Gun Safes-Steel Gauges Used In Constructing the Body and Door.

Not all gun safes are built the same and one of the most telling differences is the security provided by the door and the body. The steel content of the door and the body of a gun safe, in conjunction with other construction features such as locks, locking bolts, re-lockers and hinges will determine how secure the gun safe is against a burglary attack. The thicker the steel the more protection the gun safe provides against burglars using cutting machinery.

The gun safe door is the first point of attack for burglars so it is important to research what materials are used in constructing the door. Most safe doors will feature much thicker steel than the gun safe body. Look for gun safe doors made with plate steel that is from one quarter inch (1/4”) to half an inch (1/2”) thick. Hollon Safe’sRepublic Series gun safe doors are 5” thick and are built using 3 gauge (1/4”) thick steel. Some gun safe doors may look thick but are actually only 1/16” plate wrapped around a layer of fire material. Steel is expensive and so are the valuables you are protecting, so be careful not to sacrifice security by purchasing a lightweight safe lacking good steel protection.

Generally, it is recommended that at a minimum, 10-gauge steel plate be used to construct the walls of a gun safe. Hollon gun safes use 9 gauge seamless. The thickness of steel used in the walls of most gun safes on the market today ranges from fourteen gauge (5/64”) to three gauge (1/4”). The thicker the steel used to construct the body of the gun safe the greater the protection against burglary attack by cutting. Also, the thicker the steel used the greater will be the weight of the gun safe.

The table below is based on the United States Code Classification Tables Sec. 206. Standard gauge for sheet and plate iron and steel.

Gauge	Frac. Inch	Dec. Inch	mm
0000000	1/2	.5	12.7
000000	15/32	.46875	11.90625
00000	7/16	.4375	11.1125
0000	13/32	.40625	10.31875
000	3/8	.375	9.525
00	11/32	.34375	8.73125
0	5/16	.3125	7.9375
1	9/32	.28125	7.14375
2	17/64	.265625	6.746875
3	1/4	.25	6.35
4	15/64	.234375	5.953125
5	7/32	.21875	5.55625
6	13/64	.203125	5.159375
7	3/16	.1875	4.7625
8	11/64	.171875	4.365625
9	5/32	.15625	3.96875
10	9/64	.140625	3.571875
11	1/8	.125	3.175
12	7/64	.109375	2.778125
13	3/32	.09375	2.38125
14	5/64	.078125	1.984375