DIY Stack-On Gun Cabinet Mod

[Lazyfaire]

Update: the 12-slot pistol holders would fit the interior but I couldn't get them through the doorway. Ended up having to chop off the last holder on each, so now it fits 22 pistols total instead of 24 as planned. Still a great hack for pistol storage, though.

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Did you bolt the pistol cabinet to the rifle cabinet?

 

[bradsteen]

Did you bolt the pistol cabinet to the rifle cabinet?

Yep, there are holes in the bottom of the pistol cabinet that line up with holes in the top of the rifle cabinet.

 

[Lazyfaire]

Yep, there are holes in the bottom of the pistol cabinet that line up with holes in the top of the rifle cabinet.

Yeah, I bolted my pistol safe to my old cherry wood dresser top. I always wanted the thief to call me first so I could come and watch them try and drag that puppy out of my place and down the stairs! lol

 

[nwslopoke]

With the shenanigans happening in WA legislation I have increased my collection by a big margin. An unintended consequence of that is I am now fresh out of space in the gun cabinet. My wife and I are budgeting to get a walk-in vault next year, but I needed something cheap and easy to secure my collection in the meantime.

Enter the Stack-On cabinet. It's definitely not a replacement for a real safe, but given my specific use case I've decided to make do with one for now. The model I purchased is the 18-gun version. It was on sale for $250, which is more expensive than it probably should be for what you get, but size wise it's in the right ballpark for what I need.

The downside to most safes in my eyes is how inefficient they are for storage of defensive-length firearms. The bulk of my collection is rifles under 36" and large format pistols, meaning I would have a bunch of unused space if I set them on the floor as intended, and I definitely don't want to balance my shorter guns on top of ammo cans - it would take up too much floor space in the safe. And I definitely have more than 18 long guns to store.

The solution I've come up with is to IKEA the $hit out of it - in other words, make better use of vertical space by stacking a second rows of guns on top of the main level. I can't stack a second row of full length ARs, but I can put my PDWs up there. I figure if I can get 24 guns in there it'll be a win. Anyway, will post pics of it when I finish it up.

Maybe you can disguise the safe with Ikea and rainbow stickers. Hang tea cups on the side and surround it with pillows.

I don't have a problem with stack on or similar.They are a deterrent. I keep one for emergency transportation if needed. I graduated to a budget safe from BiMart. It's an upgrade but is it? Neither are good with scoped rifles. Never get the listed amount in them

I wonder what the actual success rate for safes over cabinets during burglaries?

 

[Lazyfaire]

Maybe you can disguise the safe with Ikea and rainbow stickers. Hang tea cups on the side and surround it with pillows.

I don't have a problem with stack on or similar.They are a deterrent. I keep one for emergency transportation if needed. I graduated to a budget safe from BiMart. It's an upgrade but is it? Neither are good with scoped rifles. Never get the listed amount in them

I wonder what the actual success rate for safes over cabinets during burglaries?

If they want, given enough time, they will get it, or into it. That includes chipping out the bolt set into the concrete floor!

 

[bradsteen]

Maybe you can disguise the safe with Ikea and rainbow stickers. Hang tea cups on the side and surround it with pillows.

I don't have a problem with stack on or similar.They are a deterrent. I keep one for emergency transportation if needed. I graduated to a budget safe from BiMart. It's an upgrade but is it? Neither are good with scoped rifles. Never get the listed amount in them

I wonder what the actual success rate for safes over cabinets during burglaries?

I think safes are worthwhile, especially if you have a large or expensive collection. Cabinets aren't going to stop a determined thief.

 

[Koda]

put a label on it "household chemicals (bleach etc) keep away from kids"

 

[Lazyfaire]

I think safes are worthwhile, especially if you have a large or expensive collection. Cabinets aren't going to stop a determined thief.

DM sent

 

[nwslopoke]

I think safes are worthwhile, especially if you have a large or expensive collection. Cabinets aren't going to stop a determined thief.

100% agree but neither are safes if they are determined. Including home invasions, if they know what you have. That's one reason a lot of gun owners are against government safe storage laws. Folks like access to their guns for surprise visitors.

 

[bradsteen]

100% agree but neither are safes if they are determined. Including home invasions, if they know what you have. That's one reason a lot of gun owners are against government safe storage laws. Folks like access to their guns for surprise visitors.

No arguments here. Only you can decide what level of security is appropriate for your firearm storage needs.

 

[Koda]

100% agree but neither are safes if they are determined. Including home invasions, if they know what you have. That's one reason a lot of gun owners are against government safe storage laws. Folks like access to their guns for surprise visitors.

also why its not good to put all your eggs in one basket....

 

[po18guy]

This one works on my safe.

 

[TNThomas]

Looking good! But definitely put a new proper safe at the top of the list. A slightly competant theif could cut into that in about 1-2 minutes with $20 worth of tools from Harbor Freight.

 

[bradsteen]

Looking good! But definitely put a new proper safe at the top of the list. A slightly competant theif could cut into that in about 1-2 minutes with $20 worth of tools from Harbor Freight.

Yep, going the full vault route. As mentioned in the OP, it's just temporary storage.

 

[TNThomas]

Looking good! But definitely put a new proper safe at the top of the list. A slightly competant theif could cut into that in about 1-2 minutes with $20 worth of tools Harbor Freight.

Yep, going the full vault route. As mentioned in the OP, it's just temporary storage.

Good on you for getting something in the meantime! Looking good for what you are working with!

 

[Catbox]

Late to the party, I know.
But Yoga mats can be repurposed into nice sturdy shelf liner as well.
They aren't expensive and can be big enough for a couple shelves worth of mats.

I have repurposed ones from the thrift store into smaller mats for storage and even into a stamp for painting a wall...

Just thought I would place this here for those using the search function like I just did.