# What a night but I got a new project for tomorow!



## bcall2043 (Dec 1, 2012)

I am wide awake now!

First about sundown the news said six acres of woods was on fire at the county line and headed towards a gas transmission line. The gas line runs just west of our home heading northeast toward the county line which is just over the hill to the east. The news at 10:00 said they had gotten the fire out so I went to bed and was reading some information I had printed from the H-M forum about thread measuring and tolerances when there was a big crash sound. Two young girs were driving too fast and straightened out a curve in front of the neighbors house taking out his mailbox and landing in the trees in his front yard. By the time I got up, dressed for the cold, and walked down to the road they had ripped the doors off and gotten the driver and passenger out. The girls are extremely lucky and unhurt. 


View from driveway



View from the road

My neighbor and I had just rebuilt and installed his mailbox about three weeks ago after another young driver had taken it out with a hit-and-run. I guess tomorrow we will be digging in the scrap and dragging out the welder again.

Benny
The Orphanage Never Closes


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## ScrapMetal (Dec 1, 2012)

Lucky isn't the word for it!  Glad to hear everyone came out okay.

You know...

There's probably a lot of salvageable metals in that Jeep looking thing in the ditch...

Just sayin'  :whistle:

-Ron :biggrin:


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## bcall2043 (Dec 1, 2012)

ScrapMetal said:


> ..............
> You know...
> 
> There's probably a lot of salvageable metals in that Jeep looking thing in the ditch...
> ...



Ron,
We know where you got your web name now.:lmao: I did hear a few parts being discussed last night. The owner must have also the Jeep was gone this morning when I walked the dog.

Funny how those of us with the "illness" look at things. The mailbox that the neighbor and I built and installed a few weeks ago was made with scraped yard light material that someone had tossed.


Benny
The Orphanage Never Closes


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## Ray C (Dec 1, 2012)

Was there any good metal left in the mailbox?   )


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## tommied (Dec 1, 2012)

Speaking of mailboxes, came home one day to a new wooden post under mine. I had a metal post that I thought was fine but apparently they are a danger to vehicles so the state replaced mine with the wood and threw my post in the ditch. I have sense noticed they have done this for miles around me so guess there's no use complaining.  tommie

Glad no-one was hurt. Maybe need to move mailbox next to yours.


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## Hawkeye (Dec 1, 2012)

Does your neighbour want a red mailbox? :thinking:


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## 12bolts (Dec 1, 2012)

bcall2043 said:


> ..... had just rebuilt and installed his mailbox about three weeks ago....



Well I was going to suggest you make the next one out of something heavier.





tommied said:


> .....so the state replaced mine with the wood ......



Until Tommie wrote that.

Cheers Phil


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## Starlight Tools (Dec 1, 2012)

They had a TV show based (CSI Las Vegas, I believe) on the owner of the property replacing his mail box with a concrete one after hoodlums had smashed his for the umpteenth time with a Baseball bat.  Guess the bat bounced back and killed the hoodlum, which should have served him right for vandalizing property, but ended up getting the property owner in trouble.   Personally, I would be tempted to use a post that was equivalent to a telephone post.

Walter


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## Terrywerm (Dec 2, 2012)

Hawkeye said:


> Does your neighbour want a red mailbox? :thinking:



And looks remarkably like a Jeep??   :biggrin:


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## bcall2043 (Dec 3, 2012)

Ray C said:


> Was there any good metal left in the mailbox?   )



The metal is okay just twisted and bent in all directions.

Benny
The Orphanage Never Closes


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## bcall2043 (Dec 3, 2012)

terrywerm said:


> And looks remarkably like a Jeep??   :biggrin:



The new red "Jeep mailbox" was gone the next morning. 

The neighbor discussed using a steel I-beam for the next one. I will need to make him aware of what tommied and Starlight Tools have pointed out. Meanwhile he has just stopped his mail until he sees what the insurance company is going to do. He is tired of dealing with drivers coming into his yard. I was looking down where the Jeep landed and there are a number of tree stumps there that he says are from other cars landing and breaking the trees off. 

Benny
The Orphanage Never Closes


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## Tony Wells (Dec 3, 2012)

Here, the state has all the say on the state highways:

Unsafe test:

http://ftp.dot.state.tx.us/pub/txdot-info/mnt/mailbox/unsafemulti.avi

Safe test:

http://ftp.dot.state.tx.us/pub/txdot-info/mnt/mailbox/safemulti.avi

They will install it, no charge, so I guess we can't complain too much. I don't live on a highway, so I can put up what I want as long as it is high enough but not too high.


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## Kickstart (Dec 3, 2012)

In Florida I had a similar problem and was building a concrete support/post and the letter carrier told me that he had a customer being taken to court over a concrete mailbox post. Someone hits your property with a auto and it's your fault, gotta love it.

I spend a lot of time in TN and see a load of Brick pillars with the mailbox inside them, maybe the Lawyers aren't as hungry in TN. :biggrin:


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## Tony Wells (Dec 3, 2012)

Several years ago, and occasionally still, there was a rash of vandalism of mailboxes. Kids riding the roads at night with baseball bat bashing hundreds of mailboxes in a week. I think they didn't realize it was a felony. Most of the county roads are exempt from the state regulations and you can use brick, pipe or whatever, and there are plenty of those around.


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## drb007 (Dec 8, 2012)

_Several years ago, and occasionally still, there was a rash of vandalism of mailboxes. Kids riding the roads at night with baseball bat bashing hundreds of mailboxes in a week. I think they didn't realize it was a felony. Most of the county roads are exempt from the state regulations and you can use brick, pipe or whatever, and there are plenty of those around.


_A few years back a bunch of kids were doing this around my area.  A farmer got smart and put his little mailbox inside a bigger one and filled the gap between the two with concrete.  Not to be outdone, the kids decided to put an M80 inside the box and blow it up.  Evidently the explosive didn't go off, so they backed up to check it out.  The M80 went off as the kid was reaching to open the door, which was the weakest part of the box.  The explosion blew the door off and cut his carotid artery in his neck.  He bled to death before the paramedics could arrive.  And no, the farmer did not get in trouble.


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## core-oil (Dec 8, 2012)

I guess no matter where you live in the Western world, you can not take the law into your own hands to stop vandalism etc,  I know of a farmer not too far from where i live, he has a field to let his cattle graze in , One side of which boundarys on to a bend in the local road  Needless to say farmer has nothing but problems with  "the educationally challenged" doing their boy racer act at night & ploughing through his fence &destroying a large section of it in every occasion

  This costs the farmer a lot of time, money, &inconvenience, I said to a guy who knows him, "Why not strengthen the fence in that bend section with heavy concrete or steel posts" 

     Response--- Not allowed, if you build something heavier, & our speed guys join the Darwin club, you are in serious trouble   Guess it must be human rights!


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## dickr (Dec 8, 2012)

UHHHHHH     Post Office Box ?       We don't have mail delivery.  got UPS, FEDEX, and any other delivery service.
They drop it in the box  1/4 mile down the road. Murphy doesn't like delivery guys so no vehicles either!
I think I've gone  astray, sorry.
dickr


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