[N'awlins77]

A friend of mines, asked me to build him a couple of night stands. He said his new bed is much higher, and he has to reach down, and he also wanted something with a little extra, somethin' somethin'. He wanted it to look like a simple table, but as the second pic shows, there's some storage in there, for his gun safe and other valuables.

He didn't request this, but I'd like to figure out a way to latch the top down, where as if a burglar would attempt to lift up the "cover", it wouldn't come up. And then he would give up, seeing its just a table. But I don't want it to show. Any ideas? Maybe something underneath.

 

[Gaffboat]

A hidden lock could be added although a really simple solution would be to have the hinged side facing toward the front instead of the wall. If a burglar tried lifting from the front edge it would just lift the table and all would seem solid.

 

[DaninVan]

Some kind of latch that only operates with a Rare Earth magnet as the key? Must be something like that online??

Yup...20 second search!
Magnetic Secret Latch - Lee Valley Tools

And yes, Bob may well be your Uncle. lol

 

[kp91]

Nice looking project.

Hope you guys are staying safe and dry

 

[Bushwhacker]

I once had a couple that had drawer slides and with a tug they released to slide forward to reveal a space about 3 inches deep with felt linings.
David

 

[Red Stick]

Oliver's idea of the hinge in front is, as usual for him, genius.

 

[JOAT]

Some kind of latch that only operates with a Rare Earth magnet as the key? Must be something like that online??

Yup...20 second search!
Magnetic Secret Latch - Lee Valley Tools

And yes, Bob may well be your Uncle. lol

Pretty neat. But, I wonder just how much pressure it will withstand before it breaks? And I definitely would want more then one magnet, things like that are easy to misplace, and if you had a gun in the cabinet, you would definitely want to be able to access it in a hurry.