displaying guns on wall

[Battis]

I have a bunch of antique handguns that I'd like to display on a wall mounted board. I'm thinking tongue and groove boards, or plywood, with wooden pegs. I don't want it to look like I made it (I'm not what you'd call a master wood craftsman), but I want to keep the price down.
Any suggestions?

[Tripplebeards]

I was going to make a wall mount for my late 1800’s Charles Daly SxS 10 gauge to hang under the double bearded gobbler fan mount I shot with it last spring. Never got around to it yet because I’m on the hunt for 3 vintage horses shoes. My plan is to cut one in half and have it welded to the other two. I’d then mount them on a pice of old barn board or directly to the wall. Saw the idea at a Cracker Barrel restaurant a few years back.

[Winger Ed.]

I don't want it to look like I made it

I'd stay away from plywood then.

You might do a quick search for 'gun racks' or something similar then click 'images'.
Look at what others have made or sell for ideas.
It's kind of pricey, but a fair amount of hard wood is available at the big box stores along with stains & clear finishes.

If you need a scroll saw or router--- this project is the perfect justification to buy one, or some other power tool.

[Battis]

Yeah, plywood might not be the best. I might be over thinking this one. I'll check out the wood at HD or Lowes. I have the tools. I'd also like to lock them in place, maybe a long wire lock. Now, they're in an old bookcase with a glass door and not visible. I even forgot that I had some.

[Winger Ed.]

I've got a couple antique rifles on the wall in a room that doesn't get much dust.
For hand guns, I think some sort of shadow box that had them behind glass to keep them clean would look good.
You normally don't see handguns on display in the open air the same way as rifles.

[Battis]

I have a few rifles on the wall now. This is where I'd put the board. The handguns will get dusty but at least I'll handle them.

[BLAHUT]

You can get prefinished shelf boards and drill for some dowel rods to hold pistols. Get a nice piece of clear walnut or other wood and put a finish on with dowel rods for guns ?

[Minerat]

Look on line for the Cody or NRA museums handgun displays to get an idea of how they do it. Maybe a simple wood dowel support for trigger guard and barrel support.

[Battis]

In that photo of the rifles, those red hooks are right into horsehair plaster (and studs). Not the best set up. An enclosed large shadow box would be the best, but we're back to the skill issue. I'll gnaw at it all winter without doing it, then it'll be warm and I'll forget all about it.

[Der Gebirgsjager]

These hangers were fairly inexpensive---but I can't remember where I got them. The photo is about 12 years old. One thing I learned, you have to periodically inspect and maintain firearms displayed up close to the ceiling. Heat rises, and if it's moist heat it will cause rust. This one, a Gew '88, survived and is still in great (restored) condition. I've moved since then, and it's now stored away, but I also had a Krag so displayed that insisted on rusting the "in the white" bolt. Finally, after cleaning the rust off several times I blued the bolt and that seemed to solve the problem. But, you've got to keep an eye on them. A coating of wax is probably better than oil, as the dust is easily wiped off with a clean cloth.

DG

[Gewehr-Guy]

How would a rounded slab off a weathered tree trunk look ? Or a fresh slab with bark might look nice, then use dowels to hang the revolvers.

If you have a real Christmas tree, trim off the limbs about 2 inches long and have a standing rack, or if you want it to be really unique, mount it on the wall so it spins . I'd have a revolving tree of pistols, but Wife might not approve.

[Hondolane]

I make rifle and pistol hangers with T/G boards and use something like the below. I'll wrap the metal that the rifle sits on with leather wrap.

[country gent]

Another easy way that looks good is to use lexan or acrilic plexi glass Use a piece of cloth that matches the room or accents the firearms in the back. A frame around the outside of wood or metal, brushed aluminum or bass can be very nice. Mount the hangers to the plexi glass. One tip here is to put a layer of masking tape over the protective coating to not only protect from scratches but to give a surface to mark easily..

[contender1]

It wouldn't take a serious craftsman to build a simple "barn door" by getting some old planks, & cutting them to length, then screwing them together in the shape of a door. Build to whatever necessary size. Then, add hangers to the planks in a manner to highlight the guns. Vintage guns & a vintage door. If you were close to me, I'd give you some old barn planks to REALLY make it look good!

4-6 planks, same length.
Lay them alongside each other.
Cut (2) pieces to go 90 degrees to the planks, one for the top & one for the bottom. It attaches the planks together.
Cut one plank to go diagonally in between the two short pieces,, to help stabilize the planks together.
Add a couple of sturdy hangers of your choice, to be able to hang it on the wall.
Flip it over, add the gun hangers & then the guns!
Done.

[Wayne Smith]

For some of my cap a and ball revolvers I took a piece of 1/4" ply and drilled it for the dowel pins, sprayed it with a fake leather look, and framed it in some Mulberry I had. Took a piece of 1/2" Oak and ripped it at 45degree angle. One of those are screwed to the wall and the other is glued/screwed to the plywood. These two pieces of Oak are my hangers, the plywood is reinforced with 1/2" oak where the dowel holes go in, and the frame is made with a 1/2" overhang so the frame is against the wall.

[kevin c]

Wooden curtain rod supports mounted on a nice stained board might satisfy the need to look decent and not cost an arm and a leg. Available at any hardware or big box home improvement store. You could chisel/file/sand the cut outs for the rod to get a custom fit, even line them with felt.

[Shurshot2]

Make sure to share a picture once you get it done, always interested in this.

[JSnover]

It wouldn't take a serious craftsman to build a simple "barn door" by getting some old planks, & cutting them to length, then screwing them together in the shape of a door. Build to whatever necessary size. Then, add hangers to the planks in a manner to highlight the guns. Vintage guns & a vintage door.

^That! I had a picture of a whaling ship printed on some sort of heavy paper that someone had glued to a handful of planks. Looked liked a painting of a ship, mounted on a piece of a ship.

[WRideout]

As a veteran dumpster-diver (I know I am too old for that) I have found that discarded pieces of prefinished flooring from behind the store are the perfect size and shape for numerous projects. Because they are tongue and groove, you can assemble a piece as big as you like.

Wayne

[Baltimoreed]

You could always do the Cracker Barrel method for mounting anything to a wall, a long screw right through the stock in several strategoric locations. Also makes them theft, kid and earthquake proof.