Vintage briefcase to gun case upgrade

[PatriotX]

Hi folks,


I saw this lonely new-old-stock briefcase sitting in a vintage shop, and it seemed like the perfect opportunity to make a ‘discreet’ gun case.





Well, as long as my executive status is confirmed, might as well get on with it.








Here’s the interior ‘before’ shot:




And after judicious application of foam:






I haven’t decided on a layout yet, but was considering going all j-frame with room for some speedloaders:




Now, proper fitment is a must on this project, so how to properly trace a complicated shape onto a deformable surface? After almost rigging up a tiny hot-wire tip to trace, I had a lightbulb moment. One trip to the copy machine later, had this:







That’s an exact 1:1 pic of the guns, cut out to make templates. No dinging the guns up moving them around, no guessing about accuracy of the tracing...




I’m mostly sold on the j-frames...mostly. This pic makes a strong case for the case...





I’ll update as it progresses and evolves. All input welcome.

 

[needsmostuff]

Perfect case for a Dan Wesson kit .
No , not having a Dan Wesson is not an adequate excuse.
You are now fully empowered to get one because what better excuse is there to get a gun than having a box to put it in ?
Just sayin.

 

[PatriotX]

Perfect case for a Dan Wesson kit .
No , not having a Dan Wesson is not an adequate excuse.
You are now fully empowered to get one because what better excuse is there to get a gun than having a box to put it in ?
Just sayin.

Ha!

I’ve had both Monson and Palmer 357s, a sweet 744, and a 357 Supermag...but kept the Smiths.

I wish S&W would take advantage of the 2-piece barrel system currently offered and do something similar. The new CZ 715 is beautiful...but I can’t warm up to it.


I do have a neat larger Zero Halliburton that could do the job...

 

[Rudi]

That is a cool project!

 

[Ingramite]

Hi folks,


I saw this lonely new-old-stock briefcase sitting in a vintage shop, and it seemed like the perfect opportunity to make a ‘discreet’ gun case.







Well, as long as my executive status is confirmed, might as well get on with it.








Here’s the interior ‘before’ shot:




And after judicious application of foam:






I haven’t decided on a layout yet, but was considering going all j-frame with room for some speedloaders:




Now, proper fitment is a must on this project, so how to properly trace a complicated shape onto a deformable surface? After almost rigging up a tiny hot-wire tip to trace, I had a lightbulb moment. One trip to the copy machine later, had this:







That’s an exact 1:1 pic of the guns, cut out to make templates. No dinging the guns up moving them around, no guessing about accuracy of the tracing...




I’m mostly sold on the j-frames...mostly. This pic makes a strong case for the case...





I’ll update as it progresses and evolves. All input welcome.

Great idea!

I have a couple of old briefcases like yours. I'm along for the ride on this project.
What is your source for the foam and how do you plan to cut it to fit your revolvers. The copy machine template is good. Staying tuned.

 

[ContinentalOp]

Looks good.

Gotta say, this kind of reminded me of the guitar/gun case from Desperado.

 

[J. R. WEEMS]

MORE IDEAS

A fine idea! I have a fine case left over from photo days that could use this treatment-- the foam got hard and crumbled Anyone know of a way to avoid that??? Been putting the project off but OP's post has brought it to the front of the pack. Its a Haliburton case, so worth the effort. First thing to do is finish removing the old foam. THANKS!!!

 

[PatriotX]

Looks good.

Gotta say, this kind of reminded me of the guitar/gun case from Desperado.

Oh, that’s gonna be a late fall project for sure...

 

[boykinlp]

Look forward to seeing it finished.
Larry

 

[PatriotX]

Great idea!

I have a couple of old briefcases like yours. I'm along for the ride on this project.
What is your source for the foam and how do you plan to cut it to fit your revolvers. The copy machine template is good. Staying tuned.

I repurposed some foam from two other cases - one photo and one computer. They had between them enough to just cover the cardboard template in a single piece. I think I’ll use some closed-cell foam top and bottom and see how it looks, kaizen-style.


There is a company that makes laser-cut replacements for just about anything you can measure up called mycasebuilder.com - which I haven’t used yet.

I have used cobrafoaminserts.com to replace foam in a Plano rifle case, and found it far superior to the original pluck foam.

 

[max503]

A kitty litter bucket is much more discreet.

 

[PatriotX]

A kitty litter bucket is much more discreet.

That’s what I used to do, but it got heavy. I could only fit ten guns or so in each bucket.





So I ‘borrowed’ the wife’s yoga mat, cleaned it, then cut it up into pieces.





About 3 layers thick fit nicely in the top, obviating the eggcrate foam entirely.




Sandwiching the lower open-cell foam with this will give me a clean look. Only cutting the top 2 layers leaves the uncut bottom to cushion the guns.





The texture matches the original case nicely, no?




Once glued with some Super90 (“This is glue, strong stuff...”) and flattened, it should look pretty neat.






The Flush Look is in this season.

 

[Miami_JBT]

I like where this thread is headed.

 

[Gunslinger808]

Sup JBT, any new .40s lately?

I still need one of these...

 

[BubbaBlades]

I have been using these cases for years. This type of traveling companion answers the question "is 5 rounds or 6 rounds or 17 rounds enough?"

 

[BAM-BAM]

LOL I've used a soft padded banjo case for my Beretta CX4 Storm 9mm carbine for years.....

29" inches long and 15-30rd factory mags.


Picked up a used aluminum Plano case years ago in a LGS.....

 

[PatriotX]

So the better half asked if I had seen her yoga mat.

Sure, here it is.






Pro tip: don’t opine out loud as to why it took so long to notice it missing. It will usually not go well.



I also ‘borrowed’ some chalk markers to stencil. Making some progress.

 

[PatriotX]

A little more progress.

First layer cut for 3 guns.




After cutting the ‘filler’ foam, it’s evident that the gun sits too deeply:



Over to the scrap pile, perfect fix. Cut the scrap piece in half, cram in hole:



Well, it’s the right depth, but I don’t like the look of the different foam in the trigger guard.



Answer? Cram the piece cut from first layer on top of half-thickness foam, and it looks better




Ok, not horrible. Moving on.

 

[ContinentalOp]

Really like the progress you're making.

 

[stamper]

Solid. My main thought would be making sure the latches were fully functional as I head into class ...