Looking for a new high quality safe

TINCANBANDIT · Dec 30, 2015

I covered this topic on my blog....after doing a couple of months of research.

Buy the best safe you can afford (don't go cheap) and protect the sides and top by installing it in a shelving unit or closet and by all means bolt it to the floor.

http://tincanbandit.blogspot.com/2013/07/a-primer-on-gun-safes.html

coop44 · Jan 7, 2016

most safes have an impressive looking door and tin can sides, sad but true. putting one in a closet or other enclosed dpace and bolted to the floor is a good idea. if that's not enough, i saw a bank for sale in tacoma, on 11th street around M street I think. thought it would be a good location for a gun store.

mjbskwim · Jan 23, 2016

coop44 said:
most safes have an impressive looking door and tin can sides, sad but true. putting one in a closet or other enclosed dpace and bolted to the floor is a good idea. if that's not enough, i saw a bank for sale in tacoma, on 11th street around M street I think. thought it would be a good location for a gun store.

Maybe the bank but not the best location in Tacoma for a gun shop. I would have an armed guard at the door or a buzz in type lock

Anyway,Monster why would a guy with your skills buy a safe? You could build one to your own specs fairly easy. Then add some gypsum board to it and maybe have someone line the thing for you. Then like coop was referring to,you wouldn't have 'tin can' sides.
heck if a guy has enough room in the house,for what safes cost,you can build a safe room.
More sheetrock for fire and then maybe a sprinkler and build a solid door frame and door

IronMonster · Jan 23, 2016

I actually did do that at one point. I built a massive 4' sq safe with 3/4" thick steel walls and a vault door from a national guard armory.

It sat at my shop, Where there are plasma cutters, torches, grinders any every other tool you could ever think of using to get in a safe. Would have taken minutes with a skilled person doing the breaching.

I ended up buying a "real" safe, not a gun safe. It weighs around 6000 pounds and is full of all sorts of counter measures to keep someone from getting in it even with good tools. They claim it would take someone with the right tools that knew what they where doing 30 minutes. Someone who did not know how it would likely take hours. That might not sound like much but for the average gun safe its under 5, some under a minute

Could I have built one that was "as good"? Not for the money I could buy one for. I spent around $7000 for the one I got. You would be hard pressed to do it any cheaper if your time is worth anything (every minute I spend on a personal project is a minute I cant bill to someone else)

IronMonster · Jan 23, 2016

Yeah, Sweet in the way a Ferrari is and about as likely for me to own.

coop44 · Jan 23, 2016

with little else to do in germany in the army, I spent a lot of time at the "can" point cutting through armor for practice. I don't think it would take long for me to get into any safe, the contents might be screwed, but I would be in.

IronMonster · Jan 23, 2016

No safe is unbreachable. My safe is a mixture of plate steel, ceramic media, magnesium and stainless stacked 6" thick in such a way as no one cutting tool can be used to get though all of it. It also has a huge plate of glass in the door that locks all the bolts in place if you try and drill the lock.

When you spend money on a safe you are buying time, nothing more. The more you spend the more time you are buying in most cases.

Charliehorse · Jan 23, 2016

IronMonster said:
No safe is unbreachable. My safe is a mixture of plate steel, ceramic media, magnesium and stainless stacked 6" thick in such a way as no one cutting tool can be used to get though all of it. It also has a huge plate of glass in the door that locks all the bolts in place if you try and drill the lock.

When you spend money on a safe you are buying time, nothing more. The more you spend the more time you are buying in most cases.

Agreed. Unless you have really deep pockets, its all a blend of compromises. Thought this was an informative site:

http://www.6mmbr.com/gunsafes.html