gun safe modification - it it ok?

[wileecoyote]

I have a Fort Knox fire-rated gun safe which came with the standard carpeted particle board shelves inside. The shelves are adjustable but they take up quite a bit of the available space so I installed a new interior which I built myself. All three interior side walls are now covered with 1/4” thick wood pegboard like the kind which you would see in a garage or tool shop. The pegboard is reinforced with solid wood furring strips that run vertically and horizontally behind the pegboard. I purchased a few dozen steel peg hooks which appear to be stainless, chromed, or galvanized metal. The peg hooks range in diameter from 1/8” up to 1/4” and I coated the protruding metal pegs with black heat shrink tubing.

I plan to mount the handguns by sliding the barrels of the guns over the protruding pegs. This allows me to store many more guns inside the safe while still keeping them apart and allowing maximum flexibility for spacing and future adjustments. Really heavy or long guns can be mounted sideways across two peg hooks.

My question is: will it harm the handguns to hang them from the pegs in this manner? The only portion of the peg hooks which touch the guns will be fully covered with black heat shrink tubing so the peg hooks shouldn’t scratch the barrels or other firearm parts. I think this method should be ok but I just want to be sure. In the event of a fire it is possible that the metal pegs could heat up and the heat shrink tubing could melt off the pegs but the safe is fire-rated and if it gets that hot inside then I would expect damage to the guns anyway.

What do you think?

[Guest beefcakeb0]

i would worry about the long term barrel stress. but heck iv heard from some to be carefull cleaning the barrel too, worrying about messing up the actuall roundness by applying constant pressure to one spot in the metan but heck i dunno,

[323ssplt]

Don't worry. The two pounds of weight is not going to "dent" those high tensil strength barrels.

And btw....nice avitar and screen name..

[wileecoyote]

I recently asked a local gunsmith that had done some good work for me in the past. He said it should be fine so the total is now 2 FOR and 1 AGAINST.

I have thought long and hard about this and I am still torn. I tend to think that the weight of the gun will be distributed across two main points: the tip of the peg hook will push against the upper inside rim of the chamber wall or rear of the barrel, and the other end of the peg hook will push against the bottom inside rim of the barrel near the muzle. So divide the weight of the gun by 2 and you get a max of 2 lbs. pressure on each point. This sounds like very litte force to be concerned about given the extreme pressures that are exerted by firing the guns. Plus if the peg hook is a snug fit for the barrel then the force is further distributed along a longer section of the peg hook thus reducing the overall load at any given point. And with the peg hooks being coated I can't see any risk of rust, scratches, etc.

I am hoping to get a few more opinions on the matter before I load my entire collection into the safe. Would hate to find out 6-12 months from now that I ruined my entire collection. A bunch of new barrels would not be cheap!

[nightrunner]

i think i would hang them all like the revolver is

[dats82]

If the barrels would get distorted from hanging like that, they would never be able to handle the pressure from shooting. I would not think twice about it.

[wileecoyote]

i think i would hang them all like the revolver is

Ideally I would like to hang them all like the revolver however this would drastically reduce the capacity of the safe. It is a big safe with a deep interior so the guns need to extend out into the middle of the safe otherwise I will lose about 50-75% of the capacity. The only reason I got some of those hooks was for the guns which are very large, heavy, or long barreled such that they would place too much strain on the peg hooks and possibly bend the hooks down over time. I don't want to go back to using shelves because that also reduces the capacity quite a bit and it reduces air circulation which is bad for the dehumidifier and rust prevention.

[Guest GimpyLeg]

Sweet!

[Martin]

Just a thought, how about finding a peice of solid plastic that is just a tad smaller than the inside diamater of the barrel, so it goes all the way to the hilt, then drill a hole in the end of the plastic rod to fit over the peg and glue in on the peg, that way the weight of the fiream will be distributed sort of evenly.

[nightrunner]

not sure how many pistols you have or how much you have invested in this modification already or how much you are willing to invest but here is another option.

Extra Gun Safe Options : Fire Resistant Safe : SturdySafe.com

scroll down towards the bottom, the 5 or 6 gun or the 8 gun pistol rack, from $15-$30 each

[wileecoyote]

Just a thought, how about finding a peice of solid plastic that is just a tad smaller than the inside diamater of the barrel, so it goes all the way to the hilt, then drill a hole in the end of the plastic rod to fit over the peg and glue in on the peg, that way the weight of the fiream will be distributed sort of evenly.

This is a good idea Martin. I had thought of doing the same thing with wooden dial rods because they are available in various diameters to match almost any caliber barrel. The problem is that I can't think of a way to drill such a long hole in a thin dial rod without splitting the dial rod, and the pegs are at least 1/8" thick so this wouldn't work for the smaller calibers. I couldn't think of any other way to attach the end of the dial rods to the pegboard and the wooden dial rods alone would not be strong enough to support the heavier guns in smaller calibers, so I went with the metal peg hooks and just coated them with heat shrink tubing. The peg hooks are available in various diameters so I can get close to the caliber of the barrel and just use the heat shrink tubing to help offset the difference and protect the gun.

[wileecoyote]

not sure how many pistols you have or how much you have invested in this modification already or how much you are willing to invest but here is another option.

Extra Gun Safe Options : Fire Resistant Safe : SturdySafe.com

scroll down towards the bottom, the 5 or 6 gun or the 8 gun pistol rack, from $15-$30 each

Thanks for the suggestion. I have quite a few guns and multiple safes so I need to maximize the storage capacity of each safe. I don't mind spending some money for the right interior or accessories but the pegboard project has been pretty cheap so far.

I already own a number of different gun racks, wire shelves, and holding brackets which are similar to those that you mentioned. They are nice but unfortunately they require the use of wooden shelves to support the racks, they are not very space efficient, and they are not cheap. Nice if you only have a small collection and plenty of unused shelf space in the safe but I have found that the wooden shelves and dividers waste a lot of space inside the safe and they reduce airflow, which is why I removed them and went with the pegboard option.

I think this peg hook method will work out very well as long as the pegs won't damage the barrels in any way. This design allows the majority of the interior space to be used for guns, it maximizes airflow to enhance the effectiveness of the dehumidifier and silica gel packs, it allows better interior lighting, and it provides quick easy access to every gun without any of them touching. It is also highly flexible since it can be reconfigured at any time. As soon as I get enough confirmation that the pegs won't damage the barrels then I will load it up and post a few photos of it at max capacity. I think people will be surprised how much their safes could hold if they removed the wooden shelves and installed a similar interior. Maybe the gun safe vendors don't want you to do this since you wouldn't need to buy bigger or multiple safes.

Edited July 19, 2009 by wileecoyote

[Guest Muttling]

I wouldn't be concerned at all about distorting the barrel as was mentioned above. However, I would be worried about the rubber covering getting worn off on the tip of the metal peg and causing dings in the rifling.

The wooden/ plastic peg idea sounds pretty good.

[wileecoyote]

I wouldn't be concerned at all about distorting the barrel as was mentioned above. However, I would be worried about the rubber covering getting worn off on the tip of the metal peg and causing dings in the rifling.

The wooden/ plastic peg idea sounds pretty good.

Muttling - you just gave me another idea similar to Martin's suggestion. I can apply several layers of heat shrink tubing to the peg hooks until I build them up enough to be a close fit for various calibers. This will provide extra protection to prevent the pegs from wearing through and scratching the barrels and it will also allow the weight of each gun to be distributed over the full length of the peg. Heat shrink tubing is cheap when purchased in bulk and I already have a bunch. I am going to test that out today and will report back.

[threeshot]

On a different issue, what is the fire rating of the particleboard inside the safe? I am assuming that the original board was fire resistant to avoid burning once the outside of the safe gets hot to achieve a certain fire rating of the safe.

[Guest PapaB]

Having worked with heat shrink for many years, I'd keep a close eye on the temperature. While you won't melt the heat shrink in warm temps, you may leave some residue from it in the barrel over several months of storage. Do a good cleaning and inspection before using the guns stored that way.

[wileecoyote]

On the fire rating: the Fort Knox safes are arguably the best on the market and they normally have a total of 1" type C fireboard which provides a pretty good fire rating, usually 60-90 minutes at 1250 F or better depending on the model. I spoke with the factory guy at Fort Knox that designs and makes these safes and based on his input I decided to upgrade my safe to 1.25" of type X fireboard plus the wooden interior panels and braces so I have more fire and heat protection than the factory standard. This makes the safe a LOT heavier - it added roughly 200-300 lbs. for the new fireboard alone - but I like having the extra protection and I didn't really lose any room since I am gaining a lot by removing the interior shelves and dividers.

Good tip on the heat shrink tubing PapaB. I will test out the storage for a few months and check the guns afterwards to see if any of the tubing has degraded.

[Guest Marine03]

Thats how we stored them when I was in the Military. Of course we had berretta's that where crap to start with. But I wouldn't see the powers that be allow us to store weapons in a way that would damage them. Our hooks were just like the ones you have.

[Woody]

I can't see where it would be a problem at all.

BTW, are you the same wileEcoyote from the egghead forum ?

[wileecoyote]

Good tip Marine. And thanks for your service!

Hi Woody. Yep, I am the same WileE. In addition to cooking on my Big Green Egg and tinkering with all sorts of Acme products in my spare time, I am also an avid shooter and firearms instructor. Good to see you on this forum too.

Update on the peg hook coverings: after PapaB's concern about the heat shrink tubing eventually wearing thin I went out and picked up several sections of clear vinyl tubing from the plumbing section at lowes. This stuff comes in 3 primary sizes which are useful for protecting the peg hooks to store firearms:

• O.D. 1/4" - works well for guns from .25 to .32 caliber when applied to small diameter pegs
  
• O.D. 5/16" - works well for guns from .32 to .380 / .38 / .357 / 9mm caliber when applied to small or medium diameter pegs
  
• O.D. 3/8" - works well for guns from .40 / 10mm / .45 / .454 / .500 when applied to medium or large diameter pegs
  

When storing guns from .17 to .22 / .25 caliber I have to use the thinnest peg hooks with only a single thin layer of heat shrink tubing but it still works fine. Most of these guns have a smaller size and weight so they shouldn't place too much strain on the pegs anyway. The few exceptions are the long barreled heavy .22 revolvers but I can just store those across 2 peg hooks as shown in the photos above. I like using the vinyl tubing when possible because it is much thicker than the heat shrink.

The only possible drawbacks to the vinyl tubing: it might have a lower melt point so in case of a fire it could fill the barrels with molten vinyl, and it tends to "grab" the barrels a bit when you remove the guns so if you are not careful then you might end up heading to the range with a section of vinyl tube in your barrel. I could glue the vinyl tubing to the peg hooks but I like the idea of being able to remove them and change sizes over time, and on most pegs the tubes actually hold on pretty good so I doubt it will be a problem.

I think I am going to fill up the safe over the next few days now that I have all my peg hooks, storage bins, etc. I should have new photos up soon so we can see how it turns out. Thanks for all the comments so far. Keep the feedback and good ideas coming.

[Woody]

Good tip Marine. And thanks for your service!

Hi Woody. Yep, I am the same WileE. In addition to cooking on my Big Green Egg and tinkering with all sorts of Acme products in my spare time, I am also an avid shooter and firearms instructor. Good to see you on this forum too.......

I figured it was you. Keep me posted on the next Wicked Good Lump run.