August 8th – The 3/8” thick cedar was given a 3/8” rabbit to make a shiplap joint. This should help with the expansion of the cedar and keep the cracks between boards from being air gaps to the main casing.
The wood movement tables suggested that I would need to allow for about a 1/16” or two for each of the boards to expand once they get to 70% humidity. I decided to test this by taking some scraps and putting them in my tuperdor. By the weekend, I should know how big of a gap to leave between boards so they will seal up nicely.
I’m still going back and forth whether I should try to seal the door by butting the cedar up against it, or if I should just use weather striping. If the expansion test goes as expected, I’ll but the cedar up against the door from the inside, and nail it into place with some brads. I can always do weather stripping later . . . .
I’ll take better pictures once everything is final fitted. The boards are held in place largely by arrangement: the top and bottom hold the sides in place, so only a few brads are needed and the boards float.
You can almost see the Pineapple White Owls peaking out the front door, can’t you?
