Time to make another gun case

[Royce Meritt]

About a year ago I made a wooden, hardsided gun case for our local Ducks Unlimited chapter. (See attached photo.) I think it turned out pretty nice and was well received. They would like another one, which I am happy to do for them.

Last year's case was made of walnut with maple accents. It measured about 36" L X 24" D X 6" H. The sides and ends were about 3/8" thick and the top and bottom panels were slightly thinner. Once assembled, it turned out a bit heavier than I would have liked. Any suggestions as to how thin I could plane the stock and still get the strength I need but save a little weight? Also, any other suggestions as to wood type that might be a little lighter? Thanks.

[Mitchell Andrus]

Use thinner wood then fiberglass the interior for strength. No kidding, I've done it for saxophone cases and trimmed 2-3 pounds off of a 7 pound design. You can stand on 1/4 ply reinforced with fiberglass mat/resin. It'll take some fiddling.....

Stay away from West System 105 Epoxy. Standard resin stinks but it's much easier to work with and makes the mat flow into crevases. Use 2 layers 2 oz mat (spun strands) and/or three layers 8oz cloth. Practice on cardboard mock-ups.

The case looks good!

www.jamestowndistributors.com (http://www.jamestowndistributors.com)

[Don Bullock]

You have convinced me that walnut and maple are the perfect choice for some projects I plan to do next year. I already have the walnut (some real beautiful wood) and while I was at my local Rockler store the other day I saw some beautiful birdseye maple. I guess I need to go back and get some.

[Aaron Black]

how did you do the duck inlay?

[John Timberlake]

Great looking case. One way to make it lighter would be to take the guns out and ship the me. But another way is to use 1/4" ply for the top and bottom veneered on both sides.

[Jack Dickey]

Looks great .. My next project is making some of them myself .. One for me and one for a friends 100 year old Westley Richards double rifle ..
Nice ..

[Dan Drager]

Butternut is quite a bit lighter in weight than it's darker cousin. It takes a stain well too if you want the darker look like your first one. Really nice job. On of these is in my future.

Maybe you just make them a single gun case....that should lighten it up substantially.

[Dick Rowe]

Royce, that looks terrific .. I really like the choice of woods and the inlay.

Question .. where did you find the foam for the interior? I have to build a few specialty cases in the near future, and that stuff looks perfect for the job.

[Mike Null]

Is 1/4" walnut plywood out of the question for the top and bottom panels?

[Mitchell Andrus]

I get my foam from:

http://www.garysupholstery.com/upholstery-foam.html#p22

Mitch

[Russ Cass]

:cool: Nice work. I'm going to make a couple of gun cases for a friend and his wife soon.

I'll be trying the ¼" ply w/fiberglass reinforcment trick.

[Royce Meritt]

Thanks for all of the nice comments and suggestions. I will do some experimenting and let you know how it turns out. Now to answer a couple of your questions:

The duck inlay is laser engraved into the maple circle and that is inlayed intp the walnut top.

I got my foam from McMaster-Carr (http://www.mcmaster.com). Search for convoluted foam. It came as a nested set 24"X36" and I cut it to size.

[Steven Wilson]

I would keep the sides the same and use 1/4" ply (IIRC baltic birch is available in 1/4" size) for the top and bottom with veneer on the outside. You could also add a couple of 1/8" to 1/4" rib on the inside of the ply to stiffen it up a bit.