![]() Safes are painted using high-quality gloss or matte paints and are dried in an oven before moving on. Once the door is finished and the body welded, the two parts are joined and assembled and sent to the paint booth. The spacers create an air gap that slows heat transfer. Note the spacer (actually a nut) between the steel outer wall and the fire board. Obviously, the lower the number (and the thicker the steel), the greater the effort to breach the safe.Ī sectionalized look at a safe wall. 7 gauge corresponds to 3/16” while 4 gauge corresponds to ¼” thick. 10 and 11 gauge are nominally about 1/8” thick. All standard doors are fabricated in a similar manner but the layers of internal fire board and gauges of steel change, depending on the safe model.Ī note on gauges: Sheet metal is usually measured in “gauges” that correspond to an average thickness. This interior door plate fits completely behind the door and reinforces it fully from edge to edge and top to bottom. Inside this skin is placed fire board and, finally, an interior door plate. ![]() Like the body, the door starts out as one sheet of steel that is folded to create the outside skin of the door. Meanwhile, in another part of the shop, safe doors are constructed. If too much weight is placed on these brackets, the gypsum board can fail. Some other companies screw shelf brackets directly to the fire lining which is often just common gypsum board. In addition to anchoring the fire lining, the pins serve as attachment points for the shelf brackets. Glue can melt and fail in extreme heat, causing the fire liner in some other brands to collapse in an actual house fire. No glue is used to secure the fire lining. Fort Knox has found that this air gap serves as a thermal barrier that slows heat transfer and helps the safe's contents survive in the event of fire. The spacers fit over the pins and form a thin air gap between the safe's exterior wall and the interior fire lining. These pins serve as anchor points for the safe's fire lining. Inside this newly formed body, a series of small pins are welded and spacers are added. Here the top and bottom are fully welded in place and the safe body is given its final form. Once a safe body is bent to shape, it is moved to the welding shop. Note the one thin and one thick plate of steel added in addition to two layers of fire board. Bodies are made in various thicknesses-called gauges-depending on which safe series is being made.Ī safe door during construction. These massive presses fold the solid sheets into rough shape. On one side of the plant, safe bodies are constructed from solid plates of sheet metal that are bent into shape on one of two enormous brake presses. Inside the Fort Knox compound, safes are built one at a time in various locations. One of the massive presses used to bend safe bodies into safes. Now owned by one of the founder's sons, Fort Knox is a family business with many second- and even third-generation employees working alongside brothers, fathers and grandfathers. The facilities have expanded and grown over the years but the original shop remains part of the factory. Started in 1982, Fort Knox Security Products still operates out of its start-up location in Orem, Utah. As they passed ideas around, one hunter said, "Whatever it is, it needs to be as secure as Fort Knox." Remember, at this time, the home gun safe industry was brand new, with few companies making secure storage specifically for firearms. The men were gathered around the campfire one night talking about what they'd like to see in a home gun safe. Bullion Depository adjacent to Fort Knox Army Post in Kentucky (Wikipedia image)Īs the story goes, the man who would go on to start Fort Knox Security Products was hunting with friends some 40 years ago. But when most firearm enthusiasts hear the name Fort Knox, they probably think about gun safes. Little may be known about this fortified installation near where America's gold reserves are rumored to be housed, but suffice it to say it is probably one of the most secure compounds in the United States and, possibly, the world. The name Fort Knox conjures up images of a huge complex in Kentucky with high security fences, cameras and armed guards.
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