# Gun rack final



## Bushwhacker (Jun 16, 2009)

Here are a couple of shots of the finished gun rack.
I decided that the Liquid nail just was not going to work, so I dug it out and filled the cavities with wood glue, then drove a piece of dowel it to them. I center drilled the dowel and after putting lots of glue on the end of the collars that I made around the legs, I tightened them all the way up.
I think the dowel expanded a bit as I drove the 3 inch screw in to them, so that tightened them up even better.
I feel that they will hold.
What are your thought about mounting this to the guys wall. He has a two story house so the studs should be on 16 " centers and the rack is 24 inches wide.
I am leaning towards two screws at the top and two in side the little ammo cabinet.
I plan to carve two small 3 D stars and place them over the screws on the exposed top portion.
It will have two pump 12 gages on it so that should hold it up there pretty good.
Let me know what you think. I have a few days until I plan to deliver it.
Thanks guys
David


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## Gaffboat (Mar 11, 2012)

Very nice, David. The star really makes a nice focal point.


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## gjackson52 (Jul 4, 2015)

Very nice !




Gary


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## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

Dave if wall placement isn't critical then I would try and line up with studs. If you can't then this type 1/8" LONG DRIVE HOLLOW WALL ANCHOR | Allied Bolt Products LLC is my favorite wall anchor where you are only through the drywall. The others will probably hold well enough since 90% of the weight is straight down but I like the insurance that this type anchor gives you as it spreads like a butterfly toggle does but with a much smaller hole and the sharp point allows you to drive them in instead of having to drill.

I like the theme of the rack a lot and you did a bang up job on that star. That isn't an easy shape to make and do well.


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## RainMan 2.0 (May 6, 2014)

Gaffboat said:


> Very nice, David. The star really makes a nice focal point.


+1 ,
The star makes it for me


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## sunnybob (Apr 3, 2015)

I would put a mirror in the middle section. Then you could make a strong cross bar from side to side and screw through that. With the mirror on sticky pads, there would be no evidence of fixings, and the reflection of the guns would give depth to it.

I think you should NOT fix through the top, however good you try to hide the screws the eye will be taken away from the star. If the mirror doesnt appeal. fix through the sides so that the guns hide the screws as much as possible.


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## Bushwhacker (Jun 16, 2009)

Cherryville Chuck said:


> Dave if wall placement isn't critical then I would try and line up with studs. If you can't then this type 1/8" LONG DRIVE HOLLOW WALL ANCHOR | Allied Bolt Products LLC is my favorite wall anchor where you are only through the drywall. The others will probably hold well enough since 90% of the weight is straight down but I like the insurance that this type anchor gives you as it spreads like a butterfly toggle does but with a much smaller hole and the sharp point allows you to drive them in instead of having to drill.
> 
> I like the theme of the rack a lot and you did a bang up job on that star. That isn't an easy shape to make and do well.


Thanks Charles. That star gave me the most problems. Most of which I brought on my self. My wife says I am my worst critic. Every time I assembled it, I found it to be slightly out of shape and did some fine adjustments to it. I finally just glued it on.


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## Bushwhacker (Jun 16, 2009)

sunnybob said:


> I would put a mirror in the middle section. Then you could make a strong cross bar from side to side and screw through that. With the mirror on sticky pads, there would be no evidence of fixings, and the reflection of the guns would give depth to it.
> 
> I think you should NOT fix through the top, however good you try to hide the screws the eye will be taken away from the star. If the mirror doesnt appeal. fix through the sides so that the guns hide the screws as much as possible.


Those are some very good ideas. I have been tossing around carving out two small ( about 1 inch) 3D stars to cover the screw holes. If I counter sink the screws and add a small piece of dowel to the back of the stars to fit in the counter sink hole, that should not take too much away from the large star.

I am not seeing what you mean by the cross bar. Can you draw that out for me?
David


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## Bushwhacker (Jun 16, 2009)

RainMan 2.0 said:


> +1 ,
> The star makes it for me


The 3D star was always something that I had wanted to include in the build. Plus the deer feet. As a matter of fact, I have never met the guy that ordered this rack. All he said was he had two shot guns and ask if I could build a gun rack for them.
I mentioned to Sandra, that if when I get there with it, he has a hissy fit over the killing of poor little Bambie. I'll sent the rack to my brother in law in northern Wisconsim, he shoots deer off his back porch.
David


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

Dave.. KUDOS to you...


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## tomp913 (Mar 7, 2014)

How about using a French cleat? - and you could still put two screws inside the drawer for insurance.

PS Great job on the gun rack, Used to see deer feet used for gun holders a lot, not so much any more.


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## RainMan 2.0 (May 6, 2014)

David I love how the stain highlighted the wood grains . It's funny how knots can add so much to a piece . I'm also liking the storage area at the bottom that I'm assuming is for ammo.

I really have to get my shop insulated next year so I can try staining .


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## sunnybob (Apr 3, 2015)

I still would not put any more stars up there. Little is very often more when it comes to decorations.

by cross bar I just mean a flat horizontal piece of wood that can be fixed to the side rails about 2 /3 rds up without being visible from the edges. Then use a couple bigger screws or even bolts to fix the whole thing through the bar to the wall. Then slide the mirror in and hold it with sticky pads. Result is no visible means of support and the single star stays up there in all its glory.


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## Arcola60 (Jul 4, 2009)

That came out very nice! Great work David. Thanks for posting your process of assembly.


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## Bushwhacker (Jun 16, 2009)

Gaffboat said:


> Very nice, David. The star really makes a nice focal point.


Had to have the STAR, this being Texas and for a Texan.
Thanks Oliver.
David


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## Bushwhacker (Jun 16, 2009)

sunnybob said:


> I still would not put any more stars up there. Little is very often more when it comes to decorations.
> 
> by cross bar I just mean a flat horizontal piece of wood that can be fixed to the side rails about 2 /3 rds up without being visible from the edges. Then use a couple bigger screws or even bolts to fix the whole thing through the bar to the wall. Then slide the mirror in and hold it with sticky pads. Result is no visible means of support and the single star stays up there in all its glory.


AHHH !!!, now it hit me what you meant. It took me a moment to visualize what the cross bar was for and why the screws would not show. I might be slow, but I eventually get there.
Great idea, My wife Sandra already liked the idea of the morrow. IO will have to take a trip to the big box store to see what they have in mirrors .
Where were you when I was making this thing, I could have designed it around a mirror.
Thanks, I'll let you know what I decide to do and how it comes out.
David


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## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

Dave the more I think about that star the more I think you should start a thread on how you did it. In my mind, one of the most difficult parts of making it is that there is nothing to hold on to while you are machining it. That has to be one of the hardest shapes there is to get a grip on so I think it would be worthwhile showing how you went about it.


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## Knothead47 (Feb 10, 2010)

Suggestion: Stain the star a darker color to make it stand out a bit.


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## tomp913 (Mar 7, 2014)

I found this video showing how a 3D star can be made.






Looks like you could make different size stars with it.

He seemed to make the calculation of the dimensions a little complicated, I would have used Pythagoras.


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## tomp913 (Mar 7, 2014)

tomp913 said:


> I found this video showing how a 3D star can be made.
> 
> 
> He seemed to make the calculation of the dimensions a little complicated, I would have used Pythagoras.


I really don't know what I was thinking, maybe not thinking. Calculation for the long side is opposite/tangent. Duh.

I still remember SOH, CAH & TOA being drummed into us in school.


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## Knothead47 (Feb 10, 2010)

They said the his name was Sohcahtoa but didn't say what tribe. Now kids use a high class calculator or computer. We used a pencil and paper and the chart. Never had to charge a battery on a pencil.


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## Bushwhacker (Jun 16, 2009)

Cherryville Chuck said:


> Dave the more I think about that star the more I think you should start a thread on how you did it. In my mind, one of the most difficult parts of making it is that there is nothing to hold on to while you are machining it. That has to be one of the hardest shapes there is to get a grip on so I think it would be worthwhile showing how you went about it.


Yes Chuck, that is right, there is NOTHING to hold on to while cutting the pieces and the angles of the star. I cut them on my TS using a small push stick and my fingers.
Had the wife been out there, she would have put a stop to the whole job.


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## Bushwhacker (Jun 16, 2009)

tomp913 said:


> I found this video showing how a 3D star can be made.
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7hckWV84pM
> 
> ...


This was the video that I used to make my star. I say I used it but after watching it several times. I still had no idea of what he was talking about. I did make the paper star and it aided me in keeping my mind in the right place for each piece of the ten pieces needed to assemble the whole star.
I finally just visualize the next piece that I needed and drew my lines on the angled piece that I started with, then cut along my lines on the Table saw. After assembling the star, I fine tuned it by sanding on my belt sander to get the best fits.


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