shotgun case build - need some advice

[wtnhighlander]

Now THERE is a kid with potential!  Keep the updates coming, watching the project develop is almost as much fun as seeing the excitement on his face!

[Coop]

@tperson, can you provide a link to the corner pieces? I don’t believe I have ever seen any that can be inlaid. It seems that if they are proud of the wood, they would offer more protection. 

[tperson]

Coop - these are the ones I ordered: 

https://www.woodcraft.com/products/stanley-solid-brass-miniature-decorative-corners-5-8-x-1-3-4-w-screws-4-pack?sku=149756

While they're not designed to be inlayed, we're going to give it a go (on a practice piece first). I realize that an over-the-top installation would offer more protection, but also more opportunity to snag stuff...and I like how they look (in my mind) flush. We'll have to add a little block in the corners (under the corner cover, over the panel) to support them better. I'm not wild about the scalloped look, we might customize them with a file to give a gentle curve. Of all the things on this project, these stinking brass corners have proven the most difficult to source in a style that matches the rest of the case while still being solid brass. I looked hard at the ones at VanDykes, but I was concerned about they way the mount, that the 'foot' protrusion will impede the lid from opening 180deg...and cost, I need 8. I'd say the jury is still deliberating about brass corners. 

I forgot to add an update the other day: I commissioned some custom brass feet to be made similar to these: 

https://www.prokraft.co.uk/solid-brass-box-feet.html

Instead of 6mm tall feet, mine will be 0.290 and will double as a stop when the lid is fully opened. I could have turned them myself, but it was much easier to convince a pedigreed machinist buddy to do it for me. I supplied the brass and the dimensions, he supplied the time and talent. 

[gee-dub]

I just got caught back up on this thread.  Looks like things are moving along well to me.  Those are going to be some beautiful cases.

[wtnhighlander]

@tperson, Coop's comment started me thinking about the inlay issues. Since the corner wraps 3 faces, the recess will need to be larger than the brass, in all 3 directions, by the same amount as the depth of the recess, won't it?

Or am I overthinking this? Please post the results of your trial run, I am very curious to see how it works.

[tperson]

Slight change of plans and minimal progress:

The brass corners were delivered and their thin-ness changed our inlay plans...I expected them to be about 1/8" thick and they turned out to be <1/16" so there's no need to inlay them. Working to slightly change the profile so the corner peak (?) is inverted to fit and look better (see pics). P got the rest of the stringing done on the lid and is half-way through the other part of the case...then we ran out of stringing. UPS resupplied us Tuesday but the weather was so nice, we opted to work on the range. Laid out and marked the shooting stations last night, the low house is now wired and the trap is roughly set, the inverter comes Monday and we should be hooping traps (hopefully) mid-next week. Still need to build a hoop and program the wireless releases before we can shoot a full round...which would be more fun if the weather would cooperate (been cold and WINDY). 

[curlyoak]

The slight thickness of the corners not inlaid helps keep the wood from excess abrasions and scratches. Better not inlaid for protective purposes.

[tperson]

Whoa, can’t believe it’s been 4 moths since I posted an update. Since March, we finished the stringing, applied several coats of 50/50 poly/mineral spirits, set the latches, and felted the interior…actually, that all happened in the two weeks leading up to fair check-in. Nothing really notable in the build other than the SOSS hinges are a pain to set, we couldn’t have done it without the PanotRouter. It took us over 4hrs to get the 8 mortises created, but they line up perfectly and work great. I was pretty nervous out felting the interior…turns out carpet tape is the trick. We cut the felt to rough-size, put down our carpet tape, and peeled the tape as we stretched the felt. The felt we used is ‘silver felt’ that’s been specially treated to not tarnish silver(ware)…good enough for a fork and spoon, good enough for a shotgun.

Yesterday was fair check-in and we slipped back out to the fair today to see how the kids did. The gun case was Woodworking Grand Champion! P was stoked, I was beaming with pride…then I noticed that his only real competition was his sister…who was Reserve Grand Champion. Oh well. He worked hard to this point and received lots of compliments and comments from people at the fair at lunch, so it was all worth it in the end.

[Ronn W]

You have every right ot be very proud. So do our kids.

[pkinneb]

Great job!! I need to make one of these for my trap gun. Thanks for sharing!!

[Coop]

Well done guys! 

[treeslayer]

+1^. You should all be proud that’s some beautiful work!

[wtnhighlander]

Wow, that came out great! But what did his sister make?

[tperson]

Sorry wtnhighlander, I kept walking past her project failing to stop and snap a picture. She (we) built a cherry shaker box...actually 8, but only one one was round and didn't split. The trick we learned was to soak the cherry strips in fabric softener + water for a few days, then steam them...they'll bend like hot spaghetti. I was pretty happy to have her help, her fingers are small enough to hold the tacks and hammer them in before they cooled too much. 

[treeslayer]

Nice work! I’ve always wanted to build some of those 

[wtnhighlander]

That's a cool box! First I've seen in round form, they are usually oval. I always wondered, why oval?