How to Carve a Hole in a Bookcase

Whether you want to carve a hole in a bookcase to access a secret compartment or to spy on a private meeting, doing so will take a certain amount of preparation. Carving a hole using traditional tools and methods takes much longer than simply removing the offending wood with a jigsaw, but the final results will have a handmade character impossible to achieve with power tools.

Pencil
Paper
Compass
Bench knife
U-gouge
Straight chisel
Sandpaper

Instructions

- 1
  Draw a pattern for the hole on a piece of paper. Use a compass to help you get a perfect circle, if necessary. Cut out the pattern and trace it onto both the outside and inside of the bookshelf, measuring to ensure the two line up perfectly.
- 2
  Cut around the perimeter of the pattern with a bench knife. Use a gouge to make a series of stop cuts around the inside perimeter, flaking off wood by cutting diagonally toward the pattern line. Continue until the border of the circle is carved so deep that the wood is less than half as thick as it was previously.
- 3
  Repeat Step 2, this time working from the outside. Eventually, your stop cuts will break through the surface to the other side. Continue working around the perimeter until the wooden disk in the middle falls out of the hole.
- 4
  Soften the perimeter of the hole with a straight chisel, evening out the surface. Sand the edge of the hole smooth.

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