[TheForge] Crush proof mailbox

[Peter Hirst]

Depends on how by-the-book your letter carrier is.  They are  supposed to 
deliver only to US Postmaster approved boxes, but if you have a little 
flexibility in that regard,  you can fabricate a facsimile of the arched 
shape top of the classic letter box out of the heaviest guage stuff you can 
roll, or get rolled, and then mount  the door from a real one on that.  It 
will look just like the approved cheesy aluminum one, but it will stop a 
baseball bat dead at 40 mph.   Commercial versions are avaialble for 100 
bucks and up.ANother approach we see around here is to put a conventional 
box inside a slightly larger shell of the same shape.  i saw one of these 
one morning knocked slightly loose from its moorings but otherwise 
completely intact.  There was probably some kid somehwere trying to explain 
the rebound injury to a parent.


----- Original Message ----- 
From: <sos at frii.com>
To: "Blacksmithing List Sponsored by ABANA" <theforge at mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Sunday, January 04, 2009 9:32 AM
Subject: Re: [TheForge] Crush proof mailbox


Hi Don,

I started on that path when ours got vandalized here in Maine, but ended
up taking the easy way out and buying a heavy duty model. Ours looks like
about 12 gauge steel, unfortunately I can't come up with where we bought
it. Here is one place (aluminum):
http://www.mailboxes.com/category.asp?catalog_name=Mailboxes&category_name=Heavy+Duty+Rural+Mailboxes&Page=1&FromCategory=Yes&parent_category_name=Residential+Mailboxes
...mind the line wrap.

Some time ago we had this happen where we lived in Colorado. In that case,
I used a Home Depot mail box but surrounded it with a cage. I made the
cage 'airy' enough that it (hopefully) didn't present a challenge, but
would resist a stray baseball bat. I took some potato digger bar (which I
had *lots* of) and shaped hoops, giving a silhouette like a covered wagon.
I also put links from hoop to hoop across the top.

A couple of ideas for you. Let me know what you end up with--we're moving
next year and will need a box.

Steve Smith

> Anyone know of any convenient plans for a near  crush/vandal proof
> mailbox? I
> found nothing but crumbled metal and splinters  this morning.
>
> Thanks for any suggestions
>
> Don Plummer
>
> **************New year...new news.  Be the first to know what is making
> headlines. (http://www.aol.com/?ncid=emlcntaolcom00000026)
> _______________________________________________
> Manage membership or unsubscribe at:
> http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/theforge
> theforge mail list group photo site is
> http://www.photoaccess.com
> Login:  blacksmithblacksmith at hotmail.com
> password:  anvil
> ___________
>
>
>


_______________________________________________
Manage membership or unsubscribe at:
http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/theforge
theforge mail list group photo site is
http://www.photoaccess.com
Login:  blacksmithblacksmith at hotmail.com
password:  anvil
___________