How to Install a Lock on a Bedside Table

Doors aren't the only thing you want secured with a lock; you probably have valuables and private items stashed in drawers and cabinets. Bedside tables are often filled with things you don't want found or used by other people in your household. Most of the time they aren't equipped with a lock. You can install your own keyed locks to the door or drawer of most bedside tables with just a few tools. Does this Spark an idea?

Instructions

1

Measure the depth of the drawer or cabinet door lip and choose a tab-style lock for drawers and cabinet doors thick enough to fit the depth. Fit the key into the lock and engage the tab. Measure the distance between the center of the lock cylinder and the end of the tab.

2

Choose a location and mark a spot for the lock along the front panel of the door or drawer, close to the edge. The lock tab needs to extend past the edge of the panel and across the gap between the door or drawer and the body of the table. Mark where the center of the lock cylinder will rest.

3

Fit an electric drill with a spade bit the same diameter as the lock cylinder. Place the center of the bit against the mark and drill a hole through the door or drawer panel.

4

Fit the lock cylinder into the hole from the back of the panel. Remove the spade bit from the electric drill and replace it with a Philips screwdriver bit. Screw mounting screws through the bracket guides and into the back of the drawer panel.

5

Close the door or drawer, insert the key into the lock and engage the tab. Pull the door or drawer gently to test the lock.