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hundred pounds) and shipping them is expensive, so it is generally best to buy one that is made within two hundred miles of where you live. If you move frequently, I recommend the free-standing gun vault made by Zanotti Armor (www.zanottiarmor.com). Zanotti makes vaults that can be taken apart into six manageable pieces for ease of transport. They cost only about one hundred dollars more than comparable vaults that are welded together in the traditional manner. Assembly is a three-man job, since extra hands are needed to get everything lined up before the pins can be noisily driven into place. It takes only about a half hour, and disassembly takes about ten minutes.

Constructing a Hiding Place for Precious Metals in a Home

Your last line of defense will be inside your home itself. If you don’t have a vault, I recommend that you construct one or more secret caches in your house. If the weight is modest, you can simply hide a bag or box of silver coins under the insulation in your attic. It will probably be resting on top of horizontal ceiling drywall, so keep the weight under fifteen pounds.

To conceal up to two hundred pounds of silver, you can make a Rawles Through the Looking Glass wall/door cache. Even someone with just rudimentary skills can make one of these between-the-studs wall caches. These are simple to construct and will go unnoticed by all but the most astute and methodical burglars. Here is how even someone inexperienced with carpentry can do so, in typical North American wood frame-houses—with modern Sheetrock walls:

Pick out a section of drywalled interior partition wall in a bedroom where a wall-mounted mirror wouldn’t look out of place. Go to your local Home Depot or Lowe’s and buy a vertical mirror that is at least sixteen inches wide and four feet tall. Ideally, you should get one that is the same width as your wall’s stud interval, so that the mirror-mounting screws will attach through the drywall into the studs. Such mirrors typically come with a set of L-shaped mounting clips that attach to a wall or door with screws. Figure out where any wiring might be running through the wall. Typically it will run horizontally, about one foot up from the floor, between your power outlets. Do not pick a section of wall that is near a light switch, since vertical wires may be running though those wall sections. Plan to mount the mirror at least six inches above the wiring. Look for small indentations, puckers, or other signs of nails attaching the drywall. These will typically be centered either eighteen or twenty-four inches apart. If you can’t spot the nails or screws you can either buy or borrow an inexpensive magnetic stud finder. A bit of judicious tapping to hear pitch changes can also be helpful. The nails will be driven into vertical studs, and you will cut your hole between two two-by-four studs. It will provide you a caching space that is about fifteen inches wide and three-and-a-half inches deep.

Once you’ve estimated where the studs are, drill some small exploratory holes in the drywall at a sharp angle. Probe inside each hole with a length of coat-hanger wire to confirm where the vertical studs are located and whether there are any horizontal two-by-four fire-stop blocks. Those are typically halfway up each wall. Then, with a power jigsaw or a Sawzall, cut a hole (or holes) to provide access to the wall-cache dead space. Leave at least two inches of drywall width around the hole, which will be covered by the mirror. Remove any insulation from the cache area, and vacuum out the drywall dust. Place your valuables in the cache. If there is substantial weight, do not rest it directly on top of any wiring at the bottom of the cache. You should first cut a support block out of two-by-fours and screw it in place with drywall screws. Then neatly mount the mirror over the hole, measuring carefully and/or using a level so that the mirror will be mounted straight.

Accessing the cache will just take a few minutes to remove the mirror. If you need to access the cache frequently, you’ll find that if the