A single rifle display case.

[Bill Huber]

I am planning to build a display case for one rifle. It will just hold one rifle in an horizontal position, it will have a glass front on it.

Now the question, what would be the best thing to line the inside with?
I was think something like green felt like is on a pool table. I want the rifle to really stand out in the case.

The case will be walnut and be about 6 inches higher then the gun.

Your thoughts.....

[Greg Cole]

Bill,
I'd be tempted to leave the interior wood depending on the gun & stock colors. If the gun is dark, use something like maple maybe? Or if you are need to use walnut for the case, will walnut "work" with what the rilfe looks like?
Would be an easy way to work contrasting species etc... but that all depends on the gun itself. Maybe it's just me, but the velvet-felt seems more for jewel cases etc.... just use felt or velvet for the cradle to hold the rifle?

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

Maroon Velvet and install little lights to high lite the gun

[Jim Grill]

How about a mirror for the back panel and glass for the top and side panels as well as the front? That would reflect light and also allow you to see the other side of the gun if you walked up to it and looked at the reflection.

That might be a dumb idea, but what the heck...it's an idea! :)

[Carroll Courtney]

I like the contrasting woods,I would use a maple burl for the back.Do an inlay of a deer head at one end out of walnut.

[Kim Spence]

I used to work in the picture framing biz, we would occasionally get projects similar to this. We would often line the display cases with a fancy matboard, available in lots of different colors of suedes, velvets, and even some that look and feel like leather.

The object being framed would then be mounted on custom made acrylic brackets that were attached with screws through the matboard and into the frame or backer board.

The strangest thing we ever framed using this technique was a saxophone that had been run over by a car...don't ask me why.

Check with a local frame shop, art store, or crafts store for matboards.

Hope this helps.

Kim

[Bill Huber]

This is the gun, its is really, I would say dark.
It is a Winchester 62A

66188

[Bill Huber]

Bill,
I'd be tempted to leave the interior wood depending on the gun & stock colors. If the gun is dark, use something like maple maybe? Or if you are need to use walnut for the case, will walnut "work" with what the rilfe looks like?
Would be an easy way to work contrasting species etc... but that all depends on the gun itself. Maybe it's just me, but the velvet-felt seems more for jewel cases etc.... just use felt or velvet for the cradle to hold the rifle?

It may be better to use a lighter wood, I just never thought of that.

Thanks.

[Bill Huber]

How about a mirror for the back panel and glass for the top and side panels as well as the front? That would reflect light and also allow you to see the other side of the gun if you walked up to it and looked at the reflection.

That might be a dumb idea, but what the heck...it's an idea! :)

That may look really good, the side of glass and the front, I am not sure about the mirror in back, I will have to play with that when I get it together.

[Bill Huber]

I like the contrasting woods,I would use a maple burl for the back.Do an inlay of a deer head at one end out of walnut.

That would be beautiful but I will be doing good to make the case let alone put an inlay in it.

[Bill Huber]

I used to work in the picture framing biz, we would occasionally get projects similar to this. We would often line the display cases with a fancy matboard, available in lots of different colors of suedes, velvets, and even some that look and feel like leather.

The object being framed would then be mounted on custom made acrylic brackets that were attached with screws through the matboard and into the frame or backer board.

The strangest thing we ever framed using this technique was a saxophone that had been run over by a car...don't ask me why.

Check with a local frame shop, art store, or crafts store for matboards.

Hope this helps.

Kim


Well you answered a question that I hadn't even ask yet, what to hang the gun on.

Now I know, I have cut and polished acrylic before and I had just never thought about it.