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Very nicely done BrokenPaw. That is one sweet wall safe.
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Thanks, Libertarian...
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Do you keep your home defense gun there at night, or move it into the bedroom? The only reason I ask is because of the lights in the compartment. During a late-night break-in, they could give away the position of you and your guns. A separate switch for the lights might be a better idea.
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David, I keep my primary home-defense gun (handgun) with me in the bedroom. I figure that if there's a situation going down that requires me to have access to my long guns, either I will have time to get from the bedroom to the vault (about 15 feet), or it's pretty much already a hopeless situation, and not having an AR-15 ready to hand won't be the deciding factor. We live on 4 acres, out in the woods, so the rifle and shotgun would mostly be used for something outside the house (rabid animal, something like that); once something gets inside, the house is small enough and configured such that I don't need to do an extensive house-clearing, so I can just hole up with the family and defend the master bedroom until cops show up. Also I don't really want to have to fire the AR inside; it's awfully loud.
As for the lights, yeah, you're right, and I plan to put them on a separate switch. The RF remote can control two devices so I plan on leaving the lights to default on when the door opens, but be able to shut them off prior to opening the door, if (for whatever reason) I need to.
I know light is more directional than sound, but the door isn't silent, in any event. It sounds an awful lot like two filing-cabinet drawers being opened simultaneously, since it's built on two sets of ball-bearing file-cabinet-drawer rails. The door weighs about 30 pounds by itself, plus the weight of the guns, so there's a bit of load on the rails. When this thing opens, any bad guys in the house will know about it. I suppose I
could just hold the door shut, cut the lights, release the lock, and slowly let the door open enough to grab what I need. That'd be quieter. Also I could then re-seal the vault so the BGs don't know where I got that Evil Black Rifle from.
Madhatter, I'd be happy to participate in a Manassas shoot. I'm pretty busy right now, with the sudden influx of kids, and with being on-cast at the Virginia Renaissance Faire, and with doing general home remodeling. But I imagine I could take a night to go expend some cordite.
Spark, I intend to put together a website showing how to build one of these, including basic ideas of what materials to use, and ballpark costs. Unfortunately, it's hard to tell what exactly people will need. That's why I'm thinking of offering custom-design and installation for people in my local area. I've done it once, now, and I made several mistakes during the process, and had to correct them (with considerable swearing and occasional bleeding, as a bonus), so now I know how to design and build one from start to finish without screwing it up too much.
-BP