Building a gun safe

[Shawnba67]

I was watching the other thread on which to buy because i am going to need one soon. But i got to reading the consensus seems to be that they are just heavy sheetmetal and sheetrock. Why couldn't a fellow just build one?
No im not talking about a fort knox just a standard good enough to deter most type set up. Any ideas on ways to lock the doors? Fireproof it a bit?
My local scrap yard has a foundry and most metal is $.78/lb please help me brainstorm the possibilies of this.

 

[V509]

I found a deal on some plate steel and built mine, wish it was larger, I used 3 layers of 5/8" drywall inside , I should get the seal for the door that expands with heat

 

[DRNewcomb]

I'd think that, unless you were a really good metal worker, getting the door to work properly would be a real bear. Of course, you can buy doors, prefitted to frames. There is also a company that makes bolt-together kit safes.

 

[Tommy64]

I built mine out of a old pop machine, gut it out instal 1/8 steal plate then 1/4 t&g cedar works great

 

[joshb]

Build a room or reinforce a closet. Heavy duty steel door with 3 or 4 deadbolts. Steel reinforced jamb. Line the inside with sheet stainless steel, glued to the drywall and screwed to the studs. They sell the stainless sheets in 4x 8 and 10 ft. Sheets. You see it used in restaurant kitchens on the walls. It's very tough stuff. Buy a LOT of drill bits to make the screw holes.

 

[Sniper338]

Yeah you can build one. As long as you got the saws to cut it good and straight. If I had the saws Id build one.. but I dont so I got a big safe inside the gun safe room.

I will say next house I build Im going to build a recess into the wall to drop the safe back into the wall...

 

[hoz53]

I was watching the other thread on which to buy because i am going to need one soon. But i got to reading the consensus seems to be that they are just heavy sheetmetal and sheetrock. Why couldn't a fellow just build one?
No im not talking about a fort knox just a standard good enough to deter most type set up. Any ideas on ways to lock the doors? Fireproof it a bit?
My local scrap yard has a foundry and most metal is $.78/lb please help me brainstorm the possibilies of this.

would be pretty easy to build the box- the door and mechanism would be the hard part.
I rhought about building one for awhile then decided to just buy one.

 

[gaboon]

Take over a closet and line the walls with expanded metal. Sheet rock over it. Put a nice heavy door on it. That how they build pharmacies and bank teller rooms.

 

[V509]

Mine was time consuming, could save time on the next one.
I will buy the next one!
But I can say I built my first gun safe

 

[rkittine]

I built one into the house as a separate room. Separate alarm system too. No safe rash, room for everything, very hidden and very secure. Full size dehumidifier and heat and air-conditioning. Knowing where it is, I could get into it with a fire ax from the outside of the house if there was a fire without having to enter the house and try to get to a safe, et it open and get things out.

I also have used a used refrigerator for a time with hasps and pad locks installed on the door to frame. You can usually get them used for cheap or free from the appliance shops that sell new ones, deliver and take away the old ones. Most of them still work, but may not look great. I now use it as a Powder Magazine the door made so it would blow off easily (no locks and more) and run it not set too low in temperature.

Bob

 

[LarryDScott]

I know a man that when he built his house, w/a basement, made a room under his front porch, and put a vault door on it. The door came from a jeweler that went out of business. LDS

 

[Downhill]

Built my first safe. 40 rifle. 1/4" and 10 ga plate. Fire proofed with 2 inches of Kaowool (used in combustion chambers on boilers). Locking mechanism took a bit of figuring- 3 horizontal and 2 vertical lock rods 1 1/2" stainless rod. Went to a locksmith and got a coded key and pick proof (?) industrial deadbolt to secure locking mechanism internally. Years later got to look at a well built commercial safe and discovered I way over engineered mine. Plus the damn thing weighs 718 lbs (door alone 304lbs). Probably will not ever buy a new house because of having to move that thing again.

 

[scubohuntr]

Yeah, you can build one yourself. I guarantee, though, you will have at least as much into it as it would cost you to buy one. Sheet steel large enough and flat enough to build a safe sells at a premium over the per pound rate. Heavy duty hinges and locks don't come cheap. If you use regular commercial deadbolts, any thug with 15 minutes and a dent puller can get in. Insurance may balk at paying out on a claim if your safe is not UL listed.

As a project, if you have a serious welding jones, it would be interesting. But it won't save you money if you put any value at all on your time, unless you're getting something you wouldn't with a commercial safe. There was a time I looked into putting a vault door on my loading room/mancave (back when I had a loading room). That may have been worthwhile just to get a 200 square foot mancave vault. You also need to consider emergency egress if you build something like that, in case you're asleep, I mean concentrating, in your leather loading recliner and your wife shuts the door so she can vacuum behind it.

Check with locksmiths and moving companies for deals on used safes. My wife's late husband passed away without sharing the combination to his safe; she called a locksmith and told him, open the safe so I can empty it and you can have it. Otherwise it would have been $500 to open it. I'm sure that happens fairly regularly. Craigslist and local bulletin boards also work.