DIY: Watch/Gun Safe LED lighting

Status
Not open for further replies.

motegi

Tyme Machine
Joined
Jul 13, 2014
Messages
2,209
INTRO

For most collectors an ideal and economical way to safely store your prized belongings is in a Gun Safe. Large gun safes can be purchased on Amazon or even your nearest Costco store for less than the price of a Swiss Automatic Invicta. These safes, when properly installed and anchored to the floor, will provide you with outstanding theft protection for your watches, jewelry, guns, and important documents. Many of these safes also provide fire protection as well!

Fort_Knox_titan.jpg


One problem, however, is that the safes can be rather dark inside and so accessing small items inside (like watches) can be difficult. Luckily there is a cheap and easy solution for this!

10517639603_8820590ccf_c.jpg



--------------------------------------------------


OVERVIEW


TIME: Roughly 15 minutes

TOOLS: Scissors

COST: $35-$45 in supplies

MATERIALS:

1) Sylvania Mosaic LED remote controlled flexible lighting kit
72344.jpg



I bought a 12 Foot kit at Costco for only $29.99 (item #419493). It comes with 6 two-foot long linkable LED strips with 3M adhesive backing, several extension jumpers, a power brick, control box w/ IR receiver, and a wireless remote control.

10517442294_8636c729e3.jpg


10517420765_3879177683.jpg



For those who are not Costco members there is this option on Amazon:
Sylvania Mosaic 8 Foot Kit for $40

2) Adhesive velcro strip (optional)

If your safe has a fuzzy lining like mine, it's ideal for attaching velcro..

You can get a 1/2 inch wide roll of self adhesive velcro at WalMart, a home improvement store, or your local fabric/craft shop. You will be using the "grippy" half of the velcro and not the "fuzzy" part.


--------------------------------------------------


INSTRUCTIONS

1) Open your safe and decide where you want to install the control box and IR receiver. I put mine at the bottom front of the safe. I installed it using a piece of the self adhesive velcro.

2) The power brick is separate from the control box. Some safes have a wire pass through that you can keep the power brick outside the safe and just run the power wire through to the control unit. Alternately some safes have a built in power outlet which you can plug the power brick right in inside the safe. If your safe has neither then you can either drill a hole into the side/back of your safe or if you have a gap around the door you can run the wire through there. If you choose the latter option make sure you test fit first and close the safe to ensure that the wire does not get crimped or cut.

3) Attach the LED strips together. There are 4 pins at the end of each strip that link with the plug on the next strip. There is a + marking on one pin that needs to match up with the + on the next strip's plug. Depending on the size of your safe and the kit that you bought you may need to use the included jumpers to make the strand longer.

4) Now either use the included 3M adhesive to secure the strips to the inside of your safe (if your safe is not lined in fabric) or cut short segments of velcro and stick them to the back LED strip to fasten it to the safe lining. I ran my strand around the inside edge of the entire safe opening. The inside edge has a big enough lip that you cannot see any of the LED strip and it casts a good amount of light into the safe.

5) Finally, mount the IR remote onto the door using another piece of Velcro. You may want to place it so that the IR signal can reach the control unit receiver without having to pull off the remote each time. I mounted mine tuned sideways onto the far edge of the door so that the IR beam points into the safe when the door is open.
10517453954_9c8b7c1c50_z.jpg



6) Turn it on and enjoy the light!
10517639603_8820590ccf_z.jpg



And to make things EXTRA exciting, the Sylvania kit allows for 16 different colors as well as a variety of patterns and brightness levels. Here are a few of the colors:
10517403295_cf759bc5c3_z.jpg

10517425606_e636bdd70b_z.jpg

10517630693_b56fd0eb8a_z.jpg
 
Last edited by a moderator:
DIY: Watch/Gun Safe LED lighting

Thanks for posting this extremely well written and well illustrated article![br][br]This is an outstanding step-by-step guide to securing and viewing a valued collection of watches!
 
DIY: Watch/Gun Safe LED lighting

Thanks for the info. I have a safe that I keep both my watches and guns. I have been using a plug in light tube with white lights that was customized to about )2 feet with a roller switch. It wraps around the inside of thefront wall door frame applied with sticky pads and wire ties. After seeing this, I might be due for an upgrade.
 
DIY: Watch/Gun Safe LED lighting

Reterded cool..Thanks for the info..Off to Costco I go.My safes gonna be lighted...Yesssaaaa
 
DIY: Watch/Gun Safe LED lighting

[em][font face=georgia color=#)92)e6 size=4]A great one indeed. I'm glad to see you are able to pull these out of the wreck. Thanks for posting. ;)[/font][/em]
 
DIY: Watch/Gun Safe LED lighting

that is SICK!!!!!
 
DIY: Watch/Gun Safe LED lighting

Another great idea. I have a touch light in mine but the batteries don't last.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top Bottom