I built a digitally-locked secret cabinet (warmup for building a secret door!)

[Dan Q]

I was redecorating my bedroom earlier this year, and while constructing some new bookshelves under a window I decided to try to build a secret cabinet into them.

Now I'm a software engineer first and foremost and I probably shouldn't be allowed near a soldering iron and definitely shouldn't be allowed to use a table saw... but I had to do both to wire up a Raspberry Pi with a couple of relays and solenoids to "unbolt" and "kick open" my cabinet, like this:

By the time you've got a tiny computer powering a secret cabinet, you get free rein on how to trigger opening it. I'm a fan of escape rooms, so naturally I ended up experimenting with a few different mechanisms! Here's two (with apologies for the huge GIF):

I eventually settled on just adding a button down the back of my drawers that unlocks it. But I'm thinking I might make some kind of RFID scanner built into the other shelf, and attach a token to the bottom of some ornament or something... so to open the secret cabinet you have to move a vase to a particular spot.

Anyway: it's all a warm-up exercise because I want to build a secret door at some point in the future!

[haumeaGeth]

A few more of these and you're on your way to living in a Resident Evil house. This is the definition of free will. I think the vase opening method is particularly awesome, I'd love to see a gif update if you eventually try that out!

[fuwaka]

This is by far one of the coolest things I've seen on the internet as of late! I'm honestly impressed with both the physical design and the fact that you really were able to program it to move!

Now I'm invested in seeing if you'll really be able to make a secret door like this! The knocking to open configuration is really interesting, I think it'd work perfect on a big secret door! Like a secret knock to open... You're like the main character of a video game! hehe (* ´_ゝ`)

[Dan Q]

Now I'm invested in seeing if you'll really be able to make a secret door like this! The knocking to open configuration is really interesting, I think it'd work perfect on a big secret door! Like a secret knock to open... You're like the main character of a video game! hehe (* ´_ゝ`)

Sadly I don't think I can pull off motorising the secret door: I'm not even sure where I'd have space to build such a complicated one!

We've just done some remodelling in our house and among the new feature that's given it, we've now got a library! The position of the library, sandwiched between the lounge and the dining room but only accessible from one side, among other features, mean it's just crying out for a secret door!

So my plan is to buy two bookshelves to put in the lounge. But one of them will be fake: I'll install fake book fronts (I don't think I can make a door strong enough to hold the weight of a full bookshelf!), and come up with some handle/latch mechanism that can be concealed e.g. inside a book. The space to install the door doesn't give much "swing" room, so I'm thinking it'll hang from a rail and "slide" sideways instead. Not sure yet.

Sadly there's lots to do before that point, though: some of my house electrics need replacing, and last week my boiler broke, so that's sadly where my time and money has to go first.

Thanks for the super sweet comments though!