No, it's not a car, it's a humidor (cigar case, for the layman). It will be a retirement gift for the president of Porsche Motorsports North America. When it's done it will have handles made from titanium connecting rod end caps, a stainless steel checkered flag and a jeweled Porsche emblem.

My part, encasing a wooden humidor in a polished stainless finish, is done. I did it by waterjetting stainless plates, chamfering the edges and getting it welded by somebody really, really good. The encasement fits so tightly that when you drop the humidor in, it settles in slowly because the air takes so long to squeeze out.

Anyway I had to post pics of this because it is one of the biggest pains in my *** I've ever experienced. If you want one, make sure you give me a home address so I can come to your door and beat you senseless with an angle grinder.







Frame designed by me . It's harder to see the carbon fiber backing and CNC milled (yes really) aluminum parts of it. The broken glass is a placeholder, the picture isn't in yet.

 

But isn't it great when it's all finished and fits perfectly?

Nice work, man.

 

very nice! be sure to show us the finished project!

 

Looks good so far. Make sure to show us the final pics.

Out of curiosity, what do you do for a living?

 

Absolutely gorgeous!

As someone who's once been involved with manufacturing and machining, I can definately appreciate a very nicely made piece, mostly because I couldn't ever seem to make one.

Props to you

 

Scott, who respects people who can make stuff that looks as good as it works...

 

Bling!

 

tight work. will you show the finished product?

 

Thanks for the complements. I had a lot of help from people, including a very good polisher and a damned good welder (every corner on that box is welded!) Polishing is by no means a talent of mine. Final assembly is happening up in Wisconson but I will hopefully have pics...

As for my occupation, see sig

 

That is freakin nice.

I just bought another 100 count rosewood humidor that is pretty nice for my last shipment that but that puts mine to shame. I am thinking about sealing off my garage and turning it into a walk in humidor and working on my cars in the driveway.

Dang, when I become head of Porsche Motorsports NA (which will happen, oh...never) I'll be sure to give you a call.

-Charlie

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by DsR &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> Bling!</TD></TR></TABLE>

thats big bucks bling!!!
looks amazing!!

 

awseome! I really want to see the jeweled emblem!

 

i wanna see this when its done

 

Slap a Type R badge on it and put it in a show!


Nice craftsmanship.

 

I got it!!

KEEP THIS TABLE CLEAR

Was I right? Do I win purty box?

 

Actually it says "KEEP THIS ABLE CLEAR" but I'll send you a nice humidor box anyway

 

Dude thats awesome work!

Wouldn't it be cool if the pres turned it into a battery box for his car ...or not

edit:

that thing is welded together? Can you please post a pic of one of the welds

 

Nice!

 

NO!!!!

Just got word from Wisconson and my humidor... popped. Yes, it ******* popped.

I shipped the humidor assembled and failed to consider that wood expands a lot when it gets cold, and when air pressure drops i.e. in an airplane cargo bay. So the wood expanded and the cover failed at the welds, which were not particularly deep.

I'm just a little bit angry right now...

 

holy fark that sucks,

 

damn that sucks. well it was a nice attempt

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Angry Joe &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">NO!!!!

Just got word from Wisconson and my humidor... popped. Yes, it ******* popped.

I shipped the humidor assembled and failed to consider that wood expands a lot when it gets cold, and when air pressure drops i.e. in an airplane cargo bay. So the wood expanded and the cover failed at the welds, which were not particularly deep.

I'm just a little bit angry right now...</TD></TR></TABLE>

Popped or not it's a fine piece. It seems fixable, if it can be repolished (BTW can you give some details on how polishing is done? I work in a granite shop and I'm curious how steel polishing is different. Thanks)
The wood part comes out right? So it could be taken out and sanded for tolerance

 

The box is being finished at Kelly-Moss racing in Wisconson. Those guys are as talented as they come but they have no experience polishing something like this. They are going to try and fix it though...

Polishing was done by a guy at the plant who used to do that sort of thing for a living. It involved a lot of preparation sanding, moving from 220 grit in some places to 600 grit, then buffing with a technique that I don't really remember (he explained it really fast and I was low on coffee). Of course any time you screwed up and nicked it or changed something, you had to start over. Which was not frustrating in the least, of course.

Prior to welding I ground and sanded the edges to perfect 45 degree angles so they would mate up neatly and symmetrically. The welds had to be blended and that was what killed it, we ended up taking too much material out of the corners.

The box does come out (it was to be bonded in permanently at some point) but the fit was perfect the first time, at least until the damn thing froze.

 

UUUUgh! That just makes me sick that you worked on the bitch so hard and it popped!!

Keep your chin up, **** like this will happen in life.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Angry Joe &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Polishing was done by a guy at the plant who used to do that sort of thing for a living. It involved a lot of preparation sanding, moving from 220 grit in some places to 600 grit, then buffing with a technique that I don't really remember (he explained it really fast and I was low on coffee).</TD></TR></TABLE>
Interesting. With granite we wet polish (generates too much heat otherwise) from ~80 down to 5000 grit. I would've expected wet polishing would be necessary for steel too. Learn something new every day.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> Of course any time you screwed up and nicked it or changed something, you had to start over. Which was not frustrating in the least, of course.</TD></TR></TABLE>
Same here. You're right, not frustrating at all.



<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">The box does come out (it was to be bonded in permanently at some point) but the fit was perfect the first time, at least until the damn thing froze.</TD></TR></TABLE>
Yeah, mixing materials when one of them is wood is always a pain in the hass. Good luck with the repairs