«Previous    Next»
Tough "Plow" Mailbox
I got tired of replacing mailboxes that either got run down by cars or smashed by kids with ball-bats. So I decided to make a mailbox that can stand up to any abuse using an IH single-bottom moldboard plow, a steel light pole, and a milk can.
    The mailbox was made from a length of 12-in. dia., 1/4-in. thick steam pipe, with 1/4-in. thick steel plate used for the front and back ends. The door hinges on U-bolts and is held closed by refrigerator door magnets. Even the mailbox flag was made out of 1/4-in. thick steel. The box alone weighs 108 lbs.
    The plow mounts on a 2-in. dia. steel pin, which extends down into an 8-ft. section of an old light pole that’s set 5 ft. deep in the ground. A circle of lock bolts positioned around the pole can be adjusted to keep the plow’s angle level with the ground. If the mailbox ever gets clipped by a car or blasted by snow from a snowplow, the entire unit will spin around on the pin. So far the mailbox has taken direct shots from an aluminum baseball bat and a high speed pumpkin, and it has twice been turned around by snowplows with no damage whatsoever. The local idiots appear to have given up on it. (Tom Nelson, 4774 Wisner Hwy., Adrian, Mich. 49221 ph 517 282-2419)


  Click here to download page story appeared in.



  Click here to read entire issue




To read the rest of this story, download this issue below or click here to register with your account number.
Order the Issue Containing This Story
2011 - Volume #35, Issue #6