Gun Cabinet Question

[Lamar Horton]

I'm in the process of designing and building a gun cabinet. My question is. What methods have any of you used to make the nests for the rifle barrels and butts?

Thanks
Lamar

[Lou Morrissette]

Lamar,
First of all, welcome to the Creek. I've never made a gun cabinet, but I did a gun rack once. For the butt, I roughed out the shape with a sabre saw through a 3/4" piece of stock and then template routed the finished shape.I then assembled this to a solid piece of stock on the bottom. For the barrel end, I just cut out the shape on a band saw and rounded the edge with a router. Worked for me.

Lou

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Lamar....I'm with Lou.....I'd rough cut the openings with a jig saw or b/s and make a template. Use a template and router for the finished product to get each one identical.

[Dick Parr]

Lamar, when I built a number of them I used a 1-1/2" forstner bit and then cut it in half. I think I used a 2" for the butt end. Just lay out the spacing and then drill. Put it on the TS and cut the board in half and you have two sets of rests.

[Lamar Horton]

Thanks guys, that is what I was pretty much thinking. did anyone put any felt or something like that for the barrel rests?

[Dick Parr]

I did, the wood isn't hard but it does save on the barrels some. Tomorrow I will go out to the shop and see what type of contact glue I used and I will see if I can find any of the pictures I took.

[Mike Wilkins]

I have made a couple of gun cabinets for commissions. Like the others have stated, use a Forstner-type bit to establish the round back part of the cutout and then cut the rest with the bandsaw, jig saw or handsaw.

Wood is not hard on the wooden butt of a rifle, but I used the peel and stick felt from the craft store or the one of the big box retailers. It will cut easily with scissors. May not be necessary, but it lends a finished high class look to the cabinet. And the color of the felt is a nice contrast to the wood.

Good luck and watch those fingers.

[Maurice Ungaro]

While "bare" wood is not abrasive to a gun barrel (how can wood hurt steel?), one must be conscious about two things: 1) Some long guns have full length stocks, and the stock may get marred up on the bare wood of the rack, and 2) chemicals in the wood (tanic acid in oak, or whatever finsih is applied to the wood) can and will have a negative outcome on gun steel, if the gun has a blued finish.

The interior of my gun safe has upholstered shelves and gun racks. Every surface is covered in a carpeting material, so that only soft surfaces touch the guns.

Maurice

[Dick Parr]

Lamar I couldn't find the glue that I used back in 1998 but I did find a picture of what they looked like when using a forstner bit.

[Lamar Horton]

Thanks for all the advise and suggestions. Dick, thanks for the pictures.

Lamar