Perdomo Reserve Cigar Boxes

[sodul]

I found a few boxes for $5 a piece on Craigslist and decided to give it a try. This is much cheaper than pen boxes and they look very nice so I decided to get 3 of them to experiment with. An other member mentioned getting his boxes for $2 or less at cigar shops and I might try that next time.

 

First I had to decided how I would orient the rows and since the box seems the perfect width that what I picked.

 

After reading that some did triangular folds with cardboard I decided to give it a go since I have a lot of cardboard lying around.

 

First thing I did is plan how it triangle would look like, I used a combination of SketchUp and a spreadsheet as a cheap way to not have to apply any trigonometry formula to calculate the length of each segment and of the whole board, but also the cumulative distance of each line from the edge and from the middle. This allowed me to make very accurate and consistent lines.

Note that I only did half of the lines on each side, the side to be folded 'in'.

The I used a metal ruler and the side of the tip of a flat screwdriver to create a crease.

Pretty good fit, but it makes the pens be a little higher than I wanted, thanking just a bit of clearance from eh next layer in the box. I will probably redo this with much thinner cardboard or some very thick paper instead. At the very least a good proof of concept and a good temporary solution.

 

Now to build the actual lower frame and the upper tray. The inside dimensions of theses boxes are about 172mm wide, 182 mm long and 66mm deep. Give or take 1 or 2 mm depending on the box. I had some big sheets of manufactured boards (like very compressed cardboard) about 3mm thick that did very well for this.

 

Here is the frame for the bottom of the box, the main purpose is to provide support for the top tray and protect pens in the bottom.

 

And the top tray. I added hole in the middle to pull it out of the box more easily. Initially it is so I have something to grip on, but long term it allows air to flow to avoid suction when pulling it out of the box later on, although it will be probably covered in the final version. I have sanded bevels, so that the tray will slide in position more easily, and it also removes the rough edges.

 

This is simply glued together with regular wood glue and seems pretty solid. There should be very little mechanical stress here so there was no need to add nails, or staples.

 

Tray fits very evenly on top of the box. Note that before gluing all the pieces I did a dry installation and found that the box was no longer closing and I had to sand 2m overall, or about 0.5 mm per side piece. I taped 60 grit sandpaper to the top of my table saw, and sanded all the edge pieces clamped together. This allowed me to be very consistent for the thickness of all the side pieces.

 

Pens in the bottom with the temporary insert.

 

And the top tray.

 

I've added side ribbons to help pull the tray out. The blue tape is only top hold the ribbon in place while the glue dries. Turns out the frame material rips of a bit when pulling the tape out. This is probably temporary, it was the first ribbon I could find lying around.

 

And the almost Final product.

 

I was able to fit most of my inks in a second box without modifications.

 

Next I will stop by Michaels for some felt lining, and probably better material for the tray liner. I have been considering the tray liners from GoPens, I have not decided yet.

I'm considering adding a thin coat of varnish on the frame and tray materiel to make it a bit harder and also water proof, but that might be overkill considering I will cover them with fabric and my vintage waterman box is made of even flimsier cardboard material and lasted over 50 years just fine.

 

[Tasmith]

Very nice!

 

Most cigars stores in my area charge 3-5 dollars for each cigar box with the money going to charity.

[Cyber6]

Excellent work mate!!!!

 

I really want to like those Jinhaos'... I LOVE the colors... but can't stand the clip.

 

 

 

 

C.

[sodul]

I really want to like those Jinhaos'... I LOVE the colors... but can't stand the clip.

I have the White and Champagne version of the 159 on the way, Silver maybe for later, I don't think there is any more colors for the 159 after that. I used to have a 149 a long time ago and it was 'misplaced' at work. It was the rollerball version but still ... that experience is keeping me away from expensive pens now and when I found the 159 I had to get it since my huge hands missed the feel of the 149. I still have the box and a refill as a memento, and yes the 159 fits nicely in a real 149 box.

 

I'm not fond of the shield either but since the cap is so large it does not bother me that much. Of all my JinHao pens I prefer the clip on the x750: sober yet elegant, not too stiff and well rounded tip for easy clipping. The clip on the 250 feels cheap trying poorly to look expensive. The clip on the 599 is definitely the most useable. The clip of the 886 is fine but a little boring. The clip of the x450 is not as ugly as the 250 and is mechanically similar to the x750.

[Cyber6]

 

 

I'm not fond of the shield either but since the cap is so large it does not bother me that much. Of all my JinHao pens I prefer the clip on the x750: sober yet elegant, not too stiff and well rounded tip for easy clipping. The clip on the 250 feels cheap trying poorly to look expensive. The clip on the 599 is definitely the most useable. The clip of the 886 is fine but a little boring. The clip of the x450 is not as ugly as the 250 and is mechanically similar to the x750.

 

Can you try something for me? Check if you can screw off the top finial?.. If it can come out, then it should be easy to replace the clip for something a tad less gaudy.... (Says the girl who LOVES Orange pens... lol)

 

 

 

C.

[sodul]

 

 

 

Can you try something for me? Check if you can screw off the top finial?.. If it can come out, then it should be easy to replace the clip for something a tad less gaudy.... (Says the girl who LOVES Orange pens... lol)

 

 

 

C.

 

 

I can on 6 out of 9 of the 159 pens I have. The threads are glued with some weak glue, might be better glues on the ones that are holding up. It does not seem entirely related to the overall built quality of each pen: there is variation in the quality of the pain job even for pens of the same color. I have one blue and one black that are peeling off, but that's after wearing them in my shirt pocket on steaming hot days. My 'replacement' Black seem to be holding up. I plan on removing all the paint on them and give them a unique brushed metal look but I need to find a way to preserve the chrome.

 

According to my caliper the clip's ring is 14.3mm diameter, 9.44mm internal diameter, 0.62mm thick and where it goes on the slot is 5.44 mm while the opening for that slot in 5.51mm on the cap itself.

 

 

Correction I was able to turn the top final on 8 out of 9 pens with additional force, only the purple one will not give so you are very likely to be able to get an Orange 159 and change the clip. That metallic purple is very nice and has the best pain finish quality of them.

[Soggycitybob]

This is brilliant! Love it! I'm gonna use this idea.

[Cyber6]

 

I can on 6 out of 9 of the 159 pens I have. The threads are glued with some weak glue, might be better glues on the ones that are holding up. It does not seem entirely related to the overall built quality of each pen: there is variation in the quality of the pain job even for pens of the same color. I have one blue and one black that are peeling off, but that's after wearing them in my shirt pocket on steaming hot days. My 'replacement' Black seem to be holding up. I plan on removing all the paint on them and give them a unique brushed metal look but I need to find a way to preserve the chrome.

 

According to my caliper the clip's ring is 14.3mm diameter, 9.44mm internal diameter, 0.62mm thick and where it goes on the slot is 5.44 mm while the opening for that slot in 5.51mm on the cap itself.

 

IMG_2467.jpg

 

Correction I was able to turn the top final on 8 out of 9 pens with additional force, only the purple one will not give so you are very likely to be able to get an Orange 159 and change the clip. That metallic purple is very nice and has the best pain finish quality of them.

 

 

AWESOME !!!!... I surprised myself at times.... ... THANKS so much for doing the work....

 

 

Now.. to source some cool clips.....

 

 

 

 

C.