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After studying some name brands, I went to the steel outfit and bought the needed plate and had the bends done, brought it home and welded it up, $300.00 later and rolling the 700lb's into it's place and lag bolted it into the log wall, Now I worry much less about valuables when not at home.

I learned a long time ago, if you are not rich, then make what you need. The safe will hold about 50 guns easily, 6 locking lugs, and a deadly system to stop any break in, by any person.

No brag, just fact.
 
A deadly system to stop any break in?

While I agree, the lawyers would be tripping over themselves to get that case. Should someone try to break in.

Just pointing that out is all, I'm sure your aware of it...
 
A deadly system to stop any break in?

While I agree, the lawyers would be tripping over themselves to get that case. Should someone try to break in.

Just pointing that out is all, I'm sure your aware of it...

I was wondering about that too. Hoping it was a joke. As much as I would love to have it where this was fine. Sadly that's not how it is. I have seen cases were criminals have sued and taken money because they got hurt while in the process of stealing stuff. Bottom feeders have done wonderful things for this country.
 
I own a fab shop, have big press brakes, big shears, a fancy CNC plasma table, big welders, mills, lathes and every other conceivable metal tool.... and I bought my safes

When I looked at what it takes both time and material wise it's impossible for me to build a safe as good for less money.

That is the economics of mass producing items.

Sure if you have a home shop and nothing but time to kill building a safe instead of sitting on the couch watching TV might appeal to you but your time has to be worth nothing in the equation for it to pan out economically
 
I own a fab shop, have big press brakes, big shears, a fancy CNC plasma table, big welders, mills, lathes and every other conceivable metal tool.... and I bought my safes

When I looked at what it takes both time and material wise it's impossible for me to build a safe as good for less money.

That is the economics of mass producing items.

Sure if you have a home shop and nothing but time to kill building a safe instead of sitting on the couch watching TV might appeal to you but your time has to be worth nothing in the equation for it to pan out economically

This is why I do so little reloading now. For most of the stuff I shoot it's not enough savings (to me) to spend the time. I keep all the stuff I need to roll everything (except .22) I shoot just in case. It just got to easy and cheap to just buy practice ammo by the case these days.
 
A deadly system to stop any break in?

While I agree, the lawyers would be tripping over themselves to get that case. Should someone try to break in.

Just pointing that out is all, I'm sure your aware of it...

Yes don't use electrocution or anything to protect your gun safe when you are not home. Depending on where you live you may be charged with murder. This happened to a Florida store owner back in 1986 but there are other stories of electrocution for bar and store owners. Google is you friend. If you can use pepper spray instead.

MERCHANT IS HELD IN BURGLAR'S DEATH

Burglar Bomb
http://www.nytimes.com/1986/10/05/us/merchant-is-held-in-burglar-s-death.html
 
Nice traps are non-lethal. There are allot of items one can make that wont hurt anyone.
I wont go into details about my own security on a open forum. But using devices you can make the would be intruder unsure whom is in the house, yard or property. One tip as an example is use a area motion sensor that runs on batteries they have motion lights, easy enough to use the light trigger to turn in a radio tape recorder playing your voice or a programmed light goes on inside the house in the area the motion was triggered. You can set these at various places and would make an intruder think they are not alone.
I have done allot of consulting and often times good deterrents or traps are far better then a pad lock.
 
20 yrs ago when I left ca and moved to wa I had accumulated the proper size formed steel C channel to build a gun safe. I don't remember exact dimensions but it was something like 18" wide and it was 1/4" steel. This was the most heavy stuff the company I worked for made.

It was designed as a base to be welded up so super heavy columns that were welded together with hole patterns could be inserted. These were used as steel storage racks so this channel used as a base have to be super large and heavy.

It was bent up slightly out of spec so into the scrap bin it was going. I pulled out enough for the gun safe and bought it at .09 cents a lb. I was stupid and sold it as scrap myself instead of putting it in the back of my F250 and moving it on up here to wa.

I sold or gave away some other stuff I wish I still had in prep for that move.

All I would have had to buy was the front and back plate to build the safe. I would have been great if built right with the proper door frame and locking lugs. excuse me while I get up walk around and kick my arse again in remembrance of my stupidity all those yrs ago.

I would build my own gun safe in a second providing I could again scrounge up the steel needed for a decent cost.

A gun safe with a 1 inch thick door and 1/16th inch sides and back panel is a joke. You can cut your way in with a $20.00 harbor freight cutting tool that uses 4" cutting wheels.

I was in a sporting goods store the other day and they had gun safes on sale. I was walking around seeing what ones I could push on the sides and get them to pop in and out like the thin aluminum on a pop can when you squeeze it.

Couple people walked up and began talking about buying one of them, I walked up and said you like that one? watch this, I said put your hand on it right here on the side and push, the thin steel popped in and out like on a coke can. Was funny as heck the look on their faces hahah. I told them about the 20.00 harbor freight cutter and how I could steal what ever was inside that safe in 15 minutes is I could get to the sides. These were 1500.00 safes marked down to something like 995.00.

Needles to say, they did not buy any of these tin can safes.

Build my own safe HECK Ya ... I could do better with my eyes closed and half asleep then these commercial pop can safe companies.

Note to people who own one of these tin can safes. Pull it apart and rip out the interior and then weld up some re-bar that will fit in the sides, lay it on its side and fill the side with concrete. do that for both sides and the top and bottom and the back, this is if you got enough actual room in the thing. Do a little research on concrete so you can mix it up and get a very strong mix, do not use fence post concrete, if your not going to mix that concrete right, don't even bother.

Next take the door apart and see if the locking lugs on the door are double supported as in, does each lug go through 2 sections of steel so if some one uses a huge pry bar and gets it in the edge of the door, will the giant locking lug be able to withstand the force or not?

If your huge locking lugs are only supported by going through a single section of steel, call a welder and find out how much he will charge to take some proper size angle steel something like 3" x 3" with 1/4 wall and cut matching holes and weld this in your door so your door locking lugs are double supported.

Next check to be sure those huge locking lugs are operated by thick steel bars and not thin sheet metal angle that wont take much pressure to cause to spring back or bend.

If your locking lugs are attached to thin steel like that rebuild it with thicker steel bars.

Thing is, even the better gun safes have relatively thin sides, 3/16th steel is considered good ..... but, they do have better built doors with the proper support for locking lugs, good thicker steel bars controlling the locking lugs and a good quality dial lock system with armor plating around it.

Yes I would love to build my own gun safe. Even thought about doing a few for sale if I can find another house with a shop and I have some decent room in the future.

~
 

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