Range Box Project - Need Advice

[Slingshot]

Hello all,


I am in the process of gathering information if this project / side business would be worth it. I would appreciate your opinion on this.


I want to recreate a range box that I inherited from my father years ago. It was originally offered by Freeland products back in the 50's and 60's. This one was produced in 1962.


I am a carpenter and woodworker so I have the background and the shop setup to do this. If I did reproduce them I would probably change a few things.


I would probably not use the metal sheeting encasing the plywood, the only drawback of this box is it is heavy. I would most likely use a oak or cherry veneer plywood. and give it a stained and polyurethane finish. I may invest in a sheetmetal bender and offer that as an option. I would offer satin steel finish or brass hardware. I would use wood corners instead of the metal. See the pics for the original. Depending on how this goes I would probably offer other products that I have in the back of my mind.
Do you think anyone would pay $300+ for something like this? Let me know what you think. Any advice on how or what to use would be appreciated.
Thanks in advance,
Jeff / Slingshot

http://i455.photobucket.com/albums/qq280/jeffroth182/IMG_20140621_103725_208_zpsf0ef5bcd.jpg (http://s455.photobucket.com/user/jeffroth182/media/IMG_20140621_103755_437_zps61037bac.jpg.html)
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[scarry scarney]

Looks good, but too long for me.

if I were to run it as a business, I might come up with several different sizes to choose from (different options). What is too long for me, might be just the size for someone else.

i haven't heard of someone making "custom sized shooting range boxes," but I'm not into the competition circuit.

good luck

[Czech_too]

For something of that size & weight, I would want metal corners & handles on the ends, not the top. I just envision picking that box by the top handle & it letting loose. I have a smaller, maybe 2/3rds size, OLD machinist chest which has all of my BP necessities & I wouldn't care to lift it by a top handle.

It's an interesting idea but IMO with a very limited market. Now what about a range box such as the bullseye shooters use? I'm not aware of much available in the way of that type of a box.

[W.R.Buchanan]

It would be a tough sell. The problem with a product like this is the fact that in order to make any money doing it you have to mass produce them and they pretty much need to be all the same size.

However, what you will find is that everyone is going to want something different.

This is the type of thing that you make for yourself and if somebody wants one like it then maybe you could make one as a gift.

Some products just don't lend themselves to being a profitable item. Sometimes they are best left as things you make for yourself or as gifts.

You can get a lot of mileage out of cool gifts! They can build Lasting Relationships. Most times the Relationships are far more valuable than the gifts that started them.

Randy

[Dutchman]

I built this shooting box prior to 1985 so its about 30 yrs old now and still holding up. Made from BCX 3/8" plywood filled in and painted. You can fill it (stuff it!) full of ammo and handguns to the point that it takes two dudes to carry it out of the house. I've never replaced it because it seems to do what I want without being weak in construction.

http://images61.fotki.com/v666/photos/4/28344/12582412/box1-vi.jpg

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http://images108.fotki.com/v1623/photos/4/28344/12582412/DSCF4643-vi.jpg

[bedbugbilly]

Jeff - great looking range box and I think it has some good potential. There are certainly those out there that can afford that type of case.

I used to own a custom woodworking/millwork shop. In considering this . . . and if you are looking at several different sizes . . . . you'll of course want to make them to get the most out of your material without a lot of scrap - all very "doable".

I don't know what your facilities are like (shop) - but if it were me, as far as the "finish" - I would scrap the polyurethane and finish them in spray lacquer. Unless you have a "finish room" - you will be battling the "dust factor" in your shop with poly. I you have a well ventilated area, you could easily spray lacquer these and cut down on the finish time as far as drying, etc.

I used to buy a brand of lacquer - Campbell's (if I remember correctly) - and my source was a store that sole automotive finishes. The lacquer is available in the various sheens - gloss, satin, etc.. It is also available in a "high wear" formulation. I used that one time on church pews that I built for a church remodel job. Over time, people sliding in to church pews would have worn the finish and it's been about 25 years now and they still look like they just came out of the shop. It's been a long time since I had my shop so you'd have to check on what is out there now as far as lacquers. At the time - and this was many years ago - when "woodworking" lacquers were running $25 - $35 a gallon through wood working suppliers, I could buy the lacquer from the automotive finish supplier for $10 a gallon. . . and it was the same thing, just different label.

I you didn't want to go to the extent of hand staining - you could also use "toners". Basically, a tinted lacquer finish that gives a uniform color/shade. This is what is used by most cabinet companies in order to make the cabinets match. As you are well aware of, different pieces of wood will take stain differently - especially red oak, ash, etc. If a raised panel on a cabinet door were made out of different pieces from different boards/trees - if hand stained it would look like a "zebra". By using a toner, you can put an even shade on the entire panel so you don't notice the differences in the wood.

It may be information you already know but just thought I'd pass it on. Like any product, the amount of time you can cut down on in regards to production increases your profit and you still have a nice product to sell. If you could offer several sizes as "standard" - those would be your "gravy". Depending on the demand/sales and your regular job - you could then offer "customizing" if a customer had specific requests - but at a price where you could make money and feel comfortable that you aren't "giving things away".

Good luck with your project - a lot to think about and plan but I think you'd have a market and certainly quite a number of "gun boards" on which you could post pictures and sell them in their classifieds.

[dikman]

It could be a hard sell. There are so many metal or plastic boxes available these days that it's not hard to find one with a suitable configuration to suit any setup that's wanted - and they're not generally very expensive. (I've seen some shooters using those heavy duty plastic tool boxes that are vertically stackable, with wheels and a handle to pull it around. Lots of storage compartments for all sorts of stuff!).

Might not have the tactile/visual appeal of a nice wood product, but they're only a fraction of your proposed price (no offense intended). It is very hard to compete against products that are mass-produced in automated factories - one of the advantages of using plastics.

[CastingFool]

I think dovetailed joints would really dress up the box. More work, but more eye appeal. jmo.

[fred2892]

Here's my box I knocked together about ten years ago. Made it from 3/4" (should have gone 1/2"... HEAVY!!) oak and finished in yacht varnish. Dovetailed joints and all brass/ leather fittings. The insert is cut out for my Rogers and Spencer cap and ball revolver, but I have other inserts for other applications.
I am no woodworker and genuinely dread the thought of making another one of these even though I am often asked if I would. To get out of making another one I often quote a silly price of £100. Nobody seems interested after that.

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