This project came about (like some others I've done) because I was in need or call it necessity. And what I'm making this time I'm calling it a barrel rack. What's a 'barrel rack' you ask? Well for the lack of a better name, it's something that has slots in it that a gun barrel can rest in.

Here's what I mean: when getting a gun out of my safe, I've had to place some of my long guns either on the floor or rest them against a desk while I'm moving them out of the way, all in an effort to get at the one I want. Then it hit me, if I had a place to stand the gun up while I'm pulling them out, I wouldn't have to worry about it falling. Hence a rack to rest the barrel of my gun in....or 'barrel rack'.

The next question you might be thinking is, how is a small piece of wood going to keep a gun from falling over? Well...if I used some magnets with them, I could attach it to the side of my gun safe just about anywhere I wanted. So there you have it, an adjustable rack to place a gun barrel in so I don't have to lay them on the floor or lean them against something.

The wood I'll be using will be (from the top down) black walnut, oak and hard maple.
 

Here is the design I came up with to give you an idea of what I'll be making. The dimensions will be 2" X 1 3/4" X 12" long, with three slots in each one that will be 1" X 1" with an 1/8" radius on every edge.
 

Here are the pieces after gluing along with the maple piece on top. At this point I've machined them square and now I'm ready to put slots in them.
 

I used a 1/8" round over cutter to put a radius on every edge of the barrel rack. This makes it easy on the hands along with the gun barrel.
 

Now that the pockets are in, I'll need to hold the magnets in place with some #4 flathead screws.
 

Here you can see both magnets screwed in place. I made sure they were below the surface by a small amount so they wouldn't scratch the finish on the safe. And yes I know they look small but they work great.