Mailbox

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Had enough of mailbox smashing.  8" 5/16" wall pipe cut in half welded to 5/16 plate, powder coated, lettered, stainless steel hardware, set in concrete, cabled to 18" pine tree. Attached Images
Reply:few more pics Attached Images
Reply:wow id rather hit the treenice
Reply:Boy, the kid swingin' the baseball bat will get a surprise when he hits that one. Good job, Doc!!!! That should deter them for awhile.                                  MikeOl' Stonebreaker  "Experience is the name everyone gives to their mistakes"Hobart G-213 portableMiller 175 migMiller thunderbolt ac/dc stick Victor O/A setupMakita chop saw
Reply:Nice work on that.  Your mailbox weighs eighty-one POUNDS?????  Man, and here I thought the guys who put a smaller box inside a larger box and filled the remaning space between with concrete were hardcore ....
Reply:Love it!  Just what the Dr. ordered.MM200 w/Spoolmatic 1Syncrowave 180SDBobcat 225G Plus - LP/NGMUTT Suitcase WirefeederWC-1S/Spoolmatic 1HF-251D-1PakMaster 100XL '68 Red Face Code #6633 projectStar Jet 21-110Save Second Base!
Reply:HA HA  I think we found our man! Dr Crane might just be willing to work on developing a Supermailbox, made from a Superball-like material, so that it would promptly return a swing. Last edited by denrep; 10-30-2009 at 10:59 PM.
Reply:Excellent idea! I got tired of kids trashing mine so I rented a box in town but I like the way you think. I don't think they'll have nearly as much fun the next time they try to trash it...........and they will.
Reply:Almost can't wait... that's why I put it up the day before Halloween!  Figure the worst that could happen is they spray paint it which should be pretty easy to clean off with oven cleaner!  Opted not to put a flag on it cause it would be too easy to trash.  We don't send mail from the box anyway, it has been stolen before. Don't have a pic of the 12lb magnet welded inside to hold the door shut.  I'll update this thread if there is an attempt at destruction.
Reply:You've got an 81.5 pound, 5/16 inch wall thickness, solid welded steel mailbox, on top of a steel 4x4(?) post, set in concrete and you think that some wire rope is still needed???    Looks nice and all.  Hope the mailman doesn't strain him/her self opening or closing the door!  You might have to rig up a torsion spring on the hinge pins.    The best laid schemes ... Gang oft agley ...
Reply:Great box!  Makes me wanta make one and paint it like a baseball.  Tempt the little rascals into a shoulder surprise!(Retired) Professional firefighter, amateur everything else I try to do...Oh yeah:  Go Big Red!   (You know: one of the 12 members of the Big 10 cuz we left the 10 members of the Big 12...)
Reply:The  wire rope is for when they come back for revenge after breaking their bat and try to yank it out. Just trying to cover for all the things I would do if I was into smashing mailboxes.  I wish I'd thought of painting it like a baseball that's priceless!!l  For the record the post is 5" X 5" X 5/16".  Actually did consider torsion assist spring or piston but I had to draw the line somewhere...it's already a little out of hand!!Last edited by Dr Crane; 10-31-2009 at 12:45 PM.
Reply:I hate to invest much into a mail box. I live on a state highway and the mowing crew has a habit of running into things. Yours is a top notch job, very nice work.Ranger 250 GXTSmith Gas Axe
Reply:This is awesome, I had the same problem in my neighborhood. So, a few years ago my neighbor and I built a mailbox as well. The Post is made out of a 8 foot piece of 4x4x1/4 and the box is made of 6x6x1/4. We set it 4 feet into the ground with an augur and concrete, covered the 4x4 with wood paneling to make it look less industrial. We then cut the bottom out of a typical sheet metal mailbox and screwed it over the 6x6. Well the following Halloween we didn't have to repair the mailbox, but we did have to sweep up all the glass on the ground from the kids rear window. Aparently the bat rickocheted and broke the rear window as they drove by. Good thing a Kid wasn't sitting in the back seat!Haven't has a problem since, and that was in 2004
Reply:Great stuff.  Love to see the look on the kids faces.The kids would come by my friends house and kick his mail box off.He kept beating it back to shape and remount, then they would come again and kick it off.One day he asked me to line it with some heavy plate, so i did with 1/2" and welded it back to the post.Mail box never moved again but im sure someone had a sore foot.
Reply:great job DR Crane should fix the boy's
Reply:Haha.. good job with the box.  Funny, I just read this in the paper about some local boys:Friday, October 30, 2009The Hillsboro ArgusNORTH PLAINS - Two 17-year-old Liberty High School students were arrested Tuesday on suspicion of damaging mailboxes, street lamps and an electric gate's motor during what police say was a one-night destruction binge in a rural area near North Plains... ....Police say the boys used a metal bat and a pipe to do the damage, which is estimated at $5,000.Common sense in an uncommon degree is what the world calls wisdom.
Reply:Wasn't it on a CSI episode where a guy put concrete in his mailbox or something, and then a kid came by and smashed it and died, then he got in trouble? lol.and considering suehappy america... (ie http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/...G1urAD9BKFQ4O9)I really would love to see the look on their face when they wack that thing.ouch! :s
Reply:I just installed this one. It's just across the street.  [ame]http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000PASGE2[/ame]To night is Halloween.Vern
Reply:Man ....... y'all are hardcores ............. I do like the idea of hiding the metal post behind wood veneer, though .....WE BETTER HAVE SOME UPDATES TO THIS THREAD ON NOVEMBER FIRST !!!!  I wanna hear ALL about the li'l bassards trying to take off those mailboxes ....
Reply:i want to see pic of the kids bone sticking out of his elbow after he tries to knock this mailbox over.high speed car + baseball bat + dumb a$$ kids + the above mailbox = bones being broken and hopefully puncture through the skin from the inside out.
Reply:excellent idea for sure I have a cement and stone arch that holds the box and it stops them from getting it anymore...most are doing nice brick designs and such...but roadside boxes and barriers have impact resistance ratings.... made to fold up like signs so there may be some liability there....cause it's made to damage...I know lots of folks want drill pipe in front of the house on the curves and t bone streets but the county says they gotta pay for crash barriers because the survey shows enough people haven't actually hit the house they won't do it free...but trees now the natural barrier I need about 50 big trees LOL for the road frontage  even big boulders on the edge of the drive has been outlawed in alot of places..glad I'm in the boonies now LOL good luck probally have a collection of bones pretty soon when there arm flies off ha ha tricks on them this time for sure... Good luckLincoln 225 Tombstone,Miller Big 20,Hobart 180,150' Argon,A/D hobart hood 22 Ton Log splitter,79 F350 dump eats 4.75 TONS and still turns cutters,grinders,And a  Hypertherm POWERMAX 30
Reply:Couldn't find much on the liability issues of an over built mailbox but I did find that break away requirements are mostly by town ordinance, U.S. postal service is pretty much silent of the issue.
Reply:Originally Posted by Dr CraneCouldn't find much on the liability issues of an over built mailbox .
Reply:A old friend of my brother and I grew up in Detroit working with his parents working for Ford. He told me once that he lived next door to the bus driver for his school  and they they had adjoining mail boxes and that her mail box would get run down like once a week. i guess his dad got tired of that and they sunk a giant I beam in the ground about 10 feet and welded a nice T on top for both mail boxes and covered it with wood. well about a week later they hurt engine revving and tire burning as a car came down the street and smacked right in to it. he said after cutting the front of the car in half no one ever ran over it ever again.syncrowave 180 sdShoot the sue happy idiots for trespassing MikeConstans Fides et IntegritasLincoln Weldanpower 150 ACAirco Aircomatic MIGet CAV II w/ spoolgunMillermatic 30a wirefeeder
Reply:Our mail box is 12" diamiter pvc pipe filled with concrete. the inside of the box has 2" of cement lined around it. the only casulty we've had was my mom's ford explorer fender!!! good work on yours.safety last
Reply:I made one for a customer out of 1/4 plate and put it on a 6x6 wood post. He waited for the weekend and sure enough here they came. He said he laughed he as off that night the next day he found part of a baseball bat in the ditch. After that they stopped and tryed to break the door but the flag is all they could damage. After that they left his but got other nieghbors down the road.Miller 330 A/BP Bernard SS coolerMiller cst 250Miller Big Blue 251DCentury 210 Mig (first welder I bought)Hypertherm PowerMax 800Victor torch setRu Fong 31 MilAtlas lathe
Reply:Great job, I dig it.browndogwelding.com@welderassassinMy Blog on The Fabricatorfacebook.com/BrownDogWelding
Reply:I would love to have a camera when the sorry SOB hit that mail box!   Nice job.
Reply:That is a sweet mailbox!Miller Dynasty 200DX Tig Welder
Reply:not sure about your area, but here mailboxes have to give. If not and the person who hits it is seriously injured can come back on you. It's sad to say, but it can happen.Miller:Millermatic 252Dialarc 250Thunderbolt 225Syncrowave 180 SDSuper S-32PSCP-200CHF-15-1225D Plus225G PlusBig D2Lincoln:Arc Welder SA-200Victor:315FC setup with fullsize bottlesJ-28  setup as portable
Reply:In the nearest town a man had his mail box smashed five times in a month and a half. He stuck a piece of 6" PVC in the new one and poured concrete around it. Then put it up. A few days later a pick up comes by at night and a kid, [local highschool football player] leans out of the truck with a bat and hits the mail box. It broke his arm and collar bone. Now the parents are sueing. Go figure.
Reply:I doubt trespassing is possible as there are right of ways along roads, this puts the mailbox on property that is not yours. That is if it's along the road and not on the house.I have a friend who wanted to do a big cypress log for a mailbox and was told not to as it has to breakaway in the event a vehicle hits it. He wanted it set in the ground and all kinds of stuff. Now he just has a cedar branch looking thing.This is from USPS.comIf your mailbox is mounted on a pole or post, check its stability and make sure it is properly anchored. Heavy metal posts, concrete posts, and miscellaneous items of farm equipment, such as milk cans filled with concrete are examples of potentially dangerous supports. The ideal support is an assembly that bends or falls away when struck by a vehicle. The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has determined that mailbox supports no larger than 4 inches by 4 inches, or a 2–inch diameter standard steel or aluminum pipe, buried no more than 24 inches, should safely break away if struck by a vehicle.
Reply:Originally Posted by Dr Cranefew more pics
Reply:You could also use a LARGE (automotive) coil spring at the base of the post.  It would "break away"...
Reply:Originally Posted by MudHognot sure about your area, but here mailboxes have to give. If not and the person who hits it is seriously injured can come back on you. It's sad to say, but it can happen.
Reply:I love the fact that the big bad football player broke bones in this incident. Should have dragged him in the back of his garage and broke a few more then leave him in the street for his buddies to come pick him up. Then the parents "SUE" whatever happened to consequences and common sense? You do something stupid you should pay for it. Instead of giving the kid community service by replacing his mailbox and doin the labor and maybe teaching him a lesson we reward him with cash. What a joke
Reply:Pretty sure my mailbox will give way if hit by a car, it's only 30" in the ground... the 3 bags of concrete that surround the post will make it a little more stout than a 4 x 4 stuck in the ground 2'.  I wonder if the people who make the Fort Knox mailboxes have been sued yet.http://www.fortknoxmailbox.com/Maybe I should look into getting my mailbox "approved" by the USPS!!
Reply:That is a sweet mail box, I just so happen to have some 8" Sch 40 layin round, I think I just found a use f or. =)
Reply:great work!!!!!!! i started laughing when i saw the weight! looks good !!!!!!!
Reply:Throw some reactive armor on that puppy.
Reply:Reactive armor?  Not a bad idea... So does that mean the bat will be turned to shrapnel or will they just find it in the next county?Miller Millermatic 212... and that's about it... for now...
Reply:Guy down the road got his $150  Home Cheapo mailbox smashed Fri night, my neighbors' is still in pieces....thinkin' about another side business!!
Reply:When i first moved into this rural home, my box was beat up at least 10 times the first year, so i made a cement box, (wasn't into welding at that time) about two weeks later the guy up the block ran it over with his tandem disk & tractor, I have gone thru at least 5 boxes, Now i will build a 80 pounder.....
Reply:You, sir, are a champion of the fortress mailbox. I remember some kids in High School, the day after they tried to whack someone's recently reinforced mailbox, the driver had a huge dent in the rear door of the car, from the baseball bat bouncing off of the concrete pillar. I'm sure that they didn't continue that hobby
Reply:thats a beautiful build. very nice.. i would die to see video of your neighborhood douchebags in action. that'd be worthy of the time to set up the camera.http://kawispeed.com/ -moderator and tech deluxewww.myspace.com/trickortrack -cuz i have no life
Reply:I thought the 1/8" mail box house a guy I work with was good, But this is the best I've ever seen.  Great work.
Reply:Solid box!....   but I don't have that kind of time.  Took the advice and went to www.fortknoxmailbox.com and got me one.  WOW!  My mailbox weighs 96 LBS and also locks.  Anyway, they have a box that weighs 160LBS!  If you want to see it....(http://www.fortknoxmailbox.com/pages/senator.htm), but I didn't need that big.  I asked if they have been sued, but they said no.  It's up to the owner of the box and to their knowledge they haven't heard of anyone.  The person with fort knox mailbox mentioned hearing of someone making a mailbox out of steel to look like a house and painted it to look like it was made of wood.  Someone tried to sue them, but the mailbox owner counter sued for property damage or something like defacing property and the case was thrown out.  HAHA!  The only way you can be sued is if you live on a state highway, and you don't put your mailbox on a "break away post".  They said you can always counter sue for property damage anyway....Well, now I say BRING IT!
Reply:Nice work.Our local PO gives people h377 if they build there own.So a man a few streets over built one to code.He buried a 6x6 post four foot deep,cut to height,and lag bolt a steel plate to the top of it.Then he welded a frame for the mail box to sit on and screwed it down.Last,he wrapped the mail box with 1/8th or 3/16th plate and painted it all black.It got hit once.I know this because there was a bent up metal bat laying under the box one morning.It also had scratches from the hit.