Secret Storage Book Part Lists Wood Screws ( (Werbilt flat head phillips #4 x ⅜ in) Drills Screwdrivers Hinges (2 medium and 3 small) Corner braces (¾ inches) Paint or scrapbook paper Leather Thick cardboard Lock and key ( Prime-Line U 9941 Drawer & Cabinet Lock, 5/8 in., Diecast, Stainless Steel, 5/16 in. Max. Panel) Glue: E6000 and Tacky glue Photo resistor Neopixels LED strip Wires and jumper wires Arduino Solder Soldering Iron Heat shrinks The Book To create the book, you will create 2 boxes. First cut the wood into the following sizes: (2) 5.5 x 8 in. These will act as the back and front book covers (5) 5.25 in x 1.5 in. These will act as the shorter wall edges (2) 1.5 in x 7 in. These will act as the longer wall edges (2) 1.5 in x 8 in. These will be the spine of the book (2) 5.25 in x 5 in. These will be for the interior walls of the top box. Cut one out of wood and there other in one cardboard (1) 5.25 in x 1.25 in. This will hold the lock Drill a hole with a ½ inch diameter on the top most ends of the spine pieces. You will use these to connect the wires from one box to the other.
To create the bottom box, use the E6000 glue to attach (2) 5.25 inches x 1.5 inches and (1) 1.5 inches x 7 inches together on the 5.5 inches x 8 inches wood back cover. Note: I like to decorate the wooden cover with leather and the wooden sides with paper or paint before attaching the pieces together. To create the top box, first drill a hole with a ¾ in diameter on the middle of the 5.25 in x 1.25 in wood.
Use the E6000 glue to attach (3) short wall wood pieces, (1) long wall piece, the wood piece with the lock, and the 5.25 inches x 1.25 inches together. The finish outcome should look like the pictures below (left: front) (right: back) Using E6000, glue a wooden spine to each box. Make sure that the boxes both line up together! Attach the lock onto the top box. Attach corner braces on lower end and bottom right corner on the bottom box to hold the lock in place. By doing this, the two boxes will be closed and locked together without the key.
Next, create a door on the back of the top box by using (3) small hinges and the cardboard piece. Attach corner braces on three sides in the interior space to keep the door in place. Also, trace around the location of the lock when the key opens the lock. Poke two holes on either sides. This will allow the wires to poke through. Use a medium size hinge to attach the spines together on the outside of the boxes. This will allow the two boxes to swing open like a book.
The Circuit To make the circuit, you will need a photoresistor, a neopixel LED strip, and an Arduino Solder wires on the neopixel LED strip Attach jumper wires onto the photoresistor To create the positive leads, solder a red jumper wire to a small piece of red wire (NOTE: I like to color code my wires in order to keep track of them) Solder a separate and longer red wire to the positive ends of the neopixel LED strip and the photoresistor. The two seperate red positive will connect through the metallic lock. The lock acts as a switch that turns the circuit on and off Solder the negative ends of the neopixel LED strip and the photoresistor with a blue jumper wire Solder the signal end of the neopixel LED strip with a white jumper wire. When finish, the circuit should look like this:
Putting it all together Weave the photoresistor and the neopixel LED strip through the holes that are ½ in diameter in size on the top ends of the spine. Glue the LED strip to the edge of bottom box. The Arduino and the wires will be inside of the top box. Screw the arduino down to the inside of the top box. Take the two Red seperate wires and have the exposed ends go through the small holes that you made earlier. When the metal lock turns and open the book, the circuit will close. Add velcro to the corner braces in the top box. Tape some of the wires in place. Tape the two seperate red wires in the area close to the small hinges in order to make sure they do not move when the cardboard piece closes and opens. Make sure you also tape the wires on the exterior of both boxes to the spine to keep the photoresistor and neopixel LED strip in place.
Use a 9 Volts Battery to power the Arduino and load the code onto the Arduino. Take the 5.5 in x 8 in front book covers and attach it to the front of the top box using a medium size hinge. Add final touches like decorating the exterior sides of the book with paper and the spine with additional leather to cover the hinges and wires. Optional: Add a few pieces of papers to the on the front of the top box to give it a book appearance.