Design a RSC or Safe

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Dean C

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20 mi. NE of Seattle
I'm an Engineer. I love to design things. Being a gun enthusist, I decided to design a gun safe or RSC. What I have now is OK but I wanted to think like I had nothing and also wanted to fill a market nitch.
That's a challenge. There is more to a safe or an RSC than meets the eye. I started saying to myself to just make it a place to store guns that will prevent the local "hoods" form grabbing. As I progressed, I started adding more features. Then I got into designing the locking system and .....

After more than a year, I'm on my ??rd attempt. It' harder than it seems. My initial inputs kept changing. The biggest is the cost to build.

Anybody else have a good design?
Here are my "initial" requirements.

Design Input:
Capacity – 15 Long guns, 6 Hand guns.
Approx. 2 boxes Ammo for each (44 boxes min).
Assorted valuable items.
Stealth (looks like something else) or hide in closet/non public area (metal cabinet).
Lockable (duh)
180 degree door opening.
Secue enough slow down burgler
Bolt to floor and/or wall.
Fire, slow down, not stop.
Cost to fabricate under $400.00. (After waking up, this would be a target for quantities over 100)
Standard material sizes.
Interior will not damage wood or blued metal.

The current list is more detailed and has been customized to where I am today. I'm looking for discussion on what anyone else has done or is intending to do (even if it is unrealistic like my current list is that I won't share).
Fun game.
dean
 
What I don't like about RSCs is the thin steel walls that a sawsall or hand grinder can get through in a few minutes.

Something that could give a lot of bang per buck is re-enforced concrete in the walls.
 
engineering school kill your imagination? LOL. just kidding with you... engineering school killed my imagination.
 
How about a fake water heater in a closet? Nobody would look at it twice and you could hide the combination lock under the temp control cover. Have some conduit and copper running to it. It's plenty big, the hinges can be hidden under insulation. Think of it as an oversized fake "Can of beans safe" in the pantry.
 
Enough room between the firearms to take them out in any order. I have an 8 gun safe and it will fit 7... if I take them out in the order I put them in. About the time a decent amount of room is added, a set of shelves get added or something.
 
How about a fake water heater in a closet? Nobody would look at it twice and you could hide the combination lock under the temp control cover. Have some conduit and copper running to it. It's plenty big, the hinges can be hidden under insulation. Think of it as an oversized fake "Can of beans safe" in the pantry.
Click to expand...

We built something similar to this for a customer. Instead of a swinging door, the unit spun to reveal an opening. It cost more than $400 to make though.

Capacity – 15 Long guns, 6 Hand guns.
Approx. 2 boxes Ammo for each (44 boxes min).
Assorted valuable items.
Stealth (looks like something else) or hide in closet/non public area (metal cabinet).
Lockable (duh)
180 degree door opening.
Secue enough slow down burgler
Bolt to floor and/or wall.
Fire, slow down, not stop.
Cost to fabricate under $400.00. (After waking up, this would be a target for quantities over 100)
Standard material sizes.
Interior will not damage wood or blued metal.
Click to expand...

I'm not knocking you at all, but that's an awful long list of requirements on a limited budget.

I get calls every day from people wanting even more than that with a whole $200 to spend.

You'd make more money designing a car that sat 6, got 40 MPG, went 0-60 in under 5 seconds, and changed its own oil if you could manufacturer it for less than $1,500.
 
Kindrox and a1abdj are both on to something. Kindrox makes a good point about the concrete. If you could buy a lighter weight steel safe that had "fill holes" at the top and double wall construction, you could poor concrete in at home (yes, this could be messy). Rather than spending big bucks on thick steel, the concrete could do the job (there would need to be some mesh/rebar/reinforcement in there) and perhaps provide some fireproofing.

A1abdj's mention of the rotating water heater brings up an idea. If the safe could be rotated (while still somehow being firmly attached to the floor), the door could be rotated to face the wall so that it couldn't be tampered with. The benefit of this would be that the door, which is often the "weak link", would not have to incorporate as many security features as one that is exposed.
 
Phoenix is making something like what you describe called the "Rifle Locker".

It lists for $600, however, and is considerably smaller, as it is designed to fit between studs. I think it will hold 5.

If you took their basic idea and expanded it so it would mount between studs in a non load-bearing wall, (cut out one stud), you would probably get to 10-15 gun capacity, in a linear arrangement.

The advantage of their design is the wall provides some protection against attack from the sides and rear, especially if you mount it in a finished basement.

I don't know if they have a patent, but the basic idea of a safe can't be patented...
 
Well, what a bunch of great ideas. As you can see, only 7 responses and probably 15 more ideas floating around. a1abdj, that's why the list is the way it is.
primlantah, engineering school didn't kill the imagination, YEARS killed it. 30 years ago, if someone asked me to do this, I would have blundered ahead and then tried to take the cost out and make it practical to build. Today, I fight between functional and manufacturing practical. Damn birthdays.
I do like the "between the studs" where there could be multiple openings on a wall allowing access to all, not one at a time. The rotating skin water heater is also a fantastic ides that warrants more thought.
Anyway, thanks for the responses and keep the "brainstorming" going.
dean
 
"poor concrete in at home"

How about shipping it filled with powdered mix? Just add water.

I do like the round safe idea for long guns.

With a nearly unlimited amount of money and space, I'd think about armoring one of these for handguns, scopes, jewelry, etc.

Lex.gif


I met a couple years ago who had one built into the wall in their kitchen. Press a button and the dishes or pots you need come to you. They were 20k IIRC 20 years ago.

John
 
The most important consideration is the thickness of the steel since most attempted break ins will be brute force attacks. Everything else is for show. The weakest area on a safe is the thickness of the side walls. Whats the point of a 1/4 plate door, 12 bolts, relockers, drill plates, etc. if the walls are only 12 gauge steel.
 
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