How to Build a Walnut Humidor (Spanish Cedar, Aluminum Inlays)

Build a real walnut humidor with Spanish cedar lining—aluminum miter spline inlays, bookmatched lid, and quadrant hinges for a smooth 90°+ open with that satisfying seal. I walk through board selection, resawing a figured lid, exact miter setup, routing aluminum spline slots, fitting Spanish cedar, and installing quadrant hinges for a clean, precise lid action. Materials & Specs • Case: American Black Walnut (⅝″) • Lining: Spanish Cedar (¼″, hand-planed) • Inlays: Aluminum (miter spline) • Hinges: Quadrant • Finish: oil + lacquer topcoat • Size: (insert your approx.12" × 8" × 8") Tools/Techniques 45° shooting board tune-up • aluminum spline milling • hinge mortising • lid split cut • humidity plate fit Chapters (click to jump) 00:00 — Overview & final result (what we’re building) 00:23 — Choosing walnut + reading grain (bookmatched lid) 00:43 — Edge jointing for invisible glue lines 01:23 — Resawing the figured lid (bookmatch) 01:33 — Breaking down case parts (front/back/sides) 01:48 — Dialed miter setup for perfect corners 02:24 — 45° shooting board: micro-adjust miters 02:37 — Hand-planing for fit & finish 03:43 — Box glue-up: square and clamp strategy 04:48 — Routing aluminum spline slots (clean edges) 05:15 — Ripping/cross-cutting aluminum safely 06:04 — Milling aluminum splines (press fit) 07:27 — Epoxy install: aluminum splines 08:05 — Splitting the lid—clean cut without tear-out 08:46 — Spanish cedar lining: perfect fit 08:59 — Quadrant hinges: layout, mortise, install 09:20 — Aluminum finger pulls: polish & install 09:44 — Final reveal + seal test Music: Ace by Chill Study Meet Me Awake by Stray Bandit (Epidemic Sound) Spotless by Stray Bandit (Epidemic Sound) #diy #handmade #woodworking #custom #furniture #design