How to Make a Cheap Safe

There are almost endless ways to make a cheap safe. The materials you choose vary depending on the items that you want to keep safe, how large the items are and whether you want the safe to be portable. In addition, you can make a sort of a safe that doesn't look like a safe.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Metal box
• Drill
• Screws or nuts and bolts

1. Get some sort of metal box if you want to make a safe that you will likely keep in your house. Generally, a metal box is your best choice. Depending on the size of the valuables, look for a metal candy tin, tackle box or other type of box with a hinged lid. Hinges on the inside of the box rather than the outside will be the safest choice.

2. Take the box to a welding service and have them weld a lock onto the box. This will make it more difficult for a thief to break into the safe. You can choose between locks that require a key or use a combination. This is entirely up to you. It will probably depend on whether you are more likely to lose a key or forget a string of numbers.

3. Drill at least six holes in the bottom of the box. Drill one hole in each corner, and two near the middle. Use these holes to secure the safe to a fixed item in your home, such as a shelf or a floor. If you use nuts and bolts, place the nuts inside of the box. Alternatively, you can use screws, drill from inside the box. If you don't have anything you can attach the safe to, hide it as well as you can. Under a bed is an obvious place, so get creative.

4. Realize that it will be very hard to make a safe that is fireproof or waterproof, so think carefully about what you are going to hide in the homemade safe. The main purpose of this cheap safe is to keep thieves from stealing your things.

Tips & Warnings

• Find a container that you could hide small valuables in if you need something with which to travel. Some examples are a marker to hide money in, or a hollowed out book that you glued shut to hide jewelry in.
• When attaching your safe to a fixed item in your house, you need to make sure that the only way to remove it by opening the lid first.