Cheap Hidden Door Lock

Strictly. I like the suggestion. It would be like having two dead bolts. Now I just need to figure out how strong of a magnet I should buy. If its too strong it might be difficult to slide. If its too weak it won't work. On their website they had a graph of the magnets pull in lbs over distance. At 2" the magnets lose over 99% of their pull.

Greenjumble. Thanks for the suggestion, but the old lock just isn't that secure. I made a key out of a nail for the old lock. It works ok, but even if I don't have the homemade key I can pop the door open.
 
interior doors are about 1 1/2" thick, so your talking about 1/2" between the bolt and the magnet. I wouldnt worry about getting a magnet that is too strong, but dont get one that too weak. It wouldnt be that hard to move it with a heavy duty one. Maybe drill the hole 1/16" over the bolts diameter to give it a little bit of play...but dont go 1/8" over, thats too much play.
 
if you use a magnet and rod you will need to drill a hole for the rod horizontally in the door frame and the door.. The hole in the door frame needs to be slightly longer than the rod and the hole in the door needs to be long enough to allow sufficient room for the rod to securely "lay" in place while remaining short enough so that the rod doesnt completely come out of the hole in the door frame when in the "locked" position.. I doubt there will be a way to get it to "lock" or stay in place other than by its own accord..This is the easiest way to acomplish what you wanting to do w/ magnets im thinking. Unless you want to spend more money.
 
420OldSchoolDJ420 said:
if you use a magnet and rod you will need to drill a hole for the rod horizontally in the door frame and the door.. The hole in the door frame needs to be slightly longer than the rod and the hole in the door needs to be long enough to allow sufficient room for the rod to securely "lay" in place while remaining short enough so that the rod doesnt completely come out of the hole in the door frame when in the "locked" position.. I doubt there will be a way to get it to "lock" or stay in place other than by its own accord..This is the easiest way to acomplish what you wanting to do w/ magnets im thinking. Unless you want to spend more money.
Click to expand...


wow...you fit my last three posts into one...do you write cliffs notes for a living :lol:
 
Here's how I would construct a hidden door lock. You could put any type of lock that you wanted on the inside of the door, as long as the lock could be triggered by pulling on the release from the top with a string. Attach a string to the lock release on the inside of the door. Drill a hole about an inch down near the top of the door. The whole should be big enough to pass a small round headed bolt through. The bolt should obviously be long enough to pass completely through the door and come out the other side. You want to drill a small hole through the end of the bolt on the end that will sit on the inside of the door. Pass your string through the hole and tie it off. You will need to countersink the hole on the outside of your door so that it will fit flush against the door. At this point all you need to do is camouflaged the head of the bolt so that it blends in with the color of the door. You may just need to glue a thin piece of wood to the head of the bolt if you can't correctly match the metal to the color of the door. With a thin piece of wood glued to the bolt you could stain it to match the door. Obviously if you glue a thin strip of wood to the head of the bolt, you would need to countersink the hole further in so that the bolt head would line up. Make sure you leave some excess string hanging on the inside of the door, enough so that you can use a magnet to draw the bolt head out of the door, pull on the string and activate your lock.
 
Good News: Magnet came and is pretty damn strong. When I have some time I will begin testing possible locking techniques.
Bad News: My father in law went into my office that had the door closed, saw all my ducting, went into my closet that had the door closed, saw all the holes I had cut for ducting and proceeded to ask my wife what that stuff was for. I am pretty sure he had a good idea, but just wanted to verify his suspicions. I told her to tell him it was for a darkroom, and he was satisfied with that, but I don't think it will be the end of his snooping.
This is why I need to get these locks in place.
 
Punk, I didn't see any electronic locks for sale on that website, just custom built hidden safes.
Offthesidewalk, I think I might have to punch him in his nose for violating my space.
 
Abeezy, looks like a nice setup. I already have the 12v power adapter. I think I might order the electric strike just as a backup in case the magnet and steel bolt doesn't work. If the magnet and bolt does work, I can always put the buzzer on the door into my office instead of the closet.

Straight G, I was thinking of just putting a bear trap in the office so the can't even reach the door.
 
Since the inherited pops keeps coming over with and without his crew to inspect the handiwork...

Why not just vape the pops - in - law a good primo bowl and let him know that you and your plants would like some breathing room...

We call this the Pacino Nice Guy move in negotiations.
 
Seaweed11 said:
Abeezy, looks like a nice setup. I already have the 12v power adapter. I think I might order the electric strike just as a backup in case the magnet and steel bolt doesn't work. If the magnet and bolt does work, I can always put the buzzer on the door into my office instead of the closet.

Straight G, I was thinking of just putting a bear trap in the office so the can't even reach the door.
Click to expand...

LOL, he'll probly be back with one leg. 8P
 
Seaweed11 said:
Punk, I didn't see any electronic locks for sale on that website, just custom built hidden safes.
Offthesidewalk, I think I might have to punch him in his nose for violating my space.
Click to expand...


Well i might have the wrong site, but there are similar offerings where you can make hidden doors and the electronic locks are released in some other spot nowhere near the door entrance by poking a little pin in some small hole in some obscure area of your home.

That company has the lock mechanisims they use on their vaults and hidden sliding drawers. I'm sure that part is all you need, they can probably steer you in the right direction.

I dunno
 
Finding this thread looking for hidden locks for a small cabinet gave me this basic idea once the magnets were brought up.

I doubt it would be useful for an actual entryway door though, but it might help someone else.
 

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