secret compartment

[Bill Gebhardt]

Granddaughter asked me to make a bedside table with a secret compartment. Has anyone tried this?
Here is a pic I made in SketchUp. It looks a little heavy because of the top rail on the end that is the front of the secret drawer,
Bill Gebhardt

457596

[Jamie Buxton]

You can hide a compartment behind the drawer. Except for cabinetmakers, nobody notices that the drawer isn't as deep as the cabinet. You take the drawer out and set it aside, to access the chamber behind the drawer.

You can do this with undermount slides. The drawer disconnects from the slides easily, without tools.

Or you can do this with traditional wood-on-wood sliding surfaces. Have you ever been around old furniture with wood slides, where the drawer threatens to fall on your toes if you pull it out too far? That's how you could do this drawer-plus-secret design. Or you could get tricky, and include an out-stop. It stops the drawer from pulling all the way out of the cabinet. But - here's the trick - it can be defeated so you can pull the drawer all the way out of the cabinet.

[Charlie Jones]

I built a couple of nightstands that have a secret door that drops open when you push a button. The door swings down for access to the “emergency equipment”. The door is a false bottom under the drawer. The button consists of a spring loaded dowel with a smaller diameter in one place that allows a notch to pass when it lines up. For light stuff like papers etc. you could use a magnet.

[Christopher Herzog]

I have made a false bottom in a drawer before. Used a magnet to lift out the false bottom. Not high tech but still gets an oww and aww....

[Charles Lent]

Dustin Penner (yes, the hockey player) has made several projects with secret compartments and posted them on YouTube. For ideas, you might find watching these videos to be worthwhile. He is a pretty good woodworker too.

Charley

[Doug Dawson]

You can hide a compartment behind the drawer. Except for cabinetmakers, nobody notices that the drawer isn't as deep as the cabinet. You take the drawer out and set it aside, to access the chamber behind the drawer.
I like to do that as well, except it doesn’t hide a secret compartment, it holds an old valve spring. It’s a mark of authenticity, and a provocation to future generations.

[Derek Cohen]

Another alternative is to hinge the top, leaving a shallow tray below. This would not interfere with a standard drawer construction.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Jamie Buxton]

Another alternative is to hinge the top, leaving a shallow tray below. This would not interfere with a standard drawer construction.

Regards from Perth

Derek

A downside to the hinged top, and to the false bottom in the drawer which others have mentioned, is that you have to clear off the top or the contents of the drawer to get to the secret compartment. That's a bit of a pain.

[Derek Cohen]

A downside to the hinged top, and to the false bottom in the drawer which others have mentioned, is that you have to clear off the top or the contents of the drawer to get to the secret compartment. That's a bit of a pain.

I know, but that can be a good point ... if you really want to hide something :)

This ...

http://www.inthewoodshop.com/Furniture/TheDevilLiesInTheDetails_html_389e5575.jpg

Becomes this ...

http://www.inthewoodshop.com/Furniture/TheDevilLiesInTheDetails_html_a9c41c1.jpg

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Derek Cohen]

Another idea ...

I built this blanket box with a secret drawer ... very accessible. And NO ONE finds it when they stand in front ...

http://www.inthewoodshop.com/Furniture/Kist_html_m143e34e7.jpg


It depends, of course, on the construction/design. If the bedside table has a skirting ....

http://www.inthewoodshop.com/Furniture/Kist_html_29df4688.jpg

Link: http://www.inthewoodshop.com/Furniture/Kist.html

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Jamie Buxton]

Another idea ...

I built this blanket box with a secret drawer ... very accessible. And NO ONE finds it when they stand in front ...




It depends, of course, on the construction/design. If the bedside table has a skirting ....





Regards from Perth

Derek

Boy is that a spectacular chest! ...and a fine secret drawer too...

[Bill Gebhardt]

Thanks for all the good ideas, some of which have me concentrating on:

this: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1z-IXqQ4O0) but not with IKEA.


Bill Gebhardt

[Jim Becker]

It's important to understand the frequency and ease of access that she requires for this secret compartment idea...it's a security vs "just privacy" kind of thing. That will affect the design materially.

[Charles Lent]

I tend to like the "magnetic lock" where a wooden key, like a knob, has a magnet imbedded in it that you use to unlock the hidden compartment with, when the magnet is placed against the piece in just the right position to unlock the secret space/drawer. The "key" is part of the piece, so you have to know that it's a key and also how to use it to unlock the secret. The magnet could lift a steel pin that is lightly spring loaded in a hole so it is preventing the drawer or door from opening until the magnet moves this pin and unlocks the drawer or door.

Charley

[Alex Zeller]

You could do something like this below the drawer. A rare earth magnet would be more than enough to hold it up and a couple friction lid supports would make sure it didn't drop open.
457810

[Alan Lightstone]

Thanks for all the good ideas, some of which have me concentrating on:

this: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1z-IXqQ4O0) but not with IKEA.


Bill Gebhardt

Cool cabinet, but it scared me to death watching that guy's work practices. I'm amazed he still has all fingers, and can breath. Truly frightening.:eek::eek:

[Steve Hubbard]

Matthew Dworman has an artiicle in Popular Woodworking, November 2016, named "Art of Concealment". Just what you are looking for.