I’ve been seeing a lot of videos and companies lately making this hide in plain sight furniture where they have a secret compartment to store your guns and valuables. Well, I don’t want to spend hundreds of dollars on one and I realized that I already have the furniture, so I just need to find a way to use the existing furniture that I have to make a secret compartment.
So, today I’m going to take my spin on it and I’m not a cabinet maker and just have mediocre knowledge on carpentry so I want this build as simple as possible and without spending an arm and a leg.
My plan is to build a small box or compartment that I can store and easily access a handgun. So what we need is wood. Some type of plywood or a board which will act as the main base of the box. We also need a 2 inch by 1/2 inch that will act as the walls or sides.
We also need a pair of small hinges. This one is a 1/2 inch x 2 inches and the main locking mechanism is from a magnetic child cabinet lock.
Here is the amazon link on where you can find one:
amzn.to/2lYjBDY
Things needed for this project: (You can get from Lowes or Home Depot)
Wood:
Plywood or board – that will act as the base of the box
2 x 1/2 wood that will be used for the sides/wall of the box
Hinges: A pair of 1 1/2 or 2 inch narrow hinges
Nails -1/2 or 5/8 inch brad nails
Wood screws
Round Magnet
Saw, Hammer, Glue, Screw Driver
The goal is to make a box to hold the stuff (guns and valuables) you want to hide but has an easy access to.
I made the box 7 inches in width and 11 inches in length. You can make it smaller or bigger depending on what you are going to put in there.
Find furniture in your house – tables, end tables, chairs, bed etc. that has an underside that can hold the box.
Screw in the hinges, check the fitment and install the magnetic lock. The lock I bought has 4 locks and 1 key. I bought extra magnets at Lowes so that I can make 3 more hidden compartment boxes.
First thing we need to do is to get measurements. So, I have my glock 19 here. I’m going to make sure it is not loaded. Then I need to measure the width and length based on the gun that Im planning to use. So, I will need at least 7 inches in width and at least 9 inches in length.
Now I’m going to make my marks and start cutting using my miter saw. Cut the big board first for my base and then the 2 -1/2 inches for the sides.
Now, I just need to glue and nail them in.
There you have it. We now have a rectangular box that could easily fit my glock and has more space if I want to add somethig more down the line.
So time to find a place where I can install this. This is our little breakfast table where we eat most of our meals. The underside of this table is a perfect hiding spot for our box.
If you look around your house you will find more places like this end table or even my TV and entertainment stand has plenty of space where I can put this box in.
Now, we need to install our hinges to the box first. We need to drill pilot holes so that we can screw it in.
Then we need to mark and drill pilot holes for the underside of the table and screw that box hinges in.
There you have it. The secret compartment is installed. Now we just need to use the magnetic lock to keep the compartment secure. First we need to install the catch. It has a double sided tape so you can attach that first then screw it on the box.
Next, we need to install the hook part of the lock and this one needs to be screwed on the underside of the table. The best way to find the spot to install this is to first tape the lock to the catch like so. Then peel off the double sided tape and push the box up and when you pull it down you will see the lock base is now on the ideal spot. We then need to screw it in.
We just need to test it out and see if it still need some more tweaking. This looks pretty good and the box is there on tight
This is how the magnetic lock works, when the magnet from the top is near to the lock, the hook will retract unlocking the box. When you pull out the magnet, the hook goes forward and hooks to the latch.
So, when you place the magnet like so which is on top of the lock mechanism, it pulls the hook back. You just need to push up the box lightly to unhook it from the latch and our secret compartment opens.
To close, keep the magnet on and push up the box, then pull out the magnet to engage the hook. You will hear a distinctive click sound when the magnet locks or unlocks.
Now, The magnet key looks inconspicous enough but I want to make it more natural, so I bought some magnets from Lowes and my plan is to use this salt shaker as the key. The magnet is a perfect size to be glued on the bottom of the shaker.
We have to make sure that the polarity side is the same on the key which is the side that repels each other. Now we just hot glued it and boom we have the key disguised as a salt shaker. Let’s check it out if it works.
There you have it. Less than an hour. I was able to make a secret compartment for less than 10 dollars.