gun case lighting

[mcm95403]

Last week I picked up a really nice old-style wood gun case (REAL wood, not press board) for $25 on craigslist. It has slots for 8 rifles, plus storage underneath. Since the wood is stained dark, I wanted to set up some interior lights. I started looking around for LED strip lights and quickly found that no one had much of anything that was good.

I ended up finding a place in Hayward called LED Wholesalers while searching E-bay - http://shop.ledwholesalers.com/ I called to make sure they do walk-in sales and then went over this morning. Very nice staff, very friendly and knowledgeable and I walked out with just what I wanted - bright white LED's (I like the 6000K "clean white" light) on a tape, power supply, a dimmer and a set of aluminum angle mounts with diffusers. I used double stick tape to mount the channels, then laid in the lights and snapped the diffusers on without the dimmer in place. It was very bright, so I went ahead and installed the dimmer. I ran the lights up one side, across the top, and down the other side so I have about 8' of lighting strip (about half of what I bought). It really makes the case look great inside and in the next day or two my 16"x24" American flag will be here for the top section of the case. Should be great when finished. I'll post a pick when the flag gets here.

[BKinzey]

The double stick might fail due to the heat and weight of the strips.

Screws are best for holding but sometimes not practical or you may not want to put screws into the wood.

Silicone is a good alternative. You can use painter's tape to hold the strips in place until the silicone sets. You can often use a very thin layer of silicone and have it work.

[sonofeugene]

Not a gun case, but I used some quality self adhesive LED strips in some kitchen cabinets. I sourced them through my local lighting store. They're dimmable and really do a nice job of evenly lighting the inside. They're taped to the back side of the front face, just outside the opening in the front face of the cabinet. You really have to work to see the strips directly.

[mcm95403]

Not a gun case, but I used some quality self adhesive LED strips in some kitchen cabinets. I sourced them through my local lighting store. They're dimmable and really do a nice job of evenly lighting the inside. They're taped to the back side of the front face, just outside the opening in the front face of the cabinet. You really have to work to see the strips directly.

Yep, that's how I did mine. The tape I used is supposed to support 9 pounds and what I hung it less than 1/2 a pound each, so it should be fine.

[mcm95403]

I finally found a place to order my American flag in 16"x24" but it's gonna take a couple weeks to get here, so here is the case for now - without the internal lights, and with the lights at half power (the camera makes them look brighter than they are). The last pic is for ISIS

[brian5271]

I finally found a place to order my American flag in 16"x24" but it's gonna take a couple weeks to get here, so here is the case for now - without the internal lights, and with the lights at half power (the camera makes them look brighter than they are). The last pic is for ISIS

Third pic looks great!! (the other two look good as well)

[mcm95403]

Third pic looks great!! (the other two look good as well)

Yep, Lucky's had the Applewood smoked thick cut bacon on sale for $2.99 a pound so I stocked up.

[SkyHawk]

I use LED strip lighting on dimmer drivers in my gun safes. Instead of a straight power supply, I power them with a 7.5Ah 12v sealed battery, and then the battery is on a float charger / tender. So the battery is always peak charged, and the lights work a long time even in a power outage.

I use a micro switch on the safe door so the light comes on whenever the door is cracked for opening. I have also done them with magnetic switches on 12v relays.

I have been very impressed with the LED strip lights, and keep finding other projects to use them in

I can't wait to see pics of your finished cabinet!