I appreciate all of the feedback and advise. SOGETTHIS, I understand your explanations. You are obviously very knowledgeable in this field. I guess what I want to build is actually a lockable cabinet, with safe qualities. I have a line on some good Sargent and Greenleaf hardware and plan to use it. As for being solid, well, that isn't an option. What I want to build is similar to the commercially available gun safes and vault doors such as AMSEC. I am sure these are not solid, but they do the job. Again, thanks for all the advise, keep it coming!!
Making your own safe??????
- Thread starter Allen Gun Works
- Start date
I'm sure that sogetthis could break into my safe. So could I given time. I'm sure sogetthis could break into any safe. But how much security do you need?
Could I have built it better? Sure thing but I had only intended to have a handful of handguns. If I had a fire that would effect my guns I would have bigger concerns compared to the few dollars in handguns. And don't forget that they are insured and can be replaced. Best to fix potential problems to avoid a fire.
There are always risks and trade offs. Different levels of security at different stages. I prefer to spend more effort keeping criminals out of my home as a first step. Then making valuables hard to find. If you can't find it then you can't steel it. Do what you can to not give criminals time.
My primary concern was to provide reasonable security to comply with the storage laws. I believe I have done that. Any criminal that does find my safe will be faced with something they are unfamiliar with. And no, screwdrivers are not going to do the job.
Do I recommend others follow the same route? It depends on your abilities. I agree with sogetthis, this is not a Home Hardware do it yourself project. If you are capable then the next question is, what is your time worth? If you put any value on your time then you are better off buying new or used.
When I built it there was not the wide availability of gun "safes" as there is today. A commercial fire safe did not suit my needs either. A lot of the space in the box is used up in order to deal with fire. That was not a concern of mine. Would go the same rout today? I don't know. If I did though I would make it bigger. I currently have to store some of my handguns trigger locked and in my rifle cabinet.
I think that makes my point; a house fire, if the house burns completely probably reaches 1500 to 2000 F in the coals. l think you have to think in terms of a safe rated at 1000 to 1500 F for 1 hour or more.
As to the risk of fire generally vs robbery I think you would find that there are at least as many and probably more guns destroyed in house fires than stolen each year. I won't argue whether several layers of gyprock is or is not sufficient insulation but in terms of being a moisture source, I have two layers under the wooden sheathing in my gun room and those guns are not rusting.
cheers mooncoon
MudChucker
Regular
- Location
- Niverville, Manitoba, CA
After working with Europeans I've learned 2 things about us Canadians, we dont spend enough money on our front doors, or our family safes...
When we built our house I gave that a lot of thought as I put a custom double french door into my foyer, full length glass, why bother locking it ? .. with that in mind, we also had a safe built into a wall of the house the safe itself is rated for 2+ hours before the temps inside will reach 350 degrees.. its quite large and is sitting in a concrete box that will have to burn first... I keep all of my family valuables in there... I hired a safe tech to do spec the safe, and do the install, we had to pay for him to come from montreal... if your serious about keeping your valuables "safe" your going to pay for this...I should also mention, I dont have any more money then the next guy so dont think that his is a luxury of the wealthy...its an oversight that most people dont give enough consideration to.. till after they have been robbed, or their house catches fire and they lose all those items that would change your life if they are lost....
Im confident that James Bond and his crew would be required to "crack" my unit, I know you'd need a crane and a wrecking saw to get it out of the house...I feel "safe" that I bought a unit that will perform as spec'ed and I know that on a home invasion the intruder will be placing the 911 call to be saved from my wrath as the only reason he wont be dead is that I dont know what to do with the body
When we built our house I gave that a lot of thought as I put a custom double french door into my foyer, full length glass, why bother locking it ? .. with that in mind, we also had a safe built into a wall of the house the safe itself is rated for 2+ hours before the temps inside will reach 350 degrees.. its quite large and is sitting in a concrete box that will have to burn first... I keep all of my family valuables in there... I hired a safe tech to do spec the safe, and do the install, we had to pay for him to come from montreal... if your serious about keeping your valuables "safe" your going to pay for this...I should also mention, I dont have any more money then the next guy so dont think that his is a luxury of the wealthy...its an oversight that most people dont give enough consideration to.. till after they have been robbed, or their house catches fire and they lose all those items that would change your life if they are lost....
Im confident that James Bond and his crew would be required to "crack" my unit, I know you'd need a crane and a wrecking saw to get it out of the house...I feel "safe" that I bought a unit that will perform as spec'ed and I know that on a home invasion the intruder will be placing the 911 call to be saved from my wrath as the only reason he wont be dead is that I dont know what to do with the body
maltextract
Regular
- Location
- Rural Manitoba
"difficult to break into"
With what tools? In what time?
"lockable container"
Locks only stop honest people
With what tools? In what time?
"lockable container"
Locks only stop honest people
