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Last post 21 years ago by Mr.Mean. 25 replies replies.
Cedar vs spanish cedar
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Wood-man Offline
#1 Posted: Wed, Apr 2 2003, 4:29 PM EST
Joined: 03-13-2003
Posts: 234
I recently got a humi and it is lined w/cedar. It does not smell very well. My other humi has spanish inside & works very well. I wanted a little feedback on this stuff. Does it work well, does it ruin the smell of cigars, etc. Please help.


Thanks,

Woody (Wood-man)
xibbumbero Offline
#2 Posted: Wed, Apr 2 2003, 4:35 PM EST
Joined: 01-25-2002
Posts: 12,535
Can you define "it does not smell very well". X
xrundog Offline
#3 Posted: Wed, Apr 2 2003, 4:35 PM EST
Joined: 01-17-2002
Posts: 2,212
Where did you get this box? If it is aromatic cedar don't put any cigars in there unless you want them to taste like a shoe tree. Are you sure though? Spanish Cedar when freshly cut has a pretty strong smell. It settles down after a while.
Wood-man Offline
#4 Posted: Wed, Apr 2 2003, 4:48 PM EST
Joined: 03-13-2003
Posts: 234
the smell is like a stale smell.

this cedar is like a cream color. spanish has reddish tint.
xrundog Offline
#5 Posted: Wed, Apr 2 2003, 4:55 PM EST
Joined: 01-17-2002
Posts: 2,212
You are the wood-man! I concur with your color assessment. Me, I want the good stuff! Can you replace it easily?
Slimboli Offline
#6 Posted: Wed, Apr 2 2003, 5:31 PM EST
Joined: 07-09-2000
Posts: 16,139
Wood-man --- I'm a little confused.

I have 10 humidors, and every one of them have a 'pinkish cream-colored' spanish cedar in them. The color is very consistant.

My closets, on the other hand, are lines with American Cedar (bad for humi's) ... and it has the beautiful reddish/dark pink swirls going through it, combined with the swirls of the lighter cream color.

I do know that Spanish cedar will vary in color depending on the origin and soil conditions. Generally it has a pinkish to red colored heartwood which darkens with exposure, to either a red-brown or red-purple tone. The sapwood is pink or white. The wood is usually straight grained, but can be interlocked. It has a fine and uniform texture.

Many humidors are lined with Honduran Mahogany, which is a yellow-ish cream color. this is what you may have in yours ...
Robby Offline
#7 Posted: Wed, Apr 2 2003, 5:33 PM EST
Joined: 10-30-2002
Posts: 5,067
it's pretty easy to tell the difference... Cedar is easy. It has a VERY strong smell. The shoe tree remark was right on track. Many shoe trees are made of cedar (american) for just this reason. You can go to almost any department store and find some ceder to compare it to. Or probably Home Depot would have regular "cedar" you could sniff. I can't imagine anyone building a humidor out of regular cedar. Where did it come from?
osage Offline
#8 Posted: Wed, Apr 2 2003, 5:55 PM EST
Joined: 02-18-2001
Posts: 492
The good news is... you won't have moths in your cigars!
xrundog Offline
#9 Posted: Wed, Apr 2 2003, 6:12 PM EST
Joined: 01-17-2002
Posts: 2,212
No, Slim is on track. I have heard of Beech being used as well as Honduran Mahogany. I have taken yellowed wood out of some old humidors too. Didn't know what to make of it. I don't like it! But that is mainly because the spanish cedar works so nicely. Maybe it's the glue you're smelling.
Robby Offline
#10 Posted: Wed, Apr 2 2003, 6:36 PM EST
Joined: 10-30-2002
Posts: 5,067
I used elmers wood glue in the Ploomidoor. Odorless...
Wood-man Offline
#11 Posted: Thu, Apr 3 2003, 3:12 AM EST
Joined: 03-13-2003
Posts: 234
this wood has no grain, it is very smooth. I don,t know what it is. It looks like cardboard, press board, its very weird.
octowings Offline
#12 Posted: Thu, Apr 3 2003, 3:43 AM EST
Joined: 10-22-2002
Posts: 390
Better safe than sorry.
Don't put any gars in it!

...octo
bud451 Offline
#13 Posted: Thu, Apr 3 2003, 4:31 AM EST
Joined: 09-11-2010
Posts: 2,237
Spanish cedar has a grain just like Mahogany but is pinkish in color. Cedar that is cream in color is generally aromatic cedar and you don't want that in your humidor. Although, I've seen a picture posted here some time ago with a home made humidor that had chip board cedar closet lining in it. Can't imagine what those cigars taste like now.

Doesn't sound like you have Spanish cedar in yours.
Mr.Mean Offline
#14 Posted: Thu, Apr 3 2003, 5:35 AM EST
Joined: 05-16-2001
Posts: 3,025
Aromatic Cedar is actually a Juniper and can cause respitory problems.
Slimboli Offline
#15 Posted: Thu, Apr 3 2003, 5:57 AM EST
Joined: 07-09-2000
Posts: 16,139
bud451 --- you state, "Cedar that is cream in color is generally aromatic cedar ... " and that may or may not be true. The sapwood of Spanish Cedar can be pink or white (cream colored), but the heartwood is always a 'bright red' in color. Spanish Cedar, on the other hand, is usually a very light pinkish to cream color ...

A bit of trivia: It is the state tree of Louisiana. In fact the capital city of Louisiana, Baton Rouge is named for the wood. Baton Rouge means "red stick" after the bright red heart wood of red cedar.

Mr.Mean --- you are correct. The botanical name for Aromatic Cedar is Juniperus virginiana ...

Juniperus virginiana commonly known as Eastern red cedar or aromatic red cedar is found in abundance throughout East Texas to Bastrop county. In fact Bastrop county has one of the densest growths of aromatic red cedar in the United States.

Aromatic red cedar is the wood known for its attractive red color and sweet smell. It also has been known for centuries that it has the effect of repelling and killing most insects that might damage cloth goods. It has been used in chests and closets for that very purpose.
xrundog Offline
#16 Posted: Thu, Apr 3 2003, 7:19 AM EST
Joined: 01-17-2002
Posts: 2,212
Wood-man, If you can, pitch that nasty stuff. Spanish cedar can be bought at any woodworker's supply store. It is not very expensive.
Mr.Mean Offline
#17 Posted: Thu, Apr 3 2003, 8:00 AM EST
Joined: 05-16-2001
Posts: 3,025
To concur Slim's post, my sister lived in Smithville just outside of Bastrop (great white bass fishing by the way). Her property was covered with stuff.
bud451 Offline
#18 Posted: Thu, Apr 3 2003, 8:04 AM EST
Joined: 09-11-2010
Posts: 2,237
Yup....you are correct Slim and Mean....I just wanted to keep it short and that's what I meant by using "generally". Love cedar but hate those damed Juniper shrubs.

To me...the grain and density is the give-a-way between the two. I don't need to smell it.
smithbw Offline
#19 Posted: Thu, Apr 3 2003, 8:14 AM EST
Joined: 09-01-2001
Posts: 2,444
I believe that you can save the humi if you want to. Don't know if it is worth the effort. But you can always buy "Spanish" cedar and line the inside of the humi with it. Not something that I would do....I agree with Slim and Robby on this one. Wait a minute can that be true??? That I agree with both of them in one post....Hmmmmm.

Regards,


B
xrundog Offline
#20 Posted: Thu, Apr 3 2003, 9:00 AM EST
Joined: 01-17-2002
Posts: 2,212
I better clarify. "Pitch that nasty stuff" refers to the lining. Assuming there is a lining. I think some humidors are made out of the beech or mahogany and veneered or laquered. There is no lining. You can line it with spanish cedar but the smell won't go away. It is probably the glue. I've been seeing a few of these posts lately. Airing it out for a good while may be the ticket. Could be the glue needs to cure properly. Probably some strange mixture from Mexico.
Wood-man Offline
#21 Posted: Thu, Apr 3 2003, 9:33 AM EST
Joined: 03-13-2003
Posts: 234
Thanks for all the info guys. This is a display humi w/shelves in it. I'm convinced its some kind of pressboard material. I'm returning it, so it can be checked out. The description said cedar, but it is certainly not spanish cedar. Idon't know why anyone would use american cedar for a humidor. I don't beleive its american either. anyway thanks for the input.


Wood-man
Mr.Mean Offline
#22 Posted: Thu, Apr 3 2003, 11:25 AM EST
Joined: 05-16-2001
Posts: 3,025
I have a local liquor store here in Illinois that hase a rather large walk-in that is lined with Aromatic cedar.
They are currently remodeling and will be building a new walk-in. I was in there yesterday and gave them the specifics of what they need to do different. Hopefully they will listen.
Penguin13 Offline
#23 Posted: Thu, Apr 3 2003, 11:54 AM EST
Joined: 07-26-2002
Posts: 1,546
Mean - Where's that liquor store located? I've been looking for a liquor store with a nice selection of smokes. Two of my favorite things in one place :)

KC
mkraus47 Offline
#24 Posted: Thu, Apr 3 2003, 5:06 PM EST
Joined: 02-04-2003
Posts: 196
Where did you get this humi so that the rest of us can aviod it like the plague it is? MK
Tobasco Offline
#25 Posted: Thu, Apr 3 2003, 7:16 PM EST
Joined: 02-08-2003
Posts: 2,809

Maybe your screen name should be "whatsWood-man?" Just kidding :>) Hehehe!

Mag
Mr.Mean Offline
#26 Posted: Thu, Apr 3 2003, 7:51 PM EST
Joined: 05-16-2001
Posts: 3,025
Penguin, send me an e-mail
themrmean at earthlink dot net
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