Hidden Kitchen Drawer

For this Instructable I've designed a completely ( removable ) hidden drawer located inside and above a kitchen cutlery drawer. It slides into rails which are attached to the underside of the countertop so it doesn't pull out when the drawer is opened. Several years ago for work I constructed a similar hidden compartment for someone to store jewelry in. It was located in a bank of drawers built into a walk-in closet. So, just for fun, I made one for our kitchen.

A small amount of solid stock ( great project to use some of the off cuts you have been saving )

Approximately 3 Sq ft of 1/8'' door skin plywood

A couple of hours in your shop

The first thing you need to do is determine the available space you have to work with above the kitchen drawer, in my case I had 1 1/2'' clearance in height , 14'' clearance in width, and 23'' in depth. I decided the finished dimensions of my box would be 1 1/4' thick x 10'' wide and 18'' deep.

Mill enough stock 5/8'' thick x 1 1/4'' wide to make: 2- pieces 22'' long ( side rails ), 2 -pieces 18'' long ( sides of drawer box ) and 2 - pieces 8 3/4'' (front and back of drawer )

Using your table saw raise the blade to 1/4'' high and cut a 3/16" wide dado down the two side pieces and the side rails. Either use a 3/16" dado blade or do two passes with the saw blade.

Cut 2 splines that fit into the dado 3/16'' x 7/16'' x 22'' long and glue them into the side rails with minimal glue.

Sand inside the two dados that are cut into the 18'' long side pieces so they slide easily back and forth on the spline.

Flip the two side pieces over and with a table saw run a 1/8'' saw cut 3/16'' deep and 1/8'' from the top, this is for the lid to slide into.

Take one of the front pieces and cut it down in height so it's flush with the bottom of the lid saw cut. This will allow the lid to slide in.

Glue and pin the sides and ends together.

Cut a piece of door skin plywood the same size as your box. ( 18'' x 10'' in my case )

Glue the bottom onto the drawer and clamp.

Cut another piece of door skin that fits into the saw cuts ( 17 5/8'' x 9" ). Sand the edges of the door skin so that it slides easily back and forth.

Machine a piece for the handle on the lid and glue it to the door skin, now your lid should slide in and out relatively easily.

I made up a small pull for the front of the drawer to make it easier to pull the drawer out.

Take your two guide rails and place them on either side of your drawer. Cut two pieces of stock the length to span the two rails and allow an extra 1/16'' for clearance. Mine were 3/4'' x 2'' x 11 11/16''.

Glue and pin to the two side rails. Pre drill some holes for attaching to the underside of the cabinet

Your drawer should now slide smoothly ( use a bit of wax if necessary )

Remove your cutlery drawer and then screw the hidden drawer glide to the underside of your cabinet.

Test your hidden drawer out and reinstall the cutlery drawer.

By simply opening your drawer and reaching up and under you can remove your hidden drawer. I'm pretty sure no one would think to look in a cutlery drawer for valuables, unless they think knives and forks are valuable - then maybe. ; )

This is a simple and relativity easy project that takes just a couple of hours in your shop.

Cheers!!