Im looking for some help/ideas on building a mailbox that will swing around 360* (horizontally) when it is hit. I have had my mailbox hit yet again and was looking at this system Complete mailbox and post | Snow plow resistant mailbox post but thought maybe I could do it myself for cheaper. I am just stumped on what to use as the rotating mechanism. I would also need the arm to be 42-48" long and I cant do any welding. Thanks for any ideas yall might have.
Yes something like that but Im not sure of what to use. It would have to be metal and able to withstand abuse.
What about using an intentionally weak arm so it breaks off easily, say a 2x3 with some holes drilled to make it weaker. Mount the box at the end, when it gets wacked just bolt up a new 2x3?
Up here they build a pressure treated box, stick the mailbox in it. They build a post and arm about 6 feet up off the ground an hang two chains down to the box. Like this, but taller post, longer chains.
after watching the video i know exactly how to build it, just not how to explain it to you. need a picture, give me a few
The Post Office has rules about how high and how far back from the roadway the box should be. If you don't follow the rules they don't have to deliver the mail....
My parents neighbor got so tired of having his mailbox smashed that he finally just made it removable. He screwed a tin can to the bottom of the box . every morning he would carry the box down and slip it down over the post, as soon as heard the mailman come by he would go down and bring the box back up. A friend of mine made one that would swing away. He used 2" pipe and slipped it over 1 1/2 pipe for the swivel
I hit one like that years ago in HS with a baseball bat. It was made of 1/4" plate steel. Needless to mention it didn't sustain any damage. But that hit still sends shivers down my arm.
My grandpa was sued over something like this. his box is ontop of a piece of scrap i beam. lates 70's, kid missed the box and got the pole with something other than a bat. shattered his wrist and broke both bones in his forearm. No damages were awarded....
I'd go with Occam's razor here and say fishingpol has the right idea. Otherwise, slipping a pole over a rod on an angle should work too, if ya put some zerks in there to keep it greased. You can get fancy with a spring if you need to. Mailboxes came up in discussion here after I posted a "build" of mine. Many folks said that wouldn't last, kids would destroy it, etc. near them. I learned that they have to break away at considerable impact due to possible vehicle collisions. I'd be inclined to use the old steel plate around the mailbox technique in that case.
I got a P.O. Box, the yearly rental is cheaper than a new box and the time dealing with the damage from the local hooligans or the plow and digging the damm thing out of the snow bank when the plow doesn't take it out. Plus the local postmistress is a hottie!
I see most mailboxes in Maine where I go hunting that look like this. It's a lot simpler than a rotating one and it's self-resetting.
