LumberJocks Woodworking Forum banner

Project Information

My parents asked me to make them a new rural delivery mailbox. I have had the idea kicking around in my head for a while of one I wanted to make, so I jumped at the chance. I wanted to do one with a rounded coopered top. Never having done it before, I set out with a spruce 2×4 to build a prototype. It was so successful I decided to use it myself. My parents sprung for some nice white oak for theirs, so it will likely last a bit longer than the spruce one. I also built the tree mounted bracket to mount theirs out of pressure treated 4×4 dowelled and glued together.

Gallery

Comments

· Registered
Joined
·
6 Posts
Those boxes look really nice, but they may not last long if there are any vandals in your area. My "fancy" rural box was destroyed multiple times apparently by local youths who would drive by with a baseball bat and crush it. At least with the plastic ones you can usually pop them back out again. So, I put the nice one up by the door so we could show it off, and it was safe from drive by-s. What finish did you use?
 

· Registered
Joined
·
746 Posts
I really like this idea. I may have to try this as well.
 

· Registered
Joined
·
15 Posts
Those boxes look really nice, but they may not last long if there are any vandals in your area. My "fancy" rural box was destroyed multiple times apparently by local youths who would drive by with a baseball bat and crush it. At least with the plastic ones you can usually pop them back out again. So, I put the nice one up by the door so we could show it off, and it was safe from drive by-s. What finish did you use?

- hockeyfan_019
Around here we have to worry more about snowplows than we do vandals. In the 13 years we have been in the house we have only lost 1 mailbox. The mailbox that I replaced was a galvanized steel one, and it rusted out. I think they will be reasonably safe.

The finish on both is marine spar varnish, at least 3 coats, inside and outside.
 

· Registered
Joined
·
15 Posts
How did you do the curved top?

- stevejack
It is coopered. It has 13 (i think) strips with an angle cut on each side. It is similar to doing a segmented ring for turning, except it is only 1/2 a circle, and the segments are about 19 or 20 inches long.
 
Top