Hidden Compartment in a Shoe

In this instructable, you will learn how to how to make a hidden compartment in a shoe. First, you will need a shoe with a heel. I chose a man's dress shoe because it has a wider heel compared to a lady's shoe.

Next, I cut the heel of the shoe for the compartment. I used a clamp to hold the shoe in place then I used a saw to cut through the heel. Make sure to be careful when doing this step.

After the heel is cut, align the cut piece with the shoe. When they are aligned, put in a screw close to the back of the heel. This will make the heel capable of pivoting. Make sure not to put the screw in too deep, otherwise it won't pivot properly.

After that is done, decide what you want to hide in your shoe. I chose a key for my item to be hidden. Then, I used a dremel tool to cut the outline of the key. Once the outline has been cut, it should be able to fit so that the heel can pivot right over the item when it is in the outline.

After the outline has been finished, there will be a faint line where the cut heel meets the shoe. In order to make that less noticeable, I used a black shoe polish. When you rub black shoe polish on the line, it will make it harder to see.

I also wanted to make an alarm, so I got an arduino and built a photosensor alarm. If you want to build one for your shoe, here is a link for it http://www.arduino.cc/en/Tutorial/Tone2, this link will also tell you the code for the alarm. This type of alarm will activate when the photosensor senses light. Then you need to plug a portable power source into the arduino, so it can go into your shoe.

After the alarm has been built, Take the photosensor and run it through a hole in the heel. If the shoe doesn't have holes already in it, like mine had, drill one in with a drill. This step will make it so that if somebody opened the shoe compartment in the light, the alarm will activate.

After the photosensor is in the heel, put the electronics in the shoe. Get some upholstery that is the color for the inside of the shoe. Cut a small rectangle piece of upholstery, to cover the electronics. This will make the electronics hidden, so they can't be seen by someone.

Once the upholstery has been cut, gently slide it in and cover the electronics. Make sure no upholstery is outside of the shoe. This concludes the hidden heel instructable, I hope it works well for you if you decide to make it!