- Joined
- Mar 15, 2019
- Messages
- 708
Mailbox is standard black metal with a cheap tubular post and some metal contraption that never held the box rigidly. So I was tearing roof off the porch and a piece hit the mailbox and knocked it off the post. When I was done with the roof, I went to fix the mailbox mount using scrap that I already had on hand. What I found was an old piece of 1-1/2" galvanized iron pipe with a hex bushing and a 2" pipe coupler. Was a leftover from when I replumbed the house 16 years ago. As you can imagine, after some decades in use in the house the pieces were all rusted tight and the inner surfaces were heavily corroded but still with plenty of thickness to support a mailbox.
I hacked off a 6" length and then set to work. I parted off the 2" coupler. Found that a scrap rod in the drill chuck on the tail stock kept it under control when it came off.
Then I faced off the cut leaving the hex bushing with a nice flat surface. Cut was rough but that was OK. Drilled 3 holes through the flange for screws to go through later. I made a closet flange basically. But it was free and has the nice hex shape you just don't find in mass produced closet flanges.
Then I cut a piece of wood, boo hiss. I tried to channel ABOM79 and come up with a steel plate and use the shaper to cut it to size to fit under the mailbox, but was unsuccessful so settled on 1x6" pine. Which I trimmed to the size of the mailbox and affixed with 8 screws to the bottom. Then I attached the hex closet flange to the pine.
Pipe was slid into the mailbox post and some self drilling screw were used to affix it in place. It is very sturdy now.
Showed the wife, she was impressed. The fix is sturdy and will likely last until I can acquire a shaper, a TIG welder, a mill and a stock of metals. Clearly I need all of these.
I hacked off a 6" length and then set to work. I parted off the 2" coupler. Found that a scrap rod in the drill chuck on the tail stock kept it under control when it came off.
Then I faced off the cut leaving the hex bushing with a nice flat surface. Cut was rough but that was OK. Drilled 3 holes through the flange for screws to go through later. I made a closet flange basically. But it was free and has the nice hex shape you just don't find in mass produced closet flanges.
Then I cut a piece of wood, boo hiss. I tried to channel ABOM79 and come up with a steel plate and use the shaper to cut it to size to fit under the mailbox, but was unsuccessful so settled on 1x6" pine. Which I trimmed to the size of the mailbox and affixed with 8 screws to the bottom. Then I attached the hex closet flange to the pine.
Pipe was slid into the mailbox post and some self drilling screw were used to affix it in place. It is very sturdy now.
Showed the wife, she was impressed. The fix is sturdy and will likely last until I can acquire a shaper, a TIG welder, a mill and a stock of metals. Clearly I need all of these.