Expert: James Yee - 5/26/2007

Question
James, I noticed a post that you made where you spoke of a Spanish Cedar tray that keeps your cigars slightly elevated (to create enough room at the base of the humidor for humidity aeration and rotating your cigars would not be necessary.)

This sparked my interest, and I would like to build one of these platforms of my own. However, I cannot think of how to fashion one. I believe that glue would not be a good idea, and am concerned with nails due to rust. Can you come up with any ideas?  

Answer
Hi Chris,

Brass nails should do the trick as they won’t rust and at best, will simply tarnish over the years.

The simplest method to building a cedar liner without using any type of adhesive/fasteners is to first measure the interior base of your humidor and then cut a Spanish cedar board (about ½ to ¾ cm thick) to fit the interior base perfectly.  Next, evenly drill holes or evenly cut slats into the board that will be large enough for humidity and air to flow through but not be too big for your smaller cigars to fall through.  Remember to be symmetrical and evenly space your slats/holes.  This will allow even aeration.  

Now, all you need to do is elevate the board inside your humidor.  What you can do is simply build a Spanish cedar “frame” that follows the entire interior wall of the humidor.  This frame will rest on the bottom of your humidor and create a lip for the board to firmly rest on.  If you have a large humidor, you may want to add a load-bearing cedar block under the center of the board.  This will prevent the board from bending and bowing under pressure.  Since no one will see the supporting frame as it’s always under the aeration liner, it doesn’t have to be one long, continuous frame.  You can just place cedar blocks (make sure they’re all equal size) at the four corners, sides and center sections.  As long as the blocks/frame evenly supports the board, it’ll work just fine.  Just be sure to make the liner and frame removable and don’t fasten the liner or frame directly to the humidor itself.

Hopes this answers your question and isn’t too confusing.  If you have any more questions, just ask.

Regards,
James.