Gun cabinet spacing?

[skeeter]

I am working on drawing up a plan for my next project (when the thumb heals). I am going to build a built-in on a wall in my bonus room. Spacing is the tricky part because the sides of the ceiling slant down and there is a double window in the center. I want a cabinet/bookcase on one side of the window and a cabinet/gun case on the other. I just wonder if there is a rule of thumb to go by about how far apart to space the guns?

[scsmith42]

Charles, re spacing it depends on if the cabinet is meant primarily for display or for storage. My gun safes have pretty tight spacing in-between the guns, in order to allow you to store the maximum amount. I think that it's around 4" - 5" center to center, but can get you an exact measurement if you'd like.

Display cabinets vary, but the most attractive ones usually show off the side of the firearm as opposed to the top/bottom. Side display requires more room, depending upon the drop in the stock too. Also, you can consider horizontal display (the most visually attractive), with alternating directions for more capacity.

[skeeter]

Scott, I would love to do a horizontal display, but would be limited because of the slope of the ceiling. Since this is for display as much as storage, I will probably have to put them on a slight angle with placement acording to height of gun, with tallest closest being closer to windon and going lower as the ceiling slants.

[cpowell]

I used 3.5 inch between centers. Upper slots are 2 inch radius with a little extra depth. It worked perfectly, even for 12 ga side-by-sides.

I have a thread here somewhere with WIP pics etc...

Here's a pic of the upper cab assy I built for a friend. I traced out the bottom/butt on a few different styles of guns then built a guide template and used it to rout out the bottom holes. A good fit ensures the guns won't move much. I played around with tilt angles and upper slot heights to make sure each firearm is stable.




Here it is the finished 2-piece cab "loaded" at it's new home. The pic quality wasn't great but you can make out the spacing okay.




I really enjoyed making the gun cab a lot. It was interesting and I got to work in a few areas that were new for me.


Chuck

[skeeter]

Thanks Chuck. That answers a few questions.

[skeeter]

Chuck, I found the thread. http://www.ncwoodworker.net/forums/f...ht=gun+cabinet
WOW! Nice WIP and a great looking gun cabinet.