Cheapy False Book Safe
You have seen them in the movies and on TV. Every kid wants one, heck, every adult wants one. What am I talking about? A book that doubles as a low tech safe! Yes, you heard me, I finally got around to putting together an Instructable for making one of these sneaky buggers; now you can hide important things from your housemates, like a stash of Cream Cheese and Chive crackers!
This project makes one of the coolest little hiding places. Are your socks still on? Time to blow them right off your feet. What would you say if I told you that this project didn't cost me a penny? Yeah, I thought so.
To get things started, let's gather our supplies:
Box cutter (Preferably with a new blade)
Metal edged ruler
Lots of superglue (One new bottle was enough for me, but my book wasn't too thick)
A junk** hard cover book of appropriate thickness.
An extra pair of socks. (Just in case you lose one when they get blown off)
** Note that college libraries do not want you using their record books, even if you could hide a small animal in the finished product.
This project makes one of the coolest little hiding places. Are your socks still on? Time to blow them right off your feet. What would you say if I told you that this project didn't cost me a penny? Yeah, I thought so.
To get things started, let's gather our supplies:
Box cutter (Preferably with a new blade)
Metal edged ruler
Lots of superglue (One new bottle was enough for me, but my book wasn't too thick)
A junk** hard cover book of appropriate thickness.
An extra pair of socks. (Just in case you lose one when they get blown off)
** Note that college libraries do not want you using their record books, even if you could hide a small animal in the finished product.
Start Cutting
I found my book quietly waiting to find a new home in front of the college bookstore. It was out of print and in the free box - don't worry, I didn't get sticky fingers!
Start by finding a place in the book where you want it to open to. I went about 20 pages in and found the start of a chapter. Flip one page past that, we'll use this page later to give the book a more finished look.
Take your straight edge and box cutter and start cutting away at the pages. Be careful, fingers pop off surprisingly easy!
Once I got about half way through the book my knife couldn't go any further and still keep a perfectly vertical "wall". I am sure there is a better way to do this, but you can carefully flip the cut pages over to expose uncut ones. Be sure to press down the side of the book you are cutting so the compartment doesn't have slanted sides.
Start by finding a place in the book where you want it to open to. I went about 20 pages in and found the start of a chapter. Flip one page past that, we'll use this page later to give the book a more finished look.
Take your straight edge and box cutter and start cutting away at the pages. Be careful, fingers pop off surprisingly easy!
Once I got about half way through the book my knife couldn't go any further and still keep a perfectly vertical "wall". I am sure there is a better way to do this, but you can carefully flip the cut pages over to expose uncut ones. Be sure to press down the side of the book you are cutting so the compartment doesn't have slanted sides.
Glue the Pages (not Your Fingers) Together
For this step you'll want to put a piece of paper between the pages you didn't cut in the front, and the start of the compartment. Close the book and whip out that super glue. Evenly smear the super glue over the entire outer edge of the book, covering all of the page edges. This will seep in between the pages and bind them together. That piece of paper you separated the sections with will keep the uncut pages from being glued together.
When you are done with the gluing, put it under something heavy until you are sure the glue is dried. For me, I only worked with one side at a time and touched up any places where the pages didn't have enough glue and split apart. I figured my desk would be a good press.
After the outer edges are finished, glue the walls of the compartment to keep the pages from getting ragged or separating.
When you are done with the gluing, put it under something heavy until you are sure the glue is dried. For me, I only worked with one side at a time and touched up any places where the pages didn't have enough glue and split apart. I figured my desk would be a good press.
After the outer edges are finished, glue the walls of the compartment to keep the pages from getting ragged or separating.
Finish the Inside of the Compartment
This step is optional, but makes for a really nice finished product.
I had a roll of duck tape sitting in my drawer so I used it to line the inside of the book. Felt would have been nice, but I didn't have any laying around to hold my already unaffordably high budget of $0.00.
By binding the inside of the book it will actually help hold things together better. The added glue and covering over the inner edges of the page makes this as strong as steel. Now is also a good time to add any magnets or fasteners to the inside of the book to keep the cover from flopping open; they can be hidden in the next step.
I had a roll of duck tape sitting in my drawer so I used it to line the inside of the book. Felt would have been nice, but I didn't have any laying around to hold my already unaffordably high budget of $0.00.
By binding the inside of the book it will actually help hold things together better. The added glue and covering over the inner edges of the page makes this as strong as steel. Now is also a good time to add any magnets or fasteners to the inside of the book to keep the cover from flopping open; they can be hidden in the next step.
Tying Up Some Loose Ends
We haven't forgotten about that extra page I had you keep earlier. Take some more of that superglue and stick the "decorative" page down. It shouldn't be cut yet so yes, it will cover the compartment. Once the glue is dried take out the box cutter. If you carefully follow the sides of the storage area with the knife you will get a perfectly crisp edge that covers everything nice and neatly.
(Notice I have the POTUS protecting my valuables along with his crowd of followers. Good luck stealing my stuff, the feds are a tough nut to crack!)
Now take that low tech safe of yours and use it however you like! Use it for good or otherwise, once it is on the bookshelf no one will be the wiser.
To view my original blog post and see many other awesome projects stop over to http://www.fullforceapps.com.
(Notice I have the POTUS protecting my valuables along with his crowd of followers. Good luck stealing my stuff, the feds are a tough nut to crack!)
Now take that low tech safe of yours and use it however you like! Use it for good or otherwise, once it is on the bookshelf no one will be the wiser.
To view my original blog post and see many other awesome projects stop over to http://www.fullforceapps.com.