It’s a Secret

Secret drawers and hidden compartments are as much fun to create as they are to discover.
By Charles Bender
Pages: 54-57

From the November 2009 issue #179
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When I was a teenager, I met a cantankerous old lumber guy. You know the type – a little too disgruntled to actually have the term “customer service” apply, but with enough raw instinct to look deep within a log to find that special board. I had amateur and professional woodworkers alike tell me they just couldn’t deal with him, but I just kept going back. The wood was too good, and I liked the old guy.

Over the years I saw the quality and quantity of his lumber increase at a rate that far exceeded that at which my skills were developing. We became friends through our mutual appreciation of wood, but he was still cantankerous. As my skills developed I began to make him a few pieces of furniture. He did, after all, appreciate wood and good craftsmanship. One day I showed him a pictureof a Chester County spice chest on frame that I was going to build for a customer. He took the bait and signed on for one himself.

This was my chance to pay him back for all those years of being somewhat less than affable, in a good-natured way of course. Spice chests are known for their secret compartments. These wouldn’t be the first secret drawers I’d ever made, but this was my chance to show off how far my skills had progressed. I planned the complex series of locking mechanisms that eventually led to an entire bank of hidden drawers. The best part of the scheme was that he didn’teven know spice chests were well-known for their secret compartments.

From the November 2009 issue #179
Buy this issue now