DIY cigar tube kit ideas

You can buy wood tubes from a number of sources…..Google is your friend.

You can also make them by wrapping veneer around a form.

Two things come to mind…

First, it’s easy to machine brass… So, if you bought some brass tubing of the proper sizes, you could turn down the outside of the tube that will slide into the other… Does that make sense?

Second, I’m not sure I’d be excited about storing my cigars in brass tubes.

I also am not an expert turner, just beginning to get my feet under me. I’ve been thinking of turning a cigar tube for myself. My plan was to just do it out of wood. Figured I’d do it just like any other turned box, except I’d simply use a drill bit in a fixed chuck in my tail stock to drill the holes for the cigars. I’d turn the mortice and tenon like any other box.

-- John F. SoCal transplant, chewer uppper of good wood

As an experiment, I would probably just look for some thin walled chrome or aluminum tubing that you can could glue into one end to act sort of like a nipple that slides into the other end. Maybe this replacement tube would be something you could use? Of course if the wood is stable enough you could simply turn a lip and recess for an all wood approach. You might even be able to use a tap and dye to cut threads?

Another idea is to look at brass fittings and see if you can make a threaded joint, though they may be more expensive than the kits.

-- Nathan, TX -- Hire the lazy man. He may not do as much work but that's because he will find a better way.

I have one made for me by a friend that is just a wood tube (Spanish Cedar) and the ferrule is a piece of copper pipe. I’ll try to remember to bring it to the shop and take a pic, but it’s a very nice holder.

-- Our village hasn't lost it's idiot, he was elected to congress.

Here we go. You can see this tube was made for a large cigar, 50 ring size as I recall, and he embellished it with some cigar bands I had given him. In the open pic you can see how he used the piece of copper pipe.

-- Our village hasn't lost it's idiot, he was elected to congress.

Thanks everyone for the replies!
First off, that spanish cedar tube is awesome! If I had spanish cedar, I’d definitely do an all wood approach. I have quite a bit of black walnut that has been turning/finishing nicely, and was hoping to use that. I wasnt surgeon the safety or flavor of having direct contact with the walnut, so that’s why I was looking to make a full length tube. As axis said though, not sure if brass will be any better. Might need to look into stainless. Ideally these wouldnt be permanent tubes, just used to transport one cigar in a golf bag or something for a day or two, but I guess after giving them away, no telling what the recipient will use it for.

I have found some telescoping brass tubing online, that I think might work, I will have to check and see if I can find the same in stainless.

I guess I am able to make these solid wood, as suggested a couple times, but aside from the unknown effect of the walnut, I was also hoping for a little slimmer profile. The way I was thinking, if you had a metal sleeve with wood on the outside similar to turning a pen, I could make the overall diameter less than if I tried to make the whole piece wood. I hadn’t thought about wrapping them in veneer though. That would definitely be the thinnest profile, but I’ve never really done a lot of veneer work, and worry I wouldnt be able to get a nice seam.

I don’t know if it has a coating, but standard cigar tubes are aluminum, sometimes the cigar is wrapped in a thin veneer of cedar.

Just remember that some brass has 1-2% lead to improve machinability, which might include being able to form it into a tube(?). Of course, walnut can have a pretty strong smell which might not be good for the cigar’s flavor if stored in it for a long time. I have seen some complaints about that in the past when researching alternatives to Spanish cedar for humidors (which is actually not a cedar but is related to mahogany, BTW).

-- Nathan, TX -- Hire the lazy man. He may not do as much work but that's because he will find a better way.

What if you just glued a tight fitting piece of cork to the lid and allowed a friction fit to keep it closed?

Also, if you make any dust with SC be sure to protect your lungs. It smells good on my cigars, but is supposed to be pretty nasty to inhale the dust.

So i’ve come up with 3 potential designs.

*The first and third pics are expanded views

The 1st uses two sizes of aluminum or stainless tubes that slide inside each other. [Ex Body tube:25mm OD x 2mm wall. Cap tube 28mm tube x 1.5mm wall.] In theory the ID of the cap tube would perfectly match the OD of the body providing a nice sliding fit and seal. Id make some bushings and basically turn these exactly like a pen blank.
Pros: looks the cleanest/most professional, I think this would be the easiest to turn. A metal or wood trim band at the end of the walnut body to make it pop a little more.
Cons: Not sure on the tolerances of the tubing so don’t know how tight of a fit I could get. Not sure exactly what to make the end plugs with. I could try to turn some aluminum on the wood lathe(don’t have access to a metal lathe right now) or I could just glue in wood plugs.

The second and third technically don’t need a metal tube at all other than the desire to separate the walnut from the cigar. A solid wood tube can be made, and then a cap with a cork/rubber stopper would slide over the entire body.
Pros: Simpler design
Cons: Not the cleanest look(unless im going for a mini german hand grenade look)

The third is basically the same as the second, but the cap has the stopper directly on the end and presses directly into the body.
Pros: Simplest design
Cons: could be a seam between the two pieces of wood if the stopper prevents the cap from fully seating.

Let me know what yall think or if yall have other suggestions.

I had also considered lining the inside of any of the designs with spanish ceder veneer, but again i’ve never really worked with veneer. Anybody know of a good way to do this, is it as simple as rolling it into a tube shape and sliding it in with a little glue?

The cedar that comes wrapped around cigars is just that, a wrap, rolled and taped around the cigars body (discarded just as with the cigar label.

Option #1 looks nice, but rarely will two tubes have a perfect fit even though the dimensions say they will, Of course it should be no big deal to reduce the inner tube diameter with sandpaper on a lathe, you could even make a slight taper for a fine fit. If the parts are loose to begin with, the work gets harder 8^)

I had dome cigars that came in glass tubes with a plastic tapered cap (basically a plastic cork). I thought something like your #3 where the plastic cap was inserted into a recess in the lid (secured with a short screw perhaps), and enough protruding plastic cork to provide a secure seat into the tube when the two ends are joined.

For the seam problem in #3, there could be a slight groove at the junction such that the cork actually slides fully into the tube (like a piston in an engine). This would eliminate any potential gap and if the cork is sized correctly, the fit will stay perfect and secure for a long time.

One thing to remember about option 3 is that it will be much longer than the others so may not sit in a pocket as well.

I would consider a hybrid of 1 and 2. Just a single metal tube and all wood cap that slides over it. The wood cap and body would be the same ID and OD.

-- Nathan, TX -- Hire the lazy man. He may not do as much work but that's because he will find a better way.

I think ya’ll are right! A combination of 1 and 2, with a smaller cork might just work. I think I was initially wanting the metal tube in the cap to provide a barrier between the cigar, and the wood, however the cap really wouldn’t be exposed, as it will slide over the body tube anyways. Drilling a hole to match the OD of the body tube will also be much easier than trying to mess with two sizes of tubing. A small circle of cork around 1/4” thick that fits inside the body tube could be glued into the end of the cap to help seal/secure.

I am a college student and am actually away from my lathe for a week or two, but I will provide an update once I get back to my shop and can start turning.

As for the cedar lining, I would prefer to have something that is a permanent fixture. After looking at the price of spanish cedar veneer though, I might not go this route at all. I think if I can get 304 or 316 stainless tubing for the liner, I should be ok to have the cigar in direct contact with the stainless. I also don’t think humidity will be a huge issue as the purpose of these should just be temporary containment. I could be wrong, but i’m not sure if the cedar would be of much use anyways.

The cedar linings tend to cause mold to grow.
If this is just a mode of transportation for a cigar to get safely to the lounge or golf course, no need for a cedar liner, at all.

It’s a nice touch, but I wouldn’t use a tube for storage or aging. I even go so far as to pull my sticks out of their tubes if when I buy a box of tubos.