Vanderburgh & Company. - Welcome to Vanderburgh
Desktop Humidors
Crafting a Vanderburgh Humidor
The making of a Vanderburgh Handcrafted Humidor.
Handcrafted by Master Humidor Builders, not hobby woodworkers.
Here you will a summarized process of how a Vanderburgh cabinet style Custom Raised Panel humidor is crafted. As you can see, each Custom Vanderburgh Humidor is handcrafted one at a time, and never mass produced.
This attentive approach allows the craftsman to individually select just the right woods for your exceptional humidor. Your custom humidor will be built for you by one of our Master Humidor builders, not a hobby woodworker.
WOOD SELECTION:
When we get a go-ahead from a client, we hand-select the woods specifically for that humidor. Because we purchase our woods in small batches, we can pick out woods with exceptional character and grain. Imagine how difficult it must be to be as particular as this when ordering large lots of woods.
After the wood has been selected, the wood is 'dressed' or rough planed to give us a better idea on colour and figure.
The profiles to the humidor are sized and cut as needed. Notice that our humidors are made with solid exotic woods up to a full 7/8" (22 mm) thick of solid wood. This gives an immense amount of character that you simply cannot get from a thin veneer.
SOLID WOOD vs VENEER:
As you may know, nearly all other mass produced humidors are made with veneer 1/16" max (less than 1mm) over another type of wood. There is nothing really wrong with this process, except that in our opinion solid woods make a humidor with muchmore character and appeal as you will see later.
After the profiles have been cut, other cooresponding profiles will be cut to match. Some of the body panels will need to have precise 45 degree mitred corners.
If your mitred corners have not been cut on a very precise saw, you will get gaps in the joints. This is very unsightly. You will be surprised by the level of detail, andprecision in the way your Vanderburgh Humidor has been made.
GRAIN MATCHING:
An important process in building your humidor is matching of grain. We take the extra time to match the right wood grain to the appropriate pieces of your humidor. This will give an overall balanced look, and it is an extra step in making an extraordinary custom humidor.
The beauty of the solid exotic woods is starting to make sense now, as these profiles have an exceptional amount of character that will be seen at a variety of angles and profiles.
PRECISE CUTTING of PROFILES:
The raised panel inserts are now cut to size. Notice how the centre profile is will be cut to give a raised appearance when fit into the humidor frame. The character of the wood will 'come alive' as the exotic wood's character is revealed through the cuts.
We will be applying special natural oils that will bring out the rich character of the chosen wood. Here's where the implimentation of solid woods really reveals character not found in humidors made with veneer.
Raised Panel humidors are very time consuming and require many precise cuts and profiles as you can see.
This cabinet style construction method allows for our humidors to be created in very oversize formats. This particular humidor will end up being 30" wide and 10" tall.
This 'aging chest' will be ultimately used for long term aging of cigars.
BODY FRAME PROFILE MATCHING:
The wood's character is matched on the individual horizontal and vertical humidor frame profiles (the rails and stiles). This step will balance the overall visual appearance of handcrafted humidor.
In addition to grain-matching the rails and stiles, we also color match the raised panels to the framing.
Often, instead of using the same wood as the body, we will use a contrasting wood to give a complete uniqueness to the design.
We take a fair amount of effort in balancing the right wood tones for the different sides of your humidor.
PRE GLUING ASSEMBLY :
Now you can see to the right and left, the centre panels are loose fitted into the body panels of the humidor. This is to make sure everything has been cut and will fit correctly.
After the panels have been matched and fitted, a soft arch has been cut to form some unique character on the bottom side of the humidor. Little extra design elements like this gives an immense amount of character to the humidor.
Now since everything fits nicely, we will go ahead and glue it all up.
GLUING:
As you can see here, we have 8 different clamps to hold and glue the entire humidor together. We never use cheap glues to hold your humidor together. We use only top quality waterproof adhesives for long term durability.
FINAL SANDING, and PRE-FINISH:
We hand-plane the faces of the humidor prior to final sanding and finishing. Now the humidor has had it's final sanding, and is ready for hand polishing and finishing. Notice how well the wood profiles matched up with the body of the humidor.
You can also already begin to see the different colour tones in the Sapele Mahogany that we picked out.
FINAL FINISHING, HUMIDOR LINING, and INTEGRATION OF HUMIDIFIER and HYGROMETER:
The only other step we do to the humidor is line the interior with solid Spanish cedar, and outfit it with the appropriate humidification and hygrometer system. We typically install two types of humidification systems that we have found work
very well.
Our passive system is a Polymer Crystal humidification system, and our active system is an easy to use German Engineered CigarSpa system.
In this case we integrated an electronic control on the front panel of the humidor and integrated fans to circulate the air inside the humidor.
The electronics on the outside allow adjustments internally without opening the lid.
Planting trees
Planting Trees after we Build Humidors
Some of the selections of wood we use for your humidor may come from exotic places like Central America, Africa, Indonesia or India. Often some of these countries don't have the reforestation practices as we do in North America.
We believe that natural products are a gift for us to use and enjoy, but should also be respected and appreciated for what they really are.
Beginning in August, 2011, Vanderburgh Humidors plants two trees for every humidor built through our tree planting partner MokuGift. MokuGift is an award-winning organization recognized by the United Nations.
We don't want to take advantage of the artwork God offers us to enjoy.
How it works.
After a humidor is shipped to you, within a few weeks you will receive an email notification indicating that two trees have been planted in your name. We try and plant the same tree in the same part of the world as the one used for your humidor.
It's the right thing to do.
Links and Suggestions
Here are some links that I would recommend and suggest. Some of them are people I have dealt with over the years and some are great informational resources. Enjoy.
StogieFresh - Simply the best online educational resource for cigars.
MacQueen Pipes - My favorite pipes. Hand-made with wooden stems.
Saddleback Leather - Simply the best rugged and casual leather bags, leather wallets and briefcases you can find anywhere. I personally own about 7 of their products.
Dogwatch Social Club - Bob and Dale are a lot of fun, and truly have a passion for cigars.
Mombacho Cigars - Premium cigars of Nicaragua. First class and easy smoking.
Jameson Cigars - I love their 'Declaration' line of cigars
Bucanero Cigars - Their El Capitan is my favorite go-to cigar.
Cro Magnon Cigars - We designed and built their limited edition humidor. Powerful, savory cigars.
Lou Rodriguez Cigars - Delicious box-pressed maduro cigars. Outstanding.
Land Rover - We own a 1954 Vintage Land Rover Series 1, and are currently restoring it.
Real de Catorce - one of the coolest places we have traveled to and visited. If you have the opportunity - visit Real de Catorce, Mexico.
Our Philosophy
People express art in many different ways. Some through music. Some through painting. Some through their craft. Some through poetry, dance or photography.
At Vanderburgh Humidors our art is creating some of the most beautiful and well-built products that you can find anywhere. Products that we use every day. Fine, luxury solid hardwood cigar humidors. Classy leather items that don't fall apart in 2 years. Innovative ideas.
ART in CREATION
We carefully craft each humidor one at a time, carefully selecting just the right materials and woods that compliment each-other while maintaining a perfect overall balance. We primarily use solid woods at a minimum of 3/4" thick rather than thin veneer. It offers longevity and beauty.
ART in MATERIALS
We feel art is revealed in nature, God's art for us to enjoy, use and replenish. We build our humidors from solid selections of rare woods, and high figure planks. We hand-apply traditional oils and modern finishes to bring out their natural character. Our humidor floors consist of solid slabs of polished stone. This is a technique pioneered by Vanderburgh Humidors. Our American made hinges are solid brass and engineered to withstand the test of time. Solid wood humidors announce classic character with long term durability. Our leather items are made from the best and most interesting cuts of the hide.
ART in CRAFTSMANSHIP
Our craftsmen are artists and are given much autonomy when building humidors and leathers. If they come across something unique about the board they are building with, often they will massage their plans and make changes around the character they find.
We feel that art comes often in the unexpected... in unpredictability. In the beauty of nature. In the camaraderie of friends. The journeys we take in life. In the lives we live and in our families.
We express art through the products we create and the lives we live.
Our art is products. Built carefully. Properly. Intrinsically. Passionately.
We hope that you can enjoy them like we do every day.
- Eddie DeJong-Vanderburgh
Seasoning Your Humidor
Seasoning (Or Priming) Your Cigar Humidor
This is a very important step if you purchase a new humidor, and many people overlook this. You may not know this, but to open up a newly purchased humidor and toss in your cigars without following through with step might be fateful!
When most humidors are built, the Spanish cedar is naturally dry as most woods are prior to woodworking. Now at Vanderburgh, we store all of our Spanish Cedar in a special humidified room that is pre-conditioned to 70% RH. So when we craft your humidor, the cedar will already be pre-seasoned. Even still, through shipping, the wood might lose some of its humidity, so I would still recommend this process.
But before we go into how to season, let me do a quick review of the special qualities of Spanish Cedar.
Qualities of Spanish Cedar
As I mentioned before, the Spanish Cedar has unique qualities for its use in a humidor:
- Spanish Cedar has a natural resistance to mold and mildew.
- Spanish Cedar imparts a desirable scent to the cigar, while the cigar ages
- The cigar beetle dislikes Spanish Cedar’s scent and acts like a repellent.
- If the humidor is built properly, the Spanish Cedar acts as a moisture buffer, so if the lid of the humidor is frequently opened, the interior RH returns quickly to its previously desired level.
Since the Spanish Cedar acts like a sponge, it will both absorb and desorb moisture. If the Spanish cedar lining in your humidor is very dry, as it usually is, when you first purchase it, then it can actually pull out the moisture in your cigars potentially damaging them. So in order to prevent this one must ‘season’, ‘prime’ or ‘condition’ your Spanish cedar lining to ensure a reliable, and stable internal microclimate.
The Process of Seasoning Your Humidor
1. The Easy Humidor Seasoning Method.
For reliability, ease and least amount of work, I would highly recommend purchasing the One Step Seasoning Kit from Boveda. This will solve your humidor seasoning procedure with ease.
2. The Traditional Humidor Seasoning Method
A common and traditional method of seasoning a humidor is to wipe down the interior sides of the humidor with distilled water with a lint-free cloth. I used to recommend this process for all humidors, however since there is a vast amount of cheap humidors on the market, I would now avoid this procedure. On cheap humidors you could run the risk of over-expanding the interior lining causing structural joint failure.
Instead, I would let your humidifier do the work for you.
First of all, make sure the humidor is completely empty, and free of lint, dust or dirt. Fill your humidifier with proper solution and let it sit inside the humidor by itself. Close the lid and allow the Spanish Cedar to naturally absorb the moisture over the next few days. To expedite the process, you can also place an additional cup of distilled water inside your humidor.
Every day for the next 7-10 days, continue to top-up your humidifier with the proper solution. Monitor the internal Relative Humidity, and once it seems stable at around 70% +/- you can begin to introduce cigars to your humdidor.
After a week and a half, you can go ahead and introduce your cigars into the humidor.
Priming your humidor is usually required only once, but by doing so, will ensure stable, consistent aging and maturation of your cigars for your smoking enjoyment.