Sneaky Bastard

Over the weekend I cut the post down to the height specified by the USPS (46"-48"). I threw together a design in a few minutes, trying to accommodate the distance that the mailbox should be set back from the face of the curb (7"-9"). There are a few reasons I’m not thrilled with the design: the notch in the front, the fact that the mailbox isn’t centered on the post, and that I couldn’t keep the full height of the post, with the mailbox to one side. Regardless, I plowed forward. The redwood lumber and finish was left over from another project. I applied some fence boards to the post and affixed the mailbox support with 1/4" x 2-1/2" lag screws. There is (was) a 3/4" counterbore that I planned to plug with some 3/4" dowel. Guess what the true diameter of a 3/4" dowel is — about 0.70". It was too sloppy a fit, so I chiseled the round holes square and glued some pieces of redwood in place. I sanded the whole thing fairly smooth; not furniture grade, but well enough to even out the colors of the two types of wood. I used a clear silicone sealer on the wood to keep it from splintering to pieces in the sun.

The mailbox was ordered through Amazon. They call it a Super-Tough Vandal-Proof Mailbox : 20 Pounds of Steel : Made in USA. Quite a product title, but accurate.

In these pictures, the cable company’s junction box looks wildly crooked. That’s only an effect of lens distortion caused by the iPhone. If I had taken the time to pull out a real camera, it would look more accurate.

I have yet to apply the street numbers, secure the mailbox to the support, and install the light that will shine on the driveway. I’ll save that for another day.