I See The Light
Submitted by: Tim W. Personal photos via Submit a Kludge!
Favorite Comment: Fixer Demetrius says, “This looks like the switch has clawed it’s way thru. I can picture it doing half inch ninja punches to break free. And, now it’s intent on putting out Bill’s lights *permanently*.”
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So what are they going to do when they load the books on that shelf?
Easy, now it’s a secret switch.
I don’t see a lot of books happening on that bookcase… Certainly not home improvement books.
welllllll you’ve got a coupla’three options here
1. bookends, used “backwards”. so the “outside” parts are facing each other, facing inwards towards and from either side of the switch
1b. as above, but maybe with some appropriately sized books/other items lying between the bookends and below the switch
2. Variant on 1b above without the bookends, with horizontally placed books holding the others back
3. Lie all books/DVDs/whatever on that particular rung of the shelves horizontally and just don’t stack em as high there
4. Don’t use that part of the shelf for books/boxy-shaped media but other stuff like pot plants, arranged to leave the hole free.
Pot plants?? Wouldn’t that be illegal???
Thank you for using the phrase “coupla’three”. You just made my day ^_^
And then there is option number
5. Drill some new holes so that the shelf above the switch and the one below are a mere 3 inches apart. Just enough room to jam a hand in there to operate the switch and PLENTY of room above and below for all that cannabis. Oh, wait… Drilling holes may be an issue for this guy.
Pot plants? I’m sure they got a permit for the weed.
Agent 99 is not responsible for this, only Maxwell Smart could uncover this dastardly plot.
LOL MAN!
Get Smart!?
seriously!
this is actually a “behind the scenes” from an early james bond movie..
the settup is quite uniqe, as the shelf is filled with books, and the secret switch/hidden door opener can be hooced up to ANY of the books..
this means ONLY mr 007 himself will be able to open the door, cause his the one switching the string to the book of his liking that day!
what a genius!
My dad did that with an entertainment center but it was to get at a thermostat, he also used a straight edge and a jigsaw to make the hole neat.
Because he used a straight edge that makes his being lazy ok.
Really? How difficult would it have been – *really* – to take off the switch plate and screw it on the front? At least that way it looks on purpose.
Those screws can be kinda short
I’m sure we all have “Jesus” jar full of random screws, bolts, washers & bullets.
This kludge really turned me off.
This looks like the switch has clawed it’s way thru. I can picture it doing half inch ninja punches to break free. And, now it’s intent on putting out Bill’s lights *permanently*.
WIN! xD
Haha, awesome.
Sweet. Win.
Awesome comment
I like how the hole is made “ripped” inaccurate. I mean, he could have just took something sharp and “draw” the hole as a square for exemple to make it cleaner. but oh no, this guy just decided roughly the damn thing isn’t going to ruin the end of the day, mounting an ikea shelf is a hell of a time already.
… come to think of it, now as I look at this I’m saying that maybe he did try to make a clean hole but maybe it wasn’t in the right place and then maybe it wasn’t big enoug… and then maybe the guy just got mad
See, all it wanted in life was a brighter future and to be noticed.
Pity that they didn’t include a picture of the switch on its face hugger phase to complete the life cycle.
Maybe if the hole were more rounded (and hence nicer looking), you could set it up to tilt a certain book so the lights turn on.
It’s so hard to find a good book light these days. They’re all just too bulky!
At least they didn’t put that terrium with the death adder there, that would have just been silly.
I expected to see some hesitation marks where the guy poked and jabbed at it with a screwdriver to make the pilot hole. And normally, he should have skinned a knuckle or two during the procedure, and left some blood/DNA evidence. CSI: The Bookcase
it looks like the switch is trying to hide itself behind the bookshelf again.
“ahhhhh! the light! the light!”
wow… if only i’d seen this a couple of days ago… could have passed the suggestion on to Mother Dearest and saved her having to buy two full height and one half height book case for the box bedroom being converted to a store room.
just get three full height ones and cut a hole in the backing of the one going in the way of the switch. optionally make a suitable, longer cutout inwards from the side (at the back) so you can reach your hand in and along from the door without having to come in then feel along the backing-board for the hole if the landing light has blown
genius.
though, a bit scratchy, smacks of laziness. get out the ol’ dremel and eke it out a bit larger and smoother.
Thanks to those precision cuts, now all you have to do to operate the light switch is lift the bookshelf up or down.
How do you lift the bookshelf down?
In which nightclub do we catch you on Saturdays, dono1?
Hopefully not a nightclub maintained by any of us.
It looks to me like this bookshelf used to cover the wall with the big red panic button on it. Now all it covers is that crappy little light switch. Being demoted sucks.
The key to really epic kludges is making it look like you fixed it with cave man tools only. You never want to DRILL a hole through a shelf, always use a kind-of-pointy rock to smash an oddly shaped hole in nearly the correct spot. There, you fixed it.
Almost looks like that poor light switch is trying to gnaw it’s way out. Keep going, baby! Keep going! You’re almost free!
Erm. I have a similar setup in my bedroom. Although I did measure and used a blade to make the hole the same size as the light switch, not just “poked a hole in any old where.” And it is temporary; I intend to put permanent shelving there as soon as I can afford it. But for the meantime, it works beautifully and solved several furniture arrangement problems.
As for flipping the switch, I have paperbacks double-stacked on the far end of the shelf, and hardbacks (by the same author) single-stacked on the switch end of the shelf. The bottom of the light switch comes just to the top of the hardbacks, so there’s plenty of room to reach in and flip the switch, but I usually use the pullcord for the ceiling fan to just turn the light off and on, and keep the switch in the “on” position all the time.
Even better would have been a pen stuck into that was left of the light switch after pounding the backing of the bookshelf on the switch to poke the hole through.
a hammer is the best driil bit to do a hole like that :-p
“Staples. That was easy.”
hey! that’s not funny when it happens to you! (read: my parents’ bedroom).
Tim’s henchmen didn’t understand when he asked them to install the secret switch in the bookshelf that guards the underground lair.
wow… we have one of those shelves (it looks exactly the same, anyway) and i could see how it would annoy someone. plus it’s already hideous, so a hole doesn’t hurt anything
I worked in an office that did the same thing with the same type of shelves, if it wasn’t for the window visible in the picture and the fact that one of our techs cut a rectangular hole with a saw, it would look the same
+1 to Tacomagic, +1 to dono1…
How to be a mad scientist handbook : tip No 34- Any respectable mad scientist must have a switch to activate the secret door in his bookcase
Measure twice, hit with hammer once.
~ancient woodbutchers maxim
Erm… “Not too bright, then…” is the line that occurs to me…
If you don’t get the reference, watch The Matrix again.
Yes I am a nerd
I’ve done this before! It was for a plug socket not a light switch, and I just broke a hole (about 9 inches across! makes this one look neat) in the back of the bookcase so I could reach the socket. I’ve since moved the bookcase, but it’s still got the big hole…
Found It!!!
This kludge is simply not completed. They are now waiting for woodgrain duct tape to get invented and marketed.
Ooh, I am sooo stealing that idea…
Duct tape in other colors, patterns and textures… What a concept. 
Bookcase or not, I am thinking that lightswitch is poorly located. It appears to be in the middle of the wall, not near a doorway where most lightswitches reside. No wonder it’s trying to escape…