Tasty: Build Our Mahogany Cigar Humidor. The five-page step-by-step instructions were easy to follow, but required some basic shop equipment. Further, if you have a little wood-working savvy, you can change the dimensions and materials to fit your needs. As you can see from the photo at left, my son changed the materials using a light mahogany structure with plywood top and bottom.

Though he couldn't order any Spanish cedar for the construction of the inside of the humidor, he glued Spanish cedar linings (found in many cigar boxes) to the inside of the lid and to the bottom of the humidor. He also took apart some Spanish cedar cigar boxes and glued the panels to the inside of the humidor to serve as sides and to provide a rail. He added a digital hygrometer and a Mr. Moisture humidifier. Hinges were solid brass. The wood and hardware was really cheap, less than $20 for those materials. The digital hygrometer and humidification element weighed in at around $20, so the total cost of the project was about $40. The humidor has a fairly good seal but the humidifier must still be reconditioned more often than most fine humidors. Nevertheless, with careful monitoring, this humidor works just fine.

After completing the project, my son presented the humidor to me for my birthday. I still use it for short-term storage purposes, it easily holds 100 cigars.

Another kit can be found at U-Bild.com. For those of you who are skilled woodworkers, you might want to read a very fine 3-part article by woodworker Paul Norman Pirollo titled, "Designing and Building a Humidor." Part One, Part Two and Part Three are found online (whitemountdesign.com). This series is not for beginners. You will need to be well-versed in woodworking lingo and skill.

To see many other examples of homemade humidors, check out the following webpage: The Homemade Humidor Album Page (cigargroup.com).

After reading the pros and cons of BYOB, you may decide that it's too much work. Fine. Just empty out your change jar (or bank account, as the case may be) and purchase a fine humidor. Or, if you want to become a more serious collector and require more space, you can move on to the Bigger Boxes section.