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Building your own ammo box.

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  • Jeff-Tex

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    Oct 27, 2008
    182
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    Mesquite
    I was shopping for an ammo box and wanted something old school and stylish, similar to these.

    Winchester Gifts

    I decided to make my own via the local hardware store. Just curious if there are any do-it-yourself types that have attempted to make their own boxes.

    How hard can it be? Make a box out of wood, attach a thick rope for a handle, torch the edges and clear coat. Sounds easy enough. If it's not too ugly I will post pics when done.
    Texas SOT
     

    country_boy

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    Feb 7, 2009
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    Round Rock
    its easy to build a ammo box, I'd use a router on the ends to make a dovetail joint, box joint, finger joint etc. That just makes it stronger. How much weight are we talking about?? Might use a piece of 1/2" plywood for the bottom, if theres going to be some weight in that box.
     

    ebk06

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    Mar 15, 2009
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    Austin
    It should be simple to build. Unless of course you want the tongue and grove corners like some of those boxes have. Im not sure if you've done much wood work or staining but ill give you one hint. If you want the box to be darker do a final prep sanding with coarse sand paper......maybe around 200 grit or so. If you want lighter stain color use a fine grit paper. You can play with the sanding/color until you get it right. Also I would recommend a harder wood for this box.

    now that you got me thinking of this you may want to make templates for the box in case you decide to start making them to sell. Once you get a couple under your belt I bet you can make a good 2-4 an hour. Good luck and let us know how it turns out.
     

    GM.Chief

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    Mar 16, 2009
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    I think that sounds like a fun project and may have to try and do the same as soon as I get a chance.
     

    Jeff-Tex

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    Oct 27, 2008
    182
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    Mesquite
    Made some progress last night. Instead of making a bread box just to store ammo, I decided to make a large chest. It's made completely of pine, no screws on the exterior, dims are 20 x 20 x 40. There will be hooks on the inside walls to hang rifles and pistols, fill the bottom with ammo. So far all the walls and bottom are attached, just need to get the hinges & lock for the lid, then sand the whole thing down, stain & clear. So far I've spent about $50. No pics during the build process yet, just wanna get'er done.

    Ok I lied, I have one pic I took with my phone, just wasn't sure how to download it.


    Ends and top are not secure yet, just for test. And the handles too.
     

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    jnock

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    Sweet.

    Make some 6'4" long and you can go into another line of work; one where the end user doesn't complain.

    Seriously, that sucker is going to be heavy when filled with guns-n-ammo. Is this going to be a field box or just an in-home storage box?
     

    lonewolf23c

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    Oct 2, 2008
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    Idaho
    Sweet.

    Make some 6'4" long and you can go into another line of work; one where the end user doesn't complain.

    Seriously, that sucker is going to be heavy when filled with guns-n-ammo. Is this going to be a field box or just an in-home storage box?

    I agree, even my range bag with 2 pistols, all my magazines and ammo, plus a cleaning kit and multi-tool is pretty darn heavy, so just imagine the weight of that box empty, then add up the weight of guns, ammo, and anything else you might toss in there, then go get a fork lift to load/unload it out of your truck LOL.

    Box looks good though, I'd just try to keep the size of it down, cause of the weight, not to mention the bigger the box you build the more stuff you'll want to throw in that box, and before long you've got a 5' long 2' wide 2' high box weighing upwards of 500lbs.
     

    Jeff-Tex

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    Oct 27, 2008
    182
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    Mesquite
    Sweet.

    Make some 6'4" long and you can go into another line of work; one where the end user doesn't complain.

    Seriously, that sucker is going to be heavy when filled with guns-n-ammo. Is this going to be a field box or just an in-home storage box?

    It's for home storage only. Definitely not a fire safe, lol. I have a couple nieces, nephews and recently became a father so I want to keep some stuff locked up. I had a nice $2000 gun safe, but it belongs to my cousin and he came and collected it. You can buy a decent rifle/gun case from academy or bass pro for under $200, that would probably suit my purpose better, but I had a wild hair to build something. And it will look nice when it's done. It will take me a few more days of sanding before I stain it. But when it's done I can beat my chest like tom hanks on castaway when he finally built a fire.
     

    Jeff-Tex

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    Oct 27, 2008
    182
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    Mesquite
    Sorry for the delay on the finish pics. I ran into a few bumps here and there. If I had to do it all over again, I would do almost everything different LOL. I went with pine which is light and easy to work with but since I made a chest, it's too heavy to move so I should have used oak in the first place. I did the best I could to over-build it, got a little crooked but made it all fit. Stain is almost too dark, didn't clear coat, no need. I still need to put the lock on it. Here are a couple pics with a little ammo and a shotty.
     

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