Thread: My DIY magnetic gun rack

First I had one rifle, the T3 308 which sat happily by itself in the corner of the safe. I thought it would eventually get lonely so gave it some company in the form of a 10/22 and a Baikal 223 (all bases well covered in small, medium, large!). But we all know three's a crowd, and it was an unruly jumble in there. No good at all... something had to be done.

A browse through ebay and TM didn't turn up any suitable racks, and I wanted an excuse to build something anyway. Save money and time, exercise brain, put workshop tools to use and all that. I wanted to be able to easily attach, reposition and remove the rack so magnets were the obvious choice. Also, magnets are awesome.

So here's my first DIY gun project, the gun rack:



Parts:

* An offcut of skirting
* A handful of 3x4mm cylindrical neodymium magnets (cheap off ebay)
* Some tape
* Dowel pins. I cut up some steel rod I had taken out of a busted inkjet printer once, and covered each length with heatshrink to protect the barrels.

Tools:

* Drill-press
* Hand saw
* Drill bits

I sawed the skirting to length and marked off the dowel positions I wanted (the more observant readers will see the rightmost position is future-proofed with extra spacing between rifles) and drilled the dowel holes for an interference fit.

I drilled pockets for the magnets, inserted them and secured with tape wrapped around the skirting so it wouldn't peel off too soon. There's not much outward force so I think the tape will retain the magnets OK, but I'll keep an eye on it and switch to epoxy if they start to loosen.

Tape makes it easy to remove the magnets, e.g. if I want to add larger ones.

Bloody good work. Wheres the shotgun?

Good work Brodster. Here's a thought. How close are the magnets to the metal work of your rifles? You will need to check whether they have become magnetized if you ever need to use a compass in close proximity while in the hills.

Good point Rushy, Tho If I really "need" to use a compass I dump rifle and knife etc and stand away from them. Doesnt help on parts of the coast, needle just goes round and round!

Nice choice of cals Brodster.

Time in the shed is great unless you work in a shed

Originally Posted by Toby

Bloody good work. Wheres the shotgun?

In the same place as the high-powered air-rifle and the Pack Rifle (look it up if you haven't already)... in the future!

Good point about the magnets Rushy but ferrous objects mess with compasses anyway. Haven't you heard the one about the guy who mounted his compass to his rifle. Magically it always shot north! ;-)

Out of curiosity I did a quick test and sat a compass on each rifle barrel. The 10/22 shoots south, and the other two north. Hehe.

Shotguns are a must. I personally like them as the best thing in the world. Maybe its cause duck shooting is my favorite type of hunting

Originally Posted by Toby

Shotguns are a must. I personally like them as the best thing in the world. Maybe its cause duck shooting is my favorite type of hunting

I have never been a duck hunter Toby. Don't know why, it is probably that I have never really had either the interest or perhaps more that I have never really had the opportunity. I do have a shot gun but it has never shot steel. How is the recovery going?

You should give it a try Rushy. Its good