How to Build a Custom Rifle Rack

I needed to create a custom sized rifle rack to fit into a cabinet that was not being utilized. You can use this design for most any application with enough depth to accomodate the rifles.

I made this using the tools and facilities at TechShop Austin-Round Rock

www.techshop.ws

Step 1: Dimensions and Wood Selection

As I was building this rack to fit into a specific size cabinet I had some basic dimensions to start with.

My cabinet was 60"x20"x9" I planned to make my rack 48"x20x8-3/4"

I choose to use 3/4" Birch plywood. I purchased 2 sheets of 2'x4' and ripped it into 4 boards that measured 48"x8-3/4"

Step 2: Box Assembly

I started by making a simple box. I used a Kreg Drill Jig to hide all screws as I wanted a very clean finished product.

I started by measuring how many holes/screws I wanted to use and then used the Kreg Drill Jig to drill the pocket holes.

Step 3: Box Assembly Pt2

Here I attached all 4 sides of the box. For the bottom I drilled the holes on the piece that rests on the floor. For the top I wanted it to rest on the supports so I drilled the holes on the support sides.

Step 4: Barrel and Buttstock Rests

I used a 2-1/2" hole saw after measuring the centers and determining how many rifles I would be able to fit. I did this same step for the buttstock rest.

After drilling the holes I used a band saw to cut out the slots. Later I made adapters to make the slots smaller as not all rifles are as wide as each other.

Step 5: Barrel Rest Height

I measured my shortest rifle and used that dimension to set the height of the rifle rest.

I used the same Kreg Drill Jig to drill on the bottom of the barrel rest to attach to the side supports.

For the buttstock rest I drilled straight through the bottom and recessed the screw heads.

I left my rack unstained and just sanded smooth.

Thanks for reading and thanks to the TechShop

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