Hidden Compartment in Everyday Door

There are two crucial characteristics that make any secret compartment successful at keeping your personal effects truly personal. The first is that the access point of the compartment must be hidden from sight. The second is that the compartment must be very easy to access. This is important as there may come a time where you need to access the contents of the compartment, but do not have time to dig something out of your yard or pry off some floorboard underneath the furnace. 

This instructable will show you how to create a hidden compartment that fits these specifications perfectly, allowing easy access to a well hidden secret compartment.

This Instructable will show you how to create a hidden compartment in a hollow core door. This compartment will be able to hold a standard sized hanging folder, which you may used to hide any relatively thin secret object. The compartment is incredibly easy to access, simply needing to be able to reach the top of the door either standing on the ground or with the help of a stool or chair.

Materials:
- Hollow core door
- Hanging folder
- Paint mixing stick (Got mine from Home Depot)
- Wood Glue
- Curtain rod mount/bracket about  ( Can also be replaced with small piece of wood if bracket cannot be found )


Tools:
- Multitool
- Circular Saw (I used a plywood blade)
- Drill (With the smallest bit you own)
- Carpenter's file
- Small clamps
- Band clamps (or some way to keep the door still when sawing)

The first step I took was measure out the side of the folder and estimated the size I want to give the slot. 

After I did this I measured the width of one of the paint stirrers so I could determine the how thick the slot should be.

I then used a ruler to mark off the slot that I wanted to remove that would make up the hidden opening. (I made the opening closer to the size of the door where the hinge is so that the hanging folder would not swing as much.)

Next I drilled a hole at the one of the four corners of the marked off slot so that I could tell how thick the top board was. 

After I drilled the hole I proceeded to drill holes at all corners of the slot so that when using the circular saw later it would be easier to stop sawing. 

Once I knew how thick the top board was I adjusted the circular saw so that it would cut to the correct depth.

For this next step I recommend asking someone for assistance as the target area being sawed is relatively small. 

Line the circular saw up with the long sides of the section to be cut and cut out to the drill holes created earlier.

After both cuts were made you will have most of the length wise cuts made except for the rounded out section that the circular saw could not reach. To remove this last bit I used the wood cutting blade of the multitool. 

Next to remove the thin sections of the top board I used somewhat of an unconventional method, I drilled multiple holes in a row to create a rough cut line.

For the last part of the removal of the opening I used a carpenters file to flatten and smooth out all of the cuts, especially the drilled line.

I did not take any pictures of this next part, but on the inside of the door you will most likely find a cardboard support system, probably in a honeycomb shape. You will need to clear enough of this cardboard so that the folder will be able to drop down into the door.

The next step is to add the brackets that will support the hanging folder. 

I used the curtain rod brackets shown, but these could be replaced with simple pieces of wood.

The first step to adding the brackets is to measure how wide the bracket needs to be on either side of the slot in order to support the hanging folder.

Next you need to cut either the brackets or the wood to fit the measured specification. Place the pieces in the slot and test the opening with the folder to make sure that the slot will fit the folder correctly. 

Then you should ensure that when the brackets are placed so that when the folder is placed on top at least the thickness of two of the paint sticks remains above the folder so that the cover will lay flush with top of the door.

Once you are sure that the bracket fit these specifications you can proceed to either epoxy the bracket on or use wood glue to attach it (depending on the material of the bracket).

Measure the size of the slot and divide that by two. This is the length that the two paint stirrers should be cut to.

Take one of the remaining pieces of the paint stirrers and wood glue it together with the two measured pieces in order to make a one long cover board.

Clamp the pieces together to ensure a strong bond. 

Wait until the glue is dry according to the specifications and test the fit on the top of the door.

If your door is stained you may want to consider staining the cover so that the compartment is better hidden even from people looking from above.

The very last thing I did was tape the sides of the hanging folder so that nothing would fall out of the folder as the door is swung open and closed.

The project is completed now. You can simply attach the door to the doorway which it belongs to and begin to use hidden compartment to hide your personal belongings. 

I understand that the door does not match the framing as I my dad did not want me to attempt this project on one of our doors that  we use until I could prove that I could do it on a door I picked up at the local hardware restore (wonderful place for DIY projects).

This was my first Instructable so please let me know if you think there is anything that I missed or of any questions you may have and I am more than happy to get back to you.

Please vote for me for the Secret Compartment and Doors Contest. Thanks!