Has anyone used the tubes that some cigars come in for beads?
[Reply]

It's common to see beads stored in small, clear tubes a little smaller than a cigarette. The cigar tubes could, of course, work for a collection of larger beads.
[Reply]

No expert but I would think you'd have to drill a whole chit load of holes for them to work.
[Reply]

Never seen anyone use tubes that small. Would do much good as they would hold less than a teaspoon of beads.

The regular aluminum tubes have been used before but the problem is that even with a bunch of holes and a very small bit some beads will fall out.

You could take a pair of ankle high stockings and just cut it off an put the beads inside. Some have also used the small filter bags for aquariums or cheesecloth. :-)
[Reply]

Well, my experience stems from an old friend who essentially paints with very small beads. http://www.alfar.com/~joanne/ Larger beads, like for a necklace, would need a different container.
[Reply]

I fiquered I would have to drill them. That's not an issue,I have some pretty small bits. Right now they are in a bowl in my humi.
[Reply]

Thats a pretty good idea. Though instead of drilling with super small drill bits you could go a little bit larger and just put the beads in a stocking before putting them in a tube
[Reply]

Forget it. Been there, tried it. The tubes are not as strong as they look. You will end up denting the tubes in. You can use a dowel to limit that damage, but then you can't drill thru both sides with one stroke. The metal was soft enough that the drill bit would catch, and the tubes would start to spin if not held securely. And the aluminum tends to leave jagged edges that catch if on the outside, and break the beads on the inside. After a while, my aluminum tubes started to oxidize/corrode around the holes. And it's very time consuming to drill enough holes to do a good job of humidity transfer. Especially when you end up having to sand/file the little bits of sharp edges from the holes. I gave up, and just buy ready made tubes from Heartfelt. Neater, no bead damage, and much greater surface area of openings to allow humidity in and out.

But, if you have a bunch of tubes, and lots of time, give it a try. You might have better results. Just keep in mind that a dowel inserted firat will make it a little easier.
[Reply]

:-) Drilling a round, soft surface is not as easy as it looks. But if you want to try I would rig up some sort of jig to hold the tube so you can drill in a somewhat regular pattern. :-)

You can also buy tubes made for beads. http://heartfeltindustries.com/produ...at=Empty+Tubes
[Reply]

Dont think those will hold humidity very well.
[Reply]

:-)
[Reply]

I use cigar coffins for this (like Liberty coffins). Just fill'em up and tape some nylon over the top (use white nylon to see the beads/KL better).
[Reply]

I have seen someone's photo using the bigger tin tubes to pack beads in. However it looked like he spent an hour drilling the holes in the thing. Likely gutting out a PG humidification bar or disk would be more appealing and less effort. :-)

My beads are in open jar in the bottom of my humidor. I intend to use one or two of those little plastic prescription bottles. Waiting until I get done adjusting RH for the winter season.
[Reply]

I've used the tubos with success. You have to drill lots of small holes around them. I put the cedar sleeves back in the tube, also. Depending on the size of the tube, they'll hold enough for a traveldor and since the tubes are similar size, they take up the same amount of room as a stick.
[Reply]

Re purposing as a single traveldor, definitely.
I have a green tin CAO Brazilia Churchill tube works great for taking one "for the road"
[Reply]

Check it out. I punched holes in with the pivot on a compass.

Image

Image
[Reply]

Sure beats drilling. Throw it in your humi and let us know how it works out Jamie. I need a creative way to secure mine eventually.
[Reply]

You can get THESE for a buck each virtually all the time. They pop open in about 2 seconds and you just toss the foam and keep the screen, refilling with beads.

Or, like Bob posted, just buy the container from HF or HCM.
[Reply]

Me afraid of Devil Site, but yeah not a bad idea.

Image

Actually I may have a couple whammy bars ( or a few disks for that matter ) hanging out here.
[Reply]

Odd association for Beastie...

You can probably find the stick humidifiers elsewhere if you look around, Amazon might even have them. For the price, they're hard to beat.
[Reply]