What I did over summer vacation.

[AFJuvat]

Got a new photo provider set up, so I can post stuff with pictures again.

Ran into a serious first world problem over the summer.

I have a 'gun room'. The room itself is hardened. I keep all the guns, ammo, reloading components, etc in there.

My issue was, I was out of space.

The closet where I keep the ammo and the long guns quite simply cannot hold any more. The last few rifles I have gotten were sitting in cases leaned against the wall.

(I know... poor me!)

Older picture of the closet. Shelf with some of the ammo cans and reloading components, which is bending due to the weight. The rifles were hanging from the hangar bar in soft cases.



So, in a closet 22" deep, 94" wide, with an 8' ceiling, I had to come up with a way to store:
40 Rifles
50 Ammo Cans (50 and .30 mixed)
Powder, primers, brass and bullets
Some of the larger or bulkier tools.

Also, if I should move, I want to take it with me.

Working on and off through the year with AutoCAD, I finally came up with a workable design that would hold it all and be able to support the weight.



I am building it in 3 sections:

Left: 12" x 22" x 42.250" tall, 4 shelves high

Center: 42.250" tall
3 lower shelves 12" x 69"
Upper Shelf 15.5" x 69"

Right: 12" x 22" x 82.250" tall, 8 shelves high

For the front of the center shelves, I am using legs made from 2 x 3s for ease of access. For additional strength and stability, I am securing the center shelves to the right and left side units with 0.675" x 4" carriage bolts.

The shelves are supported by 2 x 4s, and the support frame for each shelf is made of 2 x 3s. The lower shelves are topped with 0.5" plywood, with the top most shelf being topped with 0.75" plywood.

Detail of the shelf frame


By my calculations, each shelf should be able to hold 15 - 18 ammo cans each.



he top shelf at the left and center spans 81" wide, 15.5" deep at the center. I worked out a way to store the rifles in 10 rows of 4, spaced 3.5" apart.

The bracing to hold the upper part of the rifles is a 2 x 6 mounted to the wall, with an upper brace cut from 0.75" plywood

Upper Rifle Brace.


Final 3D rendering

[AFJuvat]

So after picking up my wood, I went out into my very hot garage and started the rough cutting.

Big Pieces


Small Pieces


I am not, nor will I ever claim to be a carpenter, let alone a cabinet maker. If you want an old stock restored, refreshed, or even repaired, I am your guy.

Building furniture is a completely different animal.

My tools consisted of a drill, a circular saw, a jig saw, a tape measure, a square, and a few clamps.

So after cutting all of the above lumber and doing a test assembly, I discovered:

1. I failed to account for the thickness of the blade when making my cuts.
2. Cutting straight lines is harder than I thought.

So, back to the hardware store for more 2 x 4s and a guide for my circular saw...

After cutting the required pieces again, I was able to put the left and right sides of the unit together.

Small Shelf Frames


Small Shelf Assembled


Tall Shelf Assembled

[AFJuvat]

Once everything was put together, it was time to empty out the closet.

Stacked the guns in another room.


Time to test fitting.

Recall my comments about not being a carpenter or a cabinet maker? While I measured 22" of clearance on the RIGHT side of the closet, because the walls aren't square or plumb, I had 21.750 on the LEFT.

Solved the issue by removing the molding.

Test fit, left


Test fit, right


Then it was time to install the center section. 47" tall, and 69" wide, and it needs to go into an opening 61" wide into a 69" wide space....In other words, it was not going to fit.......

Took the smaller left side unit out, slid the center section in, then placed the smaller unit on top of the center unit, and dropped it into place.



None of these units is secured to the wall in any way. For ease of access, I only put 1 2 x 3 leg on the front of the center section, while the rear has 4 2 x 4 legs. Since the center section is going to bear the bulk of the weight, I used carriage bolts to secure the center to the left and right sides. In what was probably gross overkill, I elected to use 5/8ths carriage bolts, secured with nuts and washers.



After getting everything fastened together, I installed the top shelf (3/4" plywood) and installed the first butt stop strip for the racking. For the test, I used a Ruger Precision Rifle with a 24" barrel and mounted optic, as well as a 224 Valkyrie rifle with a 20" barrel and mounted optic. They both sat correctly with no wall interference

Rifle fit test

[AFJuvat]

Installed the rest of the butt stock support strips 8" on center. Also pictured is one of the rack arms. You can see I already started putting things on the shelves at this point.



Ready to mount the header board



I mounted all 10 rack arms onto a 2 x 6 header board and mounted it to the wall. The top of the rack arms is 25" above the surface of the top shelf.



Then started filling the shelves

[AFJuvat]

Finally got everything together, filled in all of the shelves.


What I failed to account for was preventing the rifles with optics from resting on the optic itself, so the RPR takes up two rows. The M1884 Trapdoor Springfield also takes up two rows, simply because it is too long.

It took my about a 7 days to build this working 5 - 6 hours per day. To be fair, that does include the amount of time spent recutting wood that I botched the first time.

I'm happy with the overall design. That said, if I were to do it over again, I would not use 2 x 4 and 2 x 3 studs for the framing. There were too many inconsistencies from board to board that needed to be worked around.

I would also invest in a good sized table saw, and possibly a band saw. Even with the saw guide, cutting straight lines was a pain..

You may have noticed that some of the wood appears to have a finish on it. That is leftover shellac from a AK stock project. What I discovered, is that unless you are willing to finish the wood to a ultra smooth finish, it doesn't look good. Also, applying it in a garage when it is 90+ degrees outside with 90%+ humidity didn't help. I may pull it out later and get some stain on it. Possibly when it is winter, when it is cooler and dryer.

Also, I have a surplus of soft sided rifle cases available.... if you are interested in some, let me know.

So, assuming you got in the room, this is just a closet... nothing to see here.


Open the door and......










(**All NFA Rules Apply**)

[RKP]

Damn Mike, one hell of a job there, looks great bud !!

[DrHenley]

Look GREAT!

Originally Posted by AFJuvat

So after cutting all of the above lumber and doing a test assembly, I discovered:

1. I failed to account for the thickness of the blade when making my cuts.
2. Cutting straight lines is harder than I thought.

LOL, I just got a power miter saw - the kind with rails so that you can either use it like a chop saw or a radial arm saw. I can cut straight now! Gimme some 2x4s and I can make anything now!

[RandallZ]

Nicely done. I would make some kind of support (maybe dowels or threaded rod) for the outer ends of the rifle rack arms. Over time, those will probably droop and fail. Otherwise, I would love to have a closet organizer like that.

Randall

[Riverpigusmc]

Looks good

[DrHenley]

Originally Posted by RandallZ

Nicely done. I would make some kind of support (maybe dowels or threaded rod) for the outer ends of the rifle rack arms. Over time, those will probably droop and fail.

I had a home made rack in the tool shed that was drooping like Randall said, and so I cut some blocks with 45 degree angles on both sides and braced it. On the power miter saw it was soooo quick and easy. But you can do it the old fashioned way with a miter box and hand saw.