At some point most hunters will find themselves in need of a storage solution for their firearms. Safe firearm storage is vitally important. For larger collections a safe is much more convenient than a host of trigger locks with different keys or combos. Many avid enthusiasts find a purpose-built gun room is a wonderful solution. For most, this represents a significant financial cost and a gun safe or cabinet is a better option.
Personally, I have never been satisfied with the safes offered on the market. Likely for advertising reasons, gun safe manufacturers design safes that store firearms on multiple sides of the safe with a door in the front. This is done because these designs have a high guns-to-volume ratio. On the other hand, anyone who has tried to fill a commercial safe to its advertised capacity will tell you it is a hassle. Even if you successfully cram them in there, getting them back out is a pain. Additionally, small dings and scratches are a certainty as guns go in and out.
Basic Materials
For my own firearm storage, I decided to take matters into my own hands. Over a weekend I drew up a basic design for my own gun cabinet. With simple tools and jigs and some 3/4″ birch plywood from the hardware store, I set about constructing my cabinet. Due to an inadequate supply of clamps large enough for the project, I decided to use 1 1/2″ wood screws and glue for my project. To hide the screw heads, I countersunk holes that I covered with the spent headstamps of old brass. Conveniently, the 223 Remington cartridge has a headstamp diameter of almost exactly 3/8″, so I opted to use that cartridge. This article gives a basic overview of my design in case any DIYers out there want to partake a similar project.
Cabinet Box
First off, I needed to make myself the basic cabinet box. Because I wanted to use standard 8×4 foot plywood, I decided to make the cabinet 4 feet wide. This made it so that I could make the back from a single sheet. I used a 28-inch 12-gauge shotgun as a reference overall length of 48 inches. As shotguns commonly have up to 32-inch barrels I made the cabinet height 53 inches to accommodate any future purchases.
Once I had the basic dimensions chosen, I ripped my sheets of plywood to size to build the floor, sides, and top of the cabinet. To hide the edges of the plywood and increase strength, I cut 3/4″ dados in the side pieces. This was simple using a series of cuts on my table saw. For those with a dado stack, it would be even easier.
Next, I cut a sheet to fill in the back of the cabinet and rest flush with the back of the sides. some wood glue and countersunk screws held it all together. This gave me the basic box where my guns would sit.
Rack, Shelving, and Base
After finishing my box, it was time to build the shelving and rack to hold the firearms. A look at a few other designs showed that 3.5″ per firearm is about right for sporting firearms. I drilled 1 1/8″ holes through the rack and then cut out the extra with my jigsaw to make the rests. For the shelving, more countersunk woodscrews through a divider in the cabinet and the cabinet walls held everything together. The shelving gives a convenient place to store accessories like magazines as well as ammunition. Because the gun rack is 35 inches, there is just under a foot for shelving. This size is perfect for 2-3 boxes of ammunition side by side.
Next, I needed a base. The base is made from standard SPF 2x4s, and the legs made from 2x2s. To get the cabinet up off the floor the legs protrude 4 inches below the trim. To attach the cabinet to the base I used simple wood glue. For additional strength, the lower trim overlaps with the bottom of the cabinet and the frame to further strengthen the joint. I considered using dowels, but I don’t expect this joint to see much strain and there is enough surface area contact that I think wood glue will be adequate. Finally, I finished off the main cabinet box with some thin trim on the top. This hides a few dings from assembly and gives the cabinet a cleaner look to my eyes.
Door and Lock
Finally, I needed to put the doors on my cabinet. I decided to use pantry style double doors for convenience of use. First, I needed to decide what hinge system to use. I settled on European-style hinges for several key benefits. European hinges are hidden inside the cabinet, easily adjustable, and make removing the doors for work simple. For a lock I went with a simple cabinet cam lock on one door, which pairs with a tube and bolt lock on the inside of the other door. This gives a sturdy lockup without needing really heavy doors, removing strain from the hinges. I attached a couple of simple brass handles to make opening and closing the doors more convenient.
Finishing
Currently, the cabinet still needs finishing work. Due to my remote location, I am waiting for an edge trimmer before finishing up with sanding and edge banding to hide the plywood edges. Once the iron-on edge banding is applied, I plan to finish the piece with a semi-gloss clear coat to protect the wood. I will update this post with pictures once I have completed the finished project.
Closing Thoughts
In closing, I am pleased with how my gun cabinet turned out. While there was nothing wrong with the simple Stack-On cabinets I enjoy the convenience of the new cabinet. Being able to grab the gun I want without having to remove any others to get to it is excellent. If you’re considering building a gun cabinet of your own, hopefully this post gives you some ideas. If you want a similar cabinet but aren’t interested in woodworking, hit the button below to check see similar cabinets from Cabelas. Northern Rifle earns a small percentage at no cost to you, and it helps us to keep the website running.