Careful viewers of this blog may have noticed in prior posts, a musket hanging above my fireplace - a replica of an 1863 Springfield rifled musket. I recently added a companion to my fledgling collection, this one a replica of a 1795 Springfield musket. Since there wasn't enough room to hang both muskets above my fireplace, I resolved to build a rack to hold them, that would also provide some small measure of security. I don't really worry about them being used in a crime, and being replicas they aren't really worth anything to collectors, but I did want to keep them out of irresponsible hands, without being obtrusive about it. I am rather proud of my design, if I do say so myself.
I had decided on making a rack large enough to hold three muskets, in case I acquire another one at a later time. My design was for two pieces, each to be mounted to wall studs, one to hold the barrels, and the other to hold the stocks at the wrist. The musket barrels would be slipped into the barrel rest, but the stock support had to be able to be opened and closed to hold the wrists securely. I decided to use a variation of "keyhole mounts" to hold the closing piece, and a desk lock (available from Rockler hardware) to secure the closure.
I first glued up a number of red oak flooring scraps into a board 4-1/2" wide, 1-1/2" thick, and about 4' long, being careful to keep any of the joints from lining up in a either direction. Once cured, a few passes through the thickness planer yielded two pieces, 1-1/4" thick, 4" wide, and 24" long - one for the barrel support, and one for the stock support. After cutting the stock support lengthwise, I routed a shallow channel in the thinner piece for the locking plates. I laid out the position for the stock holes, and then cut the locking plates to avoid the marked holes. Each locking plate was then drilled for mounting screws, and then the plates were screwed into the channel. The two pieces were reassembled, and clamped, and then I drilled the holes for the locking screws, drilling from the rear, through the locking plates, and about 1/4" into the closure piece. Disassembling the entire mess, I was able to enlarge the through holes in the locking plates into the "keyhole" shape, to route for screw head clearance in the closure piece, and to recess for the keeper nuts in main piece and then mount the screws that form the locking heads. At this point I also cut the recess for the desk lock and the cross hole for the lock's key. Once the lock was installed I could mark the position of the lock bolt on the opposite lock plate, and cut the slot to accept the lock bolt.
After reassembling all the pieces, I could slide the closure onto the screw heads, turn the key, and lock the closure slide in place. I had a solid piece of wood with a removable edge, ready to be shaped into the rack. Using the drill press I drilled out the three openings in each rack, rounded the edges on the band-saw, and then used the router with a round-over bit to soften the exposed edges. It is at that point that the accompanying picture was taken. Final finishing required filling any exposed joints, sanding, and three coats of Varathane.
Once screwed to the studs the rack pieces are rigid enough to resist casual attempts to remove the muskets. The locking piece cannot be forced, since the lock bolt resists transverse force in its strongest direction. The only telltale sign that there even is a lock is the keyhole, which offers few clues to the method of unlocking or opening the rack. While a power saw could make short work of the rack, it would run the risk of damaging the muskets, and defeating the entire purpose of stealing them (I hope). Another method would be to disassemble the muskets, in the hope of sliding the stripped stocks out through the rack holes. I'm not sure that would even work, and in any case, would hopefully take longer than the casual thief would consider. I only point out these drawbacks so that anyone using my design to secure modern firearms would take such deficiencies into consideration, and compensate accordingly. (For example, a piece of steel inserted lengthwise through the closure piece would make it more difficult to cut the rack apart.)
In the final analysis, I feel my rack performs its function with simplicity and elegance, and complements my decor. I'm happy with it.
0 comments:
Post a Comment