Padding a gun rack

[Forty Rod]

Let's say I am building a rack to store my long guns vertically and I want to make a pocket for each gun butt at the bottom and a hole in the top rail so the guns would be inserted muzzle first, raised up until the butt cleared the bottom rail, and then the butt put into the pocket at the bottom.

Now let's say I want a fitted and stitched liner in the bottom with a foam core under it to pad the butt and sides extending up to the top of the pocket, and I want a fitted and stitched liner for the top hole, and let's say I wanted both of these made out of buttery-soft leather, doubled in thickness if necessary rather than being very thick to begin with.

What kind and weight of leather would I use, and how woild I attach it to the wood rack without using nails or screws or anything that would mar the finish on metal or wood?

I have the design on paper, have the wood, and am down to the "Let's get off your butt and get started, Taylor" phase.  That doesn't necessarily mean I'll get to work on it, but that's where I am...on more procrastination plateau.

[Marshal Will Wingam]

Don't use leather. It'll attack the bluing on your guns and leave a line on them where they ride against it in the cart. I did mine that way and wound up with rings on the barrels. I pulled the leather off and replaced it with felt. No more problem. I tripled the layer of felt and wrapped it over the top and bottom of the rack and fastened it with upholstery tacks. That seems to have worked really well.

[Forty Rod]

Okay, considering that, would you recommend pool table felt for durability?  Seems to last dang near forever.  How about "suede cloth"?  It seems to be a sort of felt material.

[Major 2]

You may laugh at this but I used Velcro...the self stick female side woolly tape....

had to ..everything else was use to pad my cell ! 


Velcro comes in black or white in 3/4, 1 & 2 " widths

[Dakota Widowmaker]

Pool table felt is over rated unless you have access to a cheap source.

I lined my cart with foam that had self adhesive on one side and then stapled red felt (from JoAnn Fabrics) over it. I did it the entire length of the rack.

On the bottom, I just wrapped that same cloth over a piece of closed cell foam and then tacked that to the bottom.

I am going to try and make a foam seat with felt cover for the storage box. (I need to find a way to make mine more secure to the cart, as it is removable and held in place with rope)

The handles I covered with scraps of leather I didn't even bother to dye. They have a nice natural color to them now.

[Forty Rod]

I want something very "finished" looking and because of the design a single strip won't work.  Guess I'll go shopping for felt and a new tube of barge cement.

Thanks guys.

[Rascal Ralph]

Forty rod- I used Naugahyde on my cart, for the very reason mentioned about leather removing the blueing. It sews better then leather, can be glued "hard" with any contact cements. Just dont make the mistake I did by "stretching " it, as hot and cold weather will make it expand and contract. RR

[Forty Rod]

Hadn't even thought abough naugahyde.  I'll look into that, too.