Making a Pistol Display Box 2nd Attempt

This post is about building a display box for your favorite pistol. Some of the finer guns have come from the factory in a wood display box and I thought I might build some for myself. 


Here are some examples of some nice display boxes.

I had this wood cut for me a few years ago and never did anything with them. After making an old cigar box into a nice case for my Bearcat I decided to build these ones.

The dimensions for the top & bottom are 7 1/16" X 9 7/16" x 1/2" thick. The front & back are 2 1/16 x 9 7/16", the sides are 6 3/16" x 2 1/16". 
I wish he would have cut the pieces bigger, this really limits what guns will fit.

The wood is Maple, but I plan on staining it a walnut color and coating it with spar urethane.
Here are the pieces I am starting with (I actually did two of these at once):

I am using Elmer's Wood Glue Max to glue the pieces together.

I have very limited wood working tools. How you like that old linoleum? It was already in the room when I turned it into my gun room, I figured why spend the money when it might get chemicals spilled on it anyway??

It now looks like a box, the next step is to sand and clean up the wood in preparation for stain and sealer

I sanded the box(es) with 60 grit, then 100, then 220 and finally 500 grit sand paper using a palm "jitterbug" sander.

Nice and smooth now, ready for stain

 I had two brands of dark walnut stain, the one on the left is Minwax, on the right is Cabot. The Cabot did not seem to soak into the wood. I went with the Minwax. (this is the bottom side)

After two coats of stain, once the coverage is complete, I will rub them down with 0000 steel wool and then coat with 3-4 coats of Minwax Helmsman Spar Urathane

I am not sure if I like the way the stain looks. At this point I do not want to start over. Perhaps on the next set I will use a different stain, maybe leave the natural maple color?

This 1st box will be for a Walther PPK & PPK/s

Next I cut some blue velvet material for the bottom of the box

 Trial fitting the Walther PPK

 Next I cut some foam in the outline of the pistol

 I added slots for two magazines

 I then cut a cardboard template to support the foam

Then I used contact cement to attach the fabric to the cardboard.


Then I cut the fabric to match the inside of the box and the gun & magazine cut-outs

Trial fitting

Then cut and glue the side pieces

 

The final step is to install the hinges

Done!