Cigar Box Pen Cases
- Thread starter THarvey
- Start date
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workinforwood
Member
Those are very nice Tim. The seller maybe didn't have the original insert on the one case as it doesn't quite fit right?
THarvey
Member
Thank Jeff.
I make the inserts from 1" wide single pen strips. There was not enough room for me to sand them thinner and slide an 8th in the space (like I did with the other).
Think I will cut some 1/4" pieces and wrap them in the fabric to fill the gaps. Any other ideas are welcome. I am not completely sold on that solution yet.
Last edited:
wood-of-1kind
Member
rjwolfe3
Member
Very nice! Did you route the pieces that hold the pens?
THarvey
Member
I used a 3/4" core bit. I wanted the tray to be able to accomodate any pens, including Statesman and Gents.
Grim Spirit
Member
Very nicely done. Make a good use for all the empty cigar boxes I've got as a result of buying full cigar boxes... 
jskeen
Member
Tim; Nice job on the inserts. The red looks good. May have to try that after I run out of black next time. I use a slant jig on my tablesaw to cut the coves in pieces of stock that I square up on my jointer and then plane to final dimension so that I'm 100% sure they are square. I find that about 4 feet is a handy length to start out with. I have a ton of 1"x1" square hardwood stock that was used to sticker lumber for kiln drying, it's kinda rough, but it cleans up nicely at 7/8 square.
Nowdays I leave the mitered spanish cedar liners in the boxes too, and use them to cover the edges of the insert, it's easier to glue on the fabric if you don't have to worry about covering the edges. Also the cigar store dude told me they "just don't look right" without them. I took his word for it, he deals with these things for a living. They also help to keep the boxes from warping as they dry out after being removed from the humidor. I hope you're not using spray adhesive to hold the fabric down. Tried that, got a couple back that didn't hold.
I also found that it's much better to cut a insert out of some sort of thin wood and glue the strips to it, rather than trying to glue them to each other. Seems that no matter how carefully you square your stock, when you glue 8 to 12 pieces side to side, some cumulative error creeps in and they don't want to lay flat. Besides, if you glue them to a backer square, you can use spacers between them to space them out and eliminate the gaps at the edge. (I cut up usps flat rate envelopes into strips the same height as my inserts, then trim them off with a disk sander) I try to have enough space to leave a double thickness on the outside edges now, it seems to look more finished for some reason. Anyway, just a few observations from having done a bunch of these, YMMV.
Nowdays I leave the mitered spanish cedar liners in the boxes too, and use them to cover the edges of the insert, it's easier to glue on the fabric if you don't have to worry about covering the edges. Also the cigar store dude told me they "just don't look right" without them. I took his word for it, he deals with these things for a living. They also help to keep the boxes from warping as they dry out after being removed from the humidor. I hope you're not using spray adhesive to hold the fabric down. Tried that, got a couple back that didn't hold.
I also found that it's much better to cut a insert out of some sort of thin wood and glue the strips to it, rather than trying to glue them to each other. Seems that no matter how carefully you square your stock, when you glue 8 to 12 pieces side to side, some cumulative error creeps in and they don't want to lay flat. Besides, if you glue them to a backer square, you can use spacers between them to space them out and eliminate the gaps at the edge. (I cut up usps flat rate envelopes into strips the same height as my inserts, then trim them off with a disk sander) I try to have enough space to leave a double thickness on the outside edges now, it seems to look more finished for some reason. Anyway, just a few observations from having done a bunch of these, YMMV.
THarvey
Member
Thanks for the comments.
I leave the liners in the boxes, until I have the inserts ready. I do find some measurable changes in the boxes from the time I received them, after they have set in my shop for a few days. The inserts help keep the boxes from warping. (I have one where the inserts were removed, after a week in my shop the box won't close.) I like the framing the inserts provide and will probably used them.
What do you used instead of spray-on adhessive? These boxes are for me, so if they come loose, I will just repair them. I am planning to make some for sell, so I would like to know a better method.
Great suggestions. Thanks.
THarvey
Member