Building rifle racks

[grammaton76]

So, some friends and I are going to see about making some rifle racks towards the end of the month. Given that we're all Linux open-source types, our findings and patterns (i.e. what worked and didn't) will wind up on thegunwiki.com at some point thereafter. And, probably in this thread too.

So far... I want to build some vertical racks to fit into my armory closet. Socal Gun (San Diego area shop) was nice enough to let me take some measurements of their racks up on the wall as a starting point. I don't want rifles lined up along the wall - I want lines of rifles coming out from the wall in parallel, and to put the whole assembly on top of a table so I've got storage space below for ammunition.

Another friend has expressed interest in A-frame racks, although he probably won't be coming down to SD for the build.

I'm interested in:

Suggestions of rack plans for prototyping

Suggestions on what wood would work best

Input on what did/didn't work about your racks

Input on the best kind of slant to use at the bottom of the rack (degrees, etc) for AR's, wood rifles, etc.

Other rack ideas you guys might be interested in (if it's interesting enough, we might take a stab at building it and then 'open-source' the diagrams...)

Please note that this is NOT a "rack build party" open to the public... my group's small and we're trying to pick up experience here, not mass produce stuff.

The results will absolutely be publicly disclosed, and I'm not ruling out a 'rack build party' down the road. But, only once we've figured out what works and what doesn't.

[adamsreeftank]

I have been thinking of designing some racks that would allow me to have two or three rows of rifles in my safe. I hate piling things in there on top of each other.

[Trapper]

Check out frost hardwoods in Miramar for great prices and excellent advice. Be sure to allow plenty of room for scoped rifles and carry handles.
Frost Hardwood Lumber
6565 Miramar Rd
San Diego, CA 92121
tel: 619-455-9060
fax: 619-455-0455

[Brendan Sullivan]

Do you know what firearm sizes you want to accomodate? Will the finished racks hold something all the way up to goose shotgun or blunderbuss size, or are you making them specifically to hold arms that are already in-hand?

[Fate]

Done.

http://www.7.62x54r.net/MosinID/MosinRacks.htm

[grammaton76]

Do you know what firearm sizes you want to accomodate? Will the finished racks hold something all the way up to goose shotgun or blunderbuss size, or are you making them specifically to hold arms that are already in-hand?

Myself, I intend to do a 'blade' setup - wooden notched boards coming out from the wall, above the table. This will keep the rifles at shoulder level or so and allow storage of ~5 rifles/blade. The idea is patterned after the rifle racks on the wall behind the counter at Socal Gun, which hold M1A's and other semi-autos quite nicely.

I'll have some lower-density blades for 'fat' guns such as AR-15's, the FS2000, my eventual Garand, etc.

I'll also have some higher-density blades for the armada of bolt-action milsurps which C&R guys tend to acquire.

I don't own any blunderbusses, but I'm sure others who actually need it can develop such things.

[geeknow]

[QUOTE=grammaton76;3775377]

Suggestions on what wood would work best
QUOTE]


Russian Birch Plywood...sometimes called "baltic birch"...

it is available in 6mm, 12mm, 15mm, 18mm.

sheet sizes are 60"x60", and 48"x96"

Inner Plies are constructed of solid birch, and cross-banded. Everything is dried to 6-8% moisture content prior to lamination. bonded with a urea-formaldehyde resin.

Very stable. I will repeat...Very stable.

Machines exceptionally well. Paints great.

If you want to use wood, there is nothing better.....for this, anyway.

there is, however, something better than wood for this particular application...a product called "starboard". It is made/distributed by King Plastics.

I can help you with sourcing, if you get stuck. I can also help with nested CNC if you decide to go that route.

let me know,
g

[grammaton76]

Done.

http://www.7.62x54r.net/MosinID/MosinRacks.htm

Very useful link - thanks! This should help with some dimensions.

I have been thinking of designing some racks that would allow me to have two or three rows of rifles in my safe. I hate piling things in there on top of each other.

Sounds like you'd be well served by the "blade" setup I'm looking at. How wide is your safe?

[grammaton76]

Russian Birch Plywood...sometimes called "baltic birch"...

it is available in 6mm, 12mm, 15mm, 18mm.

sheet sizes are 60"x60", and 48"x96"

Inner Plies are constructed of solid birch, and cross-banded. Everything is dried to 6-8% moisture content prior to lamination. bonded with a urea-formaldehyde resin.

Very stable. I will repeat...Very stable.

Machines exceptionally well. Paints great.

Neat. Thanks for the advice - I'll look into this. What thickness would you advise for this application? We'll guesstimate a worst case scenario where the blade in question is going to need to handle 5 Garands.

Oh. And of course, we'd assume that in a 3' wide section there might be 3 rows of 5 Garands on the table top part, so 150lbs load for a 3' wide "table" area. I assume this suggestion is for both the table top and for the blades?

If you want to use wood, there is nothing better.....for this, anyway.

there is, however, something better than wood for this particular application...a product called "starboard". It is made/distributed by King Plastics.

I can help you with sourcing, if you get stuck. I can also help with nested CNC if you decide to go that route.

Interesting stuff. I've included a link below for the convenience of anyone reading. How much does Starboard tend to run? And does it basically need to be machined, or could one work it with a drill press for the cutouts and various saws as appropriate? Would it need to be a wet saw to avoid overheating/warping, or do you just treat it like wood?

http://www.kingplastic.com/Products/_StarboardFamily.aspx

[rjf]

Stuff I figured out.

Recommend center to center be at least 3.5".

Build a divider for the buttstocks so they don't rotate into each other.

To save space, sit the rifles 45 degrees in the rack. Forward locked bolt handles toward the rear.

Soft wood like pine won't dent hardwood stocks in event of a handling mishap.

Angle the floor of the rack to force the rifle back into the upper support. ARs like to sit flat on the buttplate and may topple forward if not positioned properly.

Need more front to back space for scopes and AR types.

Alternate rifle positions if using both sides of the rack to prevent barrel interference.

[tlillard23]

tag

[loather]

the baltic birch plywood suggestion is spot-on. Pretty much every major manufacturer of PA/touring speaker cabinets uses 13-ply baltic birch plywood to build them. Back when I designed custom speaker cabinets I wouldn't use anything else -- the stuff really is rock solid, and doesn't give at all.

I'll be helping grammaton76 with the builds in a couple of weeks. This should be a fun project.

[Spiggy]

Sorry Sean, I couldn't stop giggling(Man-Giggle) when you drew the concept of the "Rack Party"

[thomashoward]

One thing to consider that a lot of gun safes fail on is the dimension between the wall and the curve of the gun rack where the barrel rests. It needs to be deep enough at that point to accommodate rifles with a 50mm objective varmint scope to hold the rifle away from the wall.
Also the guns need to be far enough apart so the bolts don't hang up on the next one.
A lot of gun safes tout how many guns they will hold in theory, but they usually are significantly less because of these reasons.
If you are away from a wall even better.
I have used walnut, but for the sake of economics a cabinet grade plywood looks good

[weezil_boi]

heres a couple suggestions...

1. consider using composite decking planks... I did. easy to work with, kind of a plasticy wood texture and no finish needed. Doesnt bother wood, metal or composite finsihes.

2. If your blades are offset ( rack #1 has 5 slots and rack #2 has 6 slots) then the butsocls will end up side by side and staggered nicely. If each rack is the same, you'll waste the "dead space" between the stocks. I did this wrong so now I know.

my 1.5 cents

Cant wait to see how yours turn out.