jesse72
Well-known member
4 FN 27:
Thanks for sharing, your place is awesome., great taste!
Thanks for sharing, your place is awesome., great taste!
'Hidden' gun safes?
- Thread starter Jay Sco
- Start date
rayra
Well-known member
heh. thanks. yes, an SEP Field, something so odd that people mentally reject seeing it. Like a Chesterfield sofa hovering over a cricket pitch. Loved his books.
And its corollary, show people what they expect to see and they pay it no heed. A full bookcase, no one has ever noticed, even when I draw their attention right to it, asked them to look more closely at. Nobody figures out it isn't full depth.
Or the packing box facade. I weathered the boxes differently, made them look mildly rumpled and askew. Labeled them innocuously as 'bedding', 'old kitchenware', 'towels' and stacked stuff on top. The three boxes were just the same height as the safe. Piling more junk in that corner and it's a heap of **** few would bother with. The facade's sides only extend 3-4". In that dim cluttered corner it works great.
I also thought to do something similar with a wardrobe style moving box, even having the hand opening with the end of the sheet metal hangar rood and some metal hangar hooks sticking out, and with some scrap of clothing blocking the hole itself from the inside. 'mom's clothes'.
But it wouldn't have been tall enough for my safe.
Same with the tops of bookcases or tables, trimmed with crown mouldings. The mouldings can readily mask a hidden depth. Build a tray-like space in the top, make the top a removable cap, held in place with some rare earth magnets. It will resist mild tugs and bumps but a firm pull lifts it right off.
If you want to hide something large, it's best to hide it in what Douglas Adams referred to as a "Somebody Else's Problem Field".
Put simply, the object should appear so common as to remain entirely unnoticed by an average mind; an object that is invisible in life, either because we've learned to assume it's present, or because it's presence doesn't adhere to our understanding of an environment.
This is an incredibly valuable concept. Adams created it as a satirical joke, but I've used the idea to great effect in many environments. It's also great for pranks.
Here is something to ponder:
What is it that people so readily expect to see in a garage that they simply will not see it? In other words, when someone walks in, the object is essentially invisible.
I don't mean your garage or shop specifically; I mean an average garage in your neighborhood. Remember what people are like, and how garages are wasted.
Rayra has the right idea.
Garbage cans, old shoe boxes, metal shelves, my f'in screwdriver that I just had in my hand a second ago?
boo coo tracks
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jan 13, 2007
- Messages
- 134
Since its Christmas time just buy a can spray of snow.
HTH
Tracks
HTH
Tracks
bushmechanic
Well-known member
- Joined
- Mar 17, 2014
- Messages
- 4,820
heh. thanks. yes, an SEP Field, something so odd that people mentally reject seeing it. Like a Chesterfield sofa hovering over a cricket pitch. Loved his books.
And its corollary, show people what they expect to see and they pay it no heed. A full bookcase, no one has ever noticed, even when I draw their attention right to it, asked them to look more closely at. Nobody figures out it isn't full depth.
Or the packing box facade. I weathered the boxes differently, made them look mildly rumpled and askew. Labeled them innocuously as 'bedding', 'old kitchenware', 'towels' and stacked stuff on top. The three boxes were just the same height as the safe. Piling more junk in that corner and it's a heap of **** few would bother with. The facade's sides only extend 3-4". In that dim cluttered corner it works great.
I also thought to do something similar with a wardrobe style moving box, even having the hand opening with the end of the sheet metal hangar rood and some metal hangar hooks sticking out, and with some scrap of clothing blocking the hole itself from the inside. 'mom's clothes'.
But it wouldn't have been tall enough for my safe.
Same with the tops of bookcases or tables, trimmed with crown mouldings. The mouldings can readily mask a hidden depth. Build a tray-like space in the top, make the top a removable cap, held in place with some rare earth magnets. It will resist mild tugs and bumps but a firm pull lifts it right off.
I saw your post and pictures after typing that, and immediately wondered if you were familiar with that part of the story.
Either make something exceedingly common, or exceedingly unbelievable. The mind must either accept or reject the reality of the environment and create it's own comfortable set of rules.
That's all it takes to hide an object.
****, I have seen a kitchen stove fall half way through a floor after there was a fire directly underneath it.
If you have a fire, let the OIC know where the safe is so they can keep a hose line on it and in the area. Hopefully that should keep it cool and prevent further heat damage from the fire. If the structure is a total loss, it could still end up in the basement but hopefully it might be a slow collapse so it wouldn't be a hard hit into the basement.
Those of you with gun safes or just large safes upstairs, please follow the same advice and let the OIC. No need to have a safe come crashing through the floor injuring (or worse) somebody trying to save your property.
BigSteve63
Well-known member
This is one that I built for myself.....mahogany.
And the prize on the inside....
Absolute Genius! May be something like that in my near future - great job!
strada12
Member
My dad has his gun safe in the garage/reloading/hangout and was concerned about how to hide the torches as to not give the thieves any help,I recommended he just take all the torch tips and put them in the safe. how many thieves carry victor tips around with them?
DonPowers
Well-known member
Some great ideas out there, just tagging along for the ride to see if something comes up that will work for me.
cagullett1
Well-known member
This is one that I built for myself.....mahogany.
And the prize on the inside....
Curious how you put such a curve on the face of this. Looks great!
kjdhawkhill
Well-known member
Reminds me of the movie "Shooter", in that it only takes one small part to make the most complex and destructive device (in this case torches and in the movie, a sniper rifle) into a large and complex, overpriced club.
Simple but an effective way to prevent your own torches from being used against your security measures.
Looks like it's a piece of crown molding layed flat...
jesse72
Well-known member
There are a lot of different ideas from furniture to shelves to lamps on this site:
https://tacticalwalls.com/product-category/shelves/
Kinda pricy but depnding on your skill level you may be able to replicate some of these ideas.
https://tacticalwalls.com/product-category/shelves/
Kinda pricy but depnding on your skill level you may be able to replicate some of these ideas.
I clamped a fence at a 45 degree angle on the table saw and then fed the board across the fence.....progressively raising the blade until I got the cove depth that I was seeking....
It's pretty hard to find custom or unusual moldings in mahogany....or any other exotic woods for that matter....
I always feel building to be seen in plain sight is the key. A gun safe is a good idea, but it wont stop thieves. Most of those "locker" type gun safes a good demo or crowbar will make short work of. Friend of mine had a heavy duty browning safe that was in his garage and it caught on fire, things int he safe did survive and so did the safe.
If I was to build a hidden setup the bookcase is tempting. Whats even more tempting is a false wall in a closet or other such hidden panel. A false floor is also a cool idea. I saw online once someone had one of those step down areas and built a large landing into it. Well the landing areas front removed and it had a slide out in there to get to whatever you wanted to put in there
If I was to build a hidden setup the bookcase is tempting. Whats even more tempting is a false wall in a closet or other such hidden panel. A false floor is also a cool idea. I saw online once someone had one of those step down areas and built a large landing into it. Well the landing areas front removed and it had a slide out in there to get to whatever you wanted to put in there
slip knot
Well-known member
Nuttsgt, around here if you tell the IC that theres a safe with firearms/ammo in it, the Fire crew will back off and go to secondary containment while your place burns to the ground. I've seen this twice now. Not exactly sure why but have seen it with two houses.
ekimneirbo
Well-known member
Search Craigs list for used "armoires". People paid serious money for them years ago to hold their TVs, and now they just want to get rid of them. I bought three of them and put shelves inside to make bookcases. They look really nice and you might use the face of one to conceal a gun safe if its sitting back in a recess. I paid between $75 and $150 for them. The original buyers paid $1500 and up for them. Mount the gunsafe in a recess and then place this in front of it . Put shelves in and store wine and party stuff. Roll it out when you want to get in the safe.
Heres an example near me.....$70 and no one has bought it .https://louisville.craigslist.org/fuo/d/elizabethtown-computer-desk/6956124713.html
Heres an example near me.....$70 and no one has bought it .https://louisville.craigslist.org/fuo/d/elizabethtown-computer-desk/6956124713.html
Last edited:
WWIIFAN
Member
Find a used Johnny on the Spot...Clean thoroughly...cut the back and insides away...Then slide over the safe. 
ZRX61
Well-known member
Table saw with the blade set low & run the wood at 45 deg across it.