A Secret Security Cabinet

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To fabricate your own, you'll need (of course) a defunct electric water heater, with its skin and all its fittings intact (we used a 40-gallon job, though any size will do if large storage capacity isn't a concern), a couple of panel (or hasp) locks, six magnetic cabinet latches, a strip of sheet metal measuring 3" X 9", a 1" X 14" piece of 1/8" flat stock, a 1-1/16" X 29" continuous hinge (or several butt hinges), five roller-skate wheels, and a hunk of 1/2" plywood large enough to serve as an inside shelf.

The required hardware includes five 1/4" X 1-1/2" bolts with double nuts, two dozen 1/8" X 1/4" pop rivets or No. 5 X 1/4" machine screws, and — if you don't have access to a welder — fasteners to secure the hinges, stops, and support tabs.

Besides a ruler, a marking pen, and some basic hand tools, you'll also need a saber saw (with both wood- and metal-cutting blades), and an electric drill (with an assortment of small bits and a 3/4" hole saw).

Start by removing all the pipes and fittings, loosening the bottom skirt, and slipping the outer jacket and insulation batting from the tank itself. Select a spot opposite the skin's front face to mark and cut a 12" X 33" hatch in the jacket's sheet metal, with its bottom edge on a line that's 12 inches up from the tank covering's lower lip.

With this done, place the jacket back over the reservoir, line it up properly, and mark out the 12" X 30" border of the chamber's door, centered within the hatch opening. Then remove the skin again, and — after drilling a 1/4" starting hole — use your saber saw to cut the door from the tank wall.

Having completed these preliminaries, you'll find the actual assembly of your safe a snap. The door is fastened with the outside hinge (bolts will work, but tack welds are better) and is kept from opening inward by ten 1" X 1" tabs that are cut from the 14" strip of flat stock and welded (or bolted) to the inside edge of the door frame. The panel locks are installed in two 3/4" holes (which you should drill through the door at points 3/4 inch from its side and 9 inches from its upper and lower edges), and their catches are bent — or modified — to angle back toward the door's face. The skate wheels, which use the 1/4" X 1-1/2" bolts as axles, can be mounted to the inside of the annular lip at the tank's base after you've drilled a series of five 1/4" holes through that ring at points about 1/2 inch from its bottom edge and 10 inches apart.

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