Current project - the Ugly Duckling pistol case

Back in April - found this old and well used gun case. Brought it home because I needed a beginning point since there isn't a wood shop in the basement. However - do know what wood putty, sandpaper, and rattle cans are. 

So here is why it is the ugly duckling. It was covered twice- the first was a black fabric wrap then a black and white vinyl contact paper ... covered in daisies. Underneath the wraps was this....




My first oops was the realization there were a few cracked boards and each corner were hand-riveted on three sides for the metal corner covers. Removing rivets only left ripped wood edges and scars requiring repair. The bonus surprise was the back panel - was not only separated from the box but was not wood at all - but a fiberboard panel.




After throwing putty and sandpaper several times...






And a new back panel - now 100% wood.


After removing the latches and patching the holes - started to refinish the inside in preparation of a new internal layout...




Decided to take one more risk - removing the external hinge and redesign for an internal hidden hinge. Used tape to retain both parts of the external shell in its location during sanding.

Before




During


After



Here's the tricky part - added a 3/4" square rod behind each hinge leaf for a mounting surface.



The interior - is another direction; redesigned as a dedicated 22LR box.
The gun tray will be not be a standing vertical position - but a horizontal in the tray and added a few plywood compartments to accommodate pre-fabbed hinged boxes. 

The bottom partition below the tray - is  hinged under tension able to be folded towards the shooter to reach behind.
The open space is not for a fourth box - but a 6 pack mag holder.

The case assembled for scope mount locations fitted and established.


At this exact time nearing the end of the line - now have several coats of primer waiting for external corner protectors and assistance hand fitting the latches and riveted corners. 


I should have bought the wood putty - in the gallon size. Sheesh!


More to be revealed later....

Looks like a good project, will be interested to see the end results.

Did you finish?

Tim:H11 wrote:Did you finish?

Thank you for reminding me... have made some progress, but life got in the way. 

Do plan to finish... someday. What happened was I chose to use a darker primer to reveal all blemishes. Will require more sanding time to refine the surface again. The final coats will be  a black hammered finish (Rustoleum) with a few coats of polyurethane.  The latches and corners will be riveted in place once the exterior is to my satisfaction. Here are a few updated pictures that will give you a better idea where I was going.

Looking good!

Almost too purdy to use.

While it may have been easier to start from scratch...I always like  seeing neglected stuff brought back to life.  Is there any "history" attached to this venture?

STEVE SAMELAK wrote:While it may have been easier to start from scratch...I always like  seeing neglected stuff brought back to life.  Is there any "history" attached to this venture?

Very little... found it looking all alone at a local gun shop collecting dust.

The story that was told to me was "... once owned by an older woman who shot bullseye - who no longer needed it". The case sat around the shop for a few years with a price tag reduced several times. Decided to take on the challenge ... paid less than $20.

An ugly duckling no more!

you will also need to redesign the gun holder if you have scoped guns, that was built back when open sights was all there was.

Nice Job!!!!  I got tired looking at the photos being to lazy to do all that work! I did see a box that was redone and the owner used bed liner spray paint, gave it the textured look as seen on most covered boxes.

Kudos to you for resurrecting that old case. Most would have given up and trashed it. I used to build those Pachmayr type cases back in the 60's so I know how much work they are. I recently started bullseye shooting again so I may have to build one more or find one like yours to rebuild. Keep up the good work and show us the finished product.