Spring has sprung. Get out and shoot your Henry
Rifle Stand
Rifle Stand
Having not done any real “woodworking” since Jr. High woodshop, it may not have been the best plan to start a new project with hundred-year-old chunks of barnwood, but I’ve been getting my head wrapped around a rifle display stand since purchasing my first Henry this summer. Barnwood seemed right, but with its charm and good looks come warpage, splits, cracks, nail holes and lots of other irregularities.
My son offered up a couple planks of barnwood (as he has “access” to such things), which I set aside in the garage while I researched DIY projects, unbelievably detailed drawings, YouTube vids, etc. Unfortunately, not many of them inspired me (except for a great idea I got from a guy in the UK, but more on that later). As weeks turned into months, all I figured out was that I wanted something to accommodate any Henry in the stable, and I got stuck on the idea of something that the rifle would not just sit on, but sit “in.”
So, just make it longer, right? Longer than the rifle, so it’s more like a couch than a chair for the firearm. Which led to yesterday’s first decision: just go with the random length of the (long) piece of barn-stock that my son gave me. No cutting! But, the next (small) issue was figuring which side was up (literally) with this plank of wood, but, since it was so warped and cupped. As it turned out, there was really only ONE way that it would come close to sitting flat. Not flat as in “flush,” but just “sort of flat.” So, “this side up” was easy.
The bigger challenge (which I’d been working on for a while) was figuring out the uprights that support the butt and barrel so that: a) the rifle sits level (more or less) ; b) it’s not too top-heavy (overall, so it doesn’t come toppling off the mantel) ; and c) the uprights can be somehow secured to the base-board, since none of these surfaces are even close to being “true” in any sense of the word. My reloading bench project found me in Hobby Lobby looking at shelf brackets, and a seed was planted. Rustic looking, cheap and sturdy, a couple of the small ones seemed to fit the bill.
Then, my English-major brain had to figure out how to notch the uprights, while ending up with something a bit more “finished” than just a standard V-cut. How wide? How deep? How much longer did the barrel support need to be than the butt support? Using my trashcan as a workbench (!), some paddle drill bits and a borrowed circular saw, I translated my rough sketch to some rough uprights.
The butt-support bracket is offset from center to accommodate the depth of the notch/length of the upright issue, and there are brass screws all around, in a nod to Henry. The end of each bracket is about 8” from the end of the base board (if that helps with scale).
The final touch, stolen from the YouTuber in the UK, is belting leather (harvested from an actual belt in my closet) to line the notches, glued and clamped in the most amateurish ways imaginable, but the end result works, visually and functionally. Protects the rifle and finishes the look and feel. Decent looking sausage, in other words, but be glad you didn’t have to watch it being made.
The pics are definitely better taken from a distance, as words like “hand-made” and “rustic” are WAY too generous, and true craftsmen like BrokenolMarine are likely just wincing in pain looking at this, but, as the kids say, “it is what it is,” which is a labor of love for my newfound hobby (hobbies?) and something that is both functional and “at home” with my farm-house-ish décor.
My son offered up a couple planks of barnwood (as he has “access” to such things), which I set aside in the garage while I researched DIY projects, unbelievably detailed drawings, YouTube vids, etc. Unfortunately, not many of them inspired me (except for a great idea I got from a guy in the UK, but more on that later). As weeks turned into months, all I figured out was that I wanted something to accommodate any Henry in the stable, and I got stuck on the idea of something that the rifle would not just sit on, but sit “in.”
So, just make it longer, right? Longer than the rifle, so it’s more like a couch than a chair for the firearm. Which led to yesterday’s first decision: just go with the random length of the (long) piece of barn-stock that my son gave me. No cutting! But, the next (small) issue was figuring which side was up (literally) with this plank of wood, but, since it was so warped and cupped. As it turned out, there was really only ONE way that it would come close to sitting flat. Not flat as in “flush,” but just “sort of flat.” So, “this side up” was easy.
The bigger challenge (which I’d been working on for a while) was figuring out the uprights that support the butt and barrel so that: a) the rifle sits level (more or less) ; b) it’s not too top-heavy (overall, so it doesn’t come toppling off the mantel) ; and c) the uprights can be somehow secured to the base-board, since none of these surfaces are even close to being “true” in any sense of the word. My reloading bench project found me in Hobby Lobby looking at shelf brackets, and a seed was planted. Rustic looking, cheap and sturdy, a couple of the small ones seemed to fit the bill.
Then, my English-major brain had to figure out how to notch the uprights, while ending up with something a bit more “finished” than just a standard V-cut. How wide? How deep? How much longer did the barrel support need to be than the butt support? Using my trashcan as a workbench (!), some paddle drill bits and a borrowed circular saw, I translated my rough sketch to some rough uprights.
The butt-support bracket is offset from center to accommodate the depth of the notch/length of the upright issue, and there are brass screws all around, in a nod to Henry. The end of each bracket is about 8” from the end of the base board (if that helps with scale).
The final touch, stolen from the YouTuber in the UK, is belting leather (harvested from an actual belt in my closet) to line the notches, glued and clamped in the most amateurish ways imaginable, but the end result works, visually and functionally. Protects the rifle and finishes the look and feel. Decent looking sausage, in other words, but be glad you didn’t have to watch it being made.
The pics are definitely better taken from a distance, as words like “hand-made” and “rustic” are WAY too generous, and true craftsmen like BrokenolMarine are likely just wincing in pain looking at this, but, as the kids say, “it is what it is,” which is a labor of love for my newfound hobby (hobbies?) and something that is both functional and “at home” with my farm-house-ish décor.
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- Rifle Stand 002.JPG (87.68 KiB) Viewed 3263 times
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- Rifle Stand 003.JPG (88.96 KiB) Viewed 3263 times
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- Rifle Stand 004.JPG (91.33 KiB) Viewed 3263 times
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- Rifle Stand 006.JPG (111.43 KiB) Viewed 3263 times
6 x
BB Steel .357 | SGC 22LR | LR .308 | CCH 30-30 | BB Brass .45 Colt (Carbine) | Single Shot 20 gauge | Single Shot .223 | Single Shot 357
Re: Rifle Stand
Nice idea and rustic look! I thought of some type of display case. Then, I though about grand kids running around or someone breaking in. So, I decided not to display anything for now. Maybe, I am being too cautious. But, I feel more comfortable about it.
1 x
Actions speak louder than words (Matthew 7:16-20).
- RanchRoper
- Forum Ambassador
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- Location: Land of Shining Mountains, Alberta
Re: Rifle Stand
I think it looks very functional and really sets off your rifle. My 1860 would look good in that. Great job!
1 x
1860 Colt SA Richards Conversion Revolver .45C
1860 Henry .45C
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Ohkínohkomit - Shoot skillfully
1860 Henry .45C
1885 High Wall .45C
1820-1840 Frontier Percussion .50
1790-1820 Frontier Flintlock .50
Ohkínohkomit - Shoot skillfully
Re: Rifle Stand
Thanks, RR! Yep, I'd think this is scaled very well for the 1860, with that 43" OAL.RanchRoper wrote:I think it looks very functional and really sets off your rifle. My 1860 would look good in that. Great job!
Will have to put the CCH in there and see how it looks. Maybe tomorrow, when we have some sunlight available. Nice blizzard going on in KC right now!
0 x
BB Steel .357 | SGC 22LR | LR .308 | CCH 30-30 | BB Brass .45 Colt (Carbine) | Single Shot 20 gauge | Single Shot .223 | Single Shot 357
- CT_Shooter
- Administrator emeritus
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- Joined: Mon Mar 21, 2016 8:42 am
- Location: Connecticut
Re: Rifle Stand
Beautiful display, ESquared. I love the rustic look of the barn board, leather, iron, and brass. It suits the Henry perfectly. Great job.
When I first got mine in 2014, my wife and I walked down to the ferry landing on the CT River to look for a piece of driftwood to serve as a wall display. She found a beautiful piece that we both thought would be great. I bought brass rifle hangers from Amazon and used a piece of plywood on the back to square it to the wall. It has been where my BBB has hung ever since.
When I first got mine in 2014, my wife and I walked down to the ferry landing on the CT River to look for a piece of driftwood to serve as a wall display. She found a beautiful piece that we both thought would be great. I bought brass rifle hangers from Amazon and used a piece of plywood on the back to square it to the wall. It has been where my BBB has hung ever since.
5 x
H006M Big Boy Brass .357 - H001 Classic .22LR - Uberti / Taylors & Co. SmokeWagon .357 5.5" - Uberti / Taylors & Co. RanchHand .22LR 5.5"
Re: Rifle Stand
That's a fantastic idea! Beautiful look. Will look into more along those lines. Not a lot of driftwood like that around here, but you never know.CT_Shooter wrote:Beautiful display, ESquared. I love the rustic look of the barn board, leather, iron, and brass. It suits the Henry perfectly. Great job.
When I first got mine in 2014, my wife and I walked down to the ferry landing on the CT River to look for a piece of driftwood to serve as a wall display. She found a beautiful piece that we both thought would be great. I bought brass rifle hangers from Amazon and used a piece of plywood on the back to square it to the wall. It has been where my BBB has hung ever since.
H006M_Mounted_800x600.jpg
Great wall hanging concept, thanks for sharing!
1 x
BB Steel .357 | SGC 22LR | LR .308 | CCH 30-30 | BB Brass .45 Colt (Carbine) | Single Shot 20 gauge | Single Shot .223 | Single Shot 357
Re: Rifle Stand
.
The definition of 'character'. Looks nice and I bet fits in well with your farm-house-ish home.
The definition of 'character'. Looks nice and I bet fits in well with your farm-house-ish home.
ESquared wrote:... with its charm and good looks come warpage, splits, cracks, nail holes and lots of other irregularities.
1 x
UPDATES: OR passes 114, "one of strictest gun control measures in U.S." https://henryrifleforums.com/viewtopic. ... 34#p213234
Re: Rifle Stand
Thanks, Mags. I'm guessing many of us have character, based on that definition. I know I have warpage, splits, cracks and lots of other irregularities!
1 x
BB Steel .357 | SGC 22LR | LR .308 | CCH 30-30 | BB Brass .45 Colt (Carbine) | Single Shot 20 gauge | Single Shot .223 | Single Shot 357
Re: Rifle Stand
Nice looking rifle!CT_Shooter wrote:Beautiful display, ESquared. I love the rustic look of the barn board, leather, iron, and brass. It suits the Henry perfectly. Great job.
When I first got mine in 2014, my wife and I walked down to the ferry landing on the CT River to look for a piece of driftwood to serve as a wall display. She found a beautiful piece that we both thought would be great. I bought brass rifle hangers from Amazon and used a piece of plywood on the back to square it to the wall. It has been where my BBB has hung ever since.
H006M_Mounted_800x600.jpg
0 x
Actions speak louder than words (Matthew 7:16-20).