New Interior for Gun Safe

I currently have eight long guns, one being built, and six more on my wish list. Then again, one won't fit in my safe, and two of my existing rifles I will get rid of. If I have room for twelve long guns, I will be in good shape.

I only have four handguns, with two more on my wish list. I will not need a lot more space for handguns.

So basically, I would like to make the center support asymetrical, so that the rifles have more room than the shelving. The shelves can go all the way up to the top of the safe. I also need more depth between the wall and the notch that the gun rests in, so there is plenty of room for the scope.

I will make the interior parts out of plywood. I need to find some material to cover them with. What will I make the grooves for the rifles out of? Maybe some foam wrapped in fabric.

Units

The shelves will be quite simple. 1/2" plywood wrapped with carpet on three sides. The shelves will fit into a dado cut into the sides. I want the shelves to reach nearly to the top, but overall the unit should be short enough to get in and out of the door. It's bottom shelf will make up its part of the floor.

Stand-offs

What material? How deep? How will they attach? How many notches?

The standoffs should be fairly firm, but have some soft material covering them to prevent scratching. Felt? Leather? They could be made of wood, and covered with felt or leather. If I use leather, I can put a layer of batting underneath to make it "pillowy".

The depth of the stand-offs is dependant on the height of the scopes I have. I have a red dot sight on my M4, and I need to check the front sight tower. I have scopes on my 6.5, my 7mm, my 450 Marlin, and my Mossberg 22. There will be a scope on my 338 Federal. I also need to check my Eraticator, that I will some day place on a 204 Ruger.

Questions

  1. What width is enough to stack my long guns without any overlap?
  2. What width is enough to stack my long guns with only the butt stocks overlapping?
  3. What stand-off depth is enough to keep my scopes and sight towers off of the walls?
  4. How can I mount the stand-off on the inside of the safe wall?