This project without a CNC machine is very time consuming. I hand carved/routed/dremeled the entire design and it took a total of 2 months to complete (an hour or two each day). There is always more than one way to accomplish something. In this project I took the long way to give it a more personal touch.

Materials list consists of...

1X18" Wooden Disc. (Mine is about an inch thick and i picked it up at lowes. You can cut your own if you wish)

Carbon Paper (to transfer the design to the wood) you may also free hand the drawing (if you are that artistic) I unfortunately struggle with stick figures.

Bullet Casings - I used bullet casings from my last shooting trip. You can contact your local shooting range to see if they have some left over or use your own. The amount of Bullet casings used depends on the space drilled on your work piece. On this project I used 12 gauge, .45, .40, .380, and 9mm casings.

Clear liquid nails to hold the casings in place.

The Box...

I made the sides 8 3/4" wide, 13" long and 3 inches deep.

2X14 in. Drawer Slides.

Foam - to hold your firearm. (The cut on the foam depends on the size of the box it will sit in)

Step 1: Drawing/Carving...

This is by far the most time consuming part. Getting the pattern on there and then carving it all out. I definitely envy everyone out there who has a CNC machine. Those of you who do. this step is a breeze. If you don't you will find yourself using a variety of Dremel carving bits. I never really developed a preference for any specific tip.

The lettering and the outside design I carved down about 1/2 an inch.

The head dress section (the section with the casings) I cut to 2 different depths. The mow hawk I only went down about 1/4 of an inch. (all of the casings I had cut down to just over 1/4 of an inch) Looking back it would have been easier to leave the casings regular sized and drill deeper like i did with the helmet section.

The helmet part I used a plunge router and carved down about 3/4 of an inch so the casings only protrude about 1/4 of an inch.

The face section of the helmet I only went down about 1/4 of an inch.

After everything has been carved out it is a good time to test fit all the casings and what order you would like them to go in. After the initial dry fit its a good idea to take a picture to remember the correct order.

After carving i had a little bit of a blow out between some of the casings. I filled those area's with putty and carefully re-drilled that section

Step 2: Burning and Staining.

BURNING!!!

For the burning I started using a burning tool (basically a soldering iron with changeable tips) This was another time consuming part of the project. Getting into every corner and side was very difficult.

After my first pass with the burning tool I switched over to a mini butane torch. This was a lot more efficient. I was able to go over each section faster and with a better result. (Be careful not to hold the torch in one place too long to avoid over burning)

STAINING!!!

With the board being very light and the chard wood being so dark I wanted to give the wood a little darker coat to cut down on the contrast. I used 2 coats of an American Walnut stain followed by 2 coats of wipe on poly.

After putting on the stain I noticed some of the chard wood wiped away.....I went back through with a semigloss black paint to fill in the gaps. It blended seamlessly.

After it is all good and stained. Glue down all the casings with clear liquid nails or any preferred adhesive.

Step 3: The Box!

To make the box I planed down a 3"W board 3/4 of an inch thick. I cut 2 pieces down to 13" with 45 degree miters on each side and I cut 2 pieces to 8 3/4" again with 45 degree miters. After the sides were all cut. I ran a 1/2" dado on the end to accept the 1/2" plywood backing. (You can use solid woods for the back the plywood is just what i had on hand) the plywood backing dimensions are 13 1/2"L by 9 1/4"W

*long pause for gluing....*

After everything was all glued up. I cut some splines in the miters to re-enforce the joint. When joining the edges and the back of the box I encourage you to use whatever joint you are most comfortable with. There is never 1 way to make something.

After everything was all glued and splined. I put 2 coats of Poly on the box to seal it.

The insert.

The foam is cut to fit. I used a razor to cut out the gun and both magazines by tracing around it, then cutting a grid pattern and then pulling out each cube until it is all level.

After the box is built and the foam insert is cut install the drawer slides and you are good to go!