My first built-in

[Frederick Gross]

I made this for our family room. It is constructed with birch plywood and lumber. It is approx. 7' high x 6 1/2' W. It is the largest project I have made to date and I learned alot along the way. I apologize for my photography skills.

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y213/usmcbombboy/Woodworking/Built-in1.jpg


And it has a secret....


http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y213/usmcbombboy/Woodworking/Built-in2.jpg

[Joe Shinall]

That is awesome! We are building a house and the master bedroom is right off of the main foyer and that would be a perfect entrance for it. Looks great Frederick.

[Johnnyy Johnson]

Fred...I'm having a little trouble seeing how this works. Is this a second door to your bedroom and do you have to remove the shelves each time you enter the room? Would it not seem strange after several months to friends that there is nothing on the shelves....or am I missing the point??

Regardless it's a great pc of Furn.!!

Thanks
JJ

[Jeremy van Gelder]

Looks as if it either rolls or hinges out of the way, potentially both.. the hinge to control where it's going, and wheels to support the movement?

Looks great! What goodies are you planning on hiding back there?

[Jeff Wittrock]

Now that is just cool!

It looks like something that you would find in the "Winchester Mystery House".

Beautiful work even without the hidden door.

[John Keeton]

Excellent design!! Great work on the piece itself, but just a really neat idea.

[Norman Pyles]

That is way cool!!!!
To the bat cave, Robin. :)

[Bud Millis]

thats awesome. I like that.

[John Thompson]

Love it!....

[Michael MacDonald]

amazing... the whole base slides away too. can't tell at all from the first picture.

I would like to hear more about it and see more pics. I figure I can make something like that and hide from the wife and kids. now only have to find a way to muffle the TS noise.

[Frederick Gross]

Thank you all for your positive posts. Maybe I should explain a few things.

Our lower level had a weird little bump out in it (approx. 8' x 8') due to the floor plan above it. We had the builder wall it off and leave a rough opening until we figured out what to do with it.

The space will be used for storage and not accessed that regularly. The side shelves will have the usual dust collectors placed on them and the center will be used mainly for books and periodicals.

The swinging section is supported by 4 large hinges on the right and there are two casters on the bottom to spread the load and keep the hinges from binding/wearing.

I kept the base moulding approx. 3/8" from the actual base of the side cabinets to leave a small reveal between the moulding and the carpet. I installed the center base moulding after the center section was installed and trimmed it for a slightly larger gap than the side to prevent it from snagging the carpet.

[glenn bradley]

That rocks. Turned out great and makes a great use of hidden space. Very cool.

[Garrett Ellis]

thats cool! now you just have to hook up a motor to it and make it where you have to pull a specific book to activate it!

[Jeffrey Makiel]

What a fun design. It's practical too. We can hide all those tool purchases from the family. :)

-Jeff :)

[Roy Lindberry]

I'm actually trying to design something similar for my cousin's house. What did you do for a latch/release mechanism, and how big are your hinges?

[Bruce Page]

That's a great idea! The cabinet work looks very nice too.

[Frederick Gross]

I'm actually trying to design something similar for my cousin's house. What did you do for a latch/release mechanism, and how big are your hinges?

I have to sheepishly admit that there curently isn't a latching system on it at this time. I don't know whether I am going to do a positive latch or just a couple of large ball-type catches.

I'll let you know what I come up with.

I will get the hinge dimensions later when I get home.

[Craig Hemsath]

This may be one of the coolest projects I've ever seen. Please tell me you live in some big old creepy Victorian house :)

[Walter Plummer]

Very cool. As for a catch/latch, maybe just a door closer to keep it shut. I think you can get one that also has a hold open feature.

[Van Huskey]

That is mega-cool. Trying to figure a way to incorporate that into a addition we plan in a couple fo years. Although it would not work for me it would be the perfect entrance to a "man cave"!

[Frederick Gross]

.....Please tell me you live in some big old creepy Victorian house :)


Sorry, just a plain, ol' ranch style.

[Russell Hudson]

I can't believe I came across this post. Nice work.
This is what I had planned to do with the second attic area behind one of the bedrooms upstairs....... but my eldest son moved back home and that attic is yet another bedroom now,
but some day..............
Thanks for the reminder. I might need to make it a pull-out (not push in) and I'm thinkin' it could be harder to disguise the 'door's' edges. Perhaps the stile will have to be on the door section instead of the frame. AND the hinges will be harder to hide as well.
Gotta think about this some more.........
Thanks for showin' it.

[Frederick Gross]

Russell, here is a link to a pretty comprehensive site detailing the hinging/pivot of a swing out style door:

http://www.garymkatz.com/ChartsDrawings/pivot_bookcase.html

[Don Whitten]

That is nice.

[George Gyulatyan]

Sorry to resurrect an old thread. I find all these great comments to be a big tease since the pics are gone!

[Josef Booyens]

Second That! Find the photos!