Boot-Scraper, and the Mailbox of Doom

Hey yall!!

I just wanted to share a couple of things that Ive made recently.

First off is this boot-scraper. My mom's boyfriend's birthday was yesterday, and recently, hes been more of a dad to me than my biological father, so I wanted to get him something nice. In his family, they never give/recieve gifts with a value of more than $30, to keep the spirit on the giving, and the thought intended, and so that special days dont turn into competitions.

He does a lot of gardening and yard work, and so I asked my mom to help me figure out what he would want. And she said he really needs a boot-scraper, so thats what I made.

The piece across the middle is 2x(1/8), and the rods that go into the ground are 1/2". I actually made this entirely from stuff that I had laying around, the rods are saved from a railing that I scrapped, the shoe-horses are extras from a project a little while ago, and the piece across the middle is from the scrap bin. And I think it turned out really well, I was happy with it.

All welded up:







My high-tech paint booth:



And as like many things, I welded this with my Hobart 187. I love this thing:





And now, the mailbox. I finished the smaw work at my school, but the teacher didnt want me to start on tig until everyone else was caught up, so I had some time to kill. I dug through the pile of metal out back, and decided that a mailbox would be kind of cool to make. And so, thats what I made. I welded everything with a miller 252, and as always, it welded like a dream. It would be so nice to have something like that someday.

And then, I decided it would be cool to make it look like a giant shotgun shell, so thats what I did. I painted it red and yellow (since we didn't have any gold), and it turned out okay. It was hard to paint, since there are things that move and get in the way, and lots of angles that are hard to reach, and places that were hard to get into. I dont know what Im going to do with it, Im thinking of putting it on ebay or something, and selling it. Its nice, but not something that we really need. I still have a little work to finish on it. That block of steel hanging off the front of it is a weight, it will hold the lid closed against the gasket that I have yet to make for it, thus making the box waterproof.

Lanse...as always you continue to impress/amaze me with your creative talents.

Rick

WOW!!!!!! Nice work Lanse!!! Your moms bf should be thrilled with the boot scraper. I know I would be. Something hand made is always cooler than something bought from the store. More thought and heart goes into something like that. The mailbox is awesome. I want one like that. It would be perfect for a hunting camp.

For a personal gift, weld his name on the scraper. You are probably good enough to weld it in cursive. Maybe write it in chalk first.

Lanse, why not upgrade your mailbox? That one looks excellent. It also looks like it has a side benefit that if someone knocks it down, you can just put it back up unlike a store bought one.

NICE JOB(s)!!!

Your welds look pretty good(some are perfect) but you really need to take the grinder out of hibernation and clean up the spatter and rough looking area's. Flap discs work great for clean up. Think of it as if you had to buy the pieces rather than make them. Would pay good money for something that wasn't cleaned up and had a bunch of spatter and couple rough area's on it? A paint job is only as good as the prep work. Remember Puddles trailer hitch? That's what you need to do before painting. It looks way more professional rather than looking like someone was too lazy to clean up their welds. You can't be a true craftsman if your projects aren't finished. The finished product is your signature. Make it look the best it can. Your designs are really good, just spend 5 or 10 minutes on clean up and they'll look a lot better and you'll be prouder of them.

Typo. It should say, Would you pay good money for something that wasn't cleaned up...

Looking good Lanse. You're turning into quite the fabricator. Those boot scrapers coul be a moneymaking endevour for you if they would ship cheaply enough(flat rate box maybe).

I built my own mailbox a few years ago to contend with the county plow truck. On big wet snows, it would just smash the regular tin ones, shatter the plastic ones, and or break off the 4 x 4 post.

I built mine from 1/8" diamond plate. The door is recessed in the front about an inch to keep the water out. Originally I had this on a 6 x 6 white oak post, but it finally rotted off. I got as creative as I get and wrapped rebar around a piece of 3" pipe to look like vines. Maybe someday I'll even paint them.

Last fall, we got our road repaved with some stimulus money I guess. Part of the project was "upgrading" mailboxes. Most people got their old beat up mailbox and post replaced with a nice shiny new tin box on a 4 x 4. They pulled the old ones and hauled them away, except one. Mine was laying in the front yard when I got home from work. I guess they figured they better not take it. Obviously, I put it back up. Anybody want to buy a tin box on a 4 x 4?

Keep up the good work Lanse.

Jeff

Guy down the street used 10 inch steel pipe with a one inch rebar in the top center and painted it like a cherry bomb. Suspect he was feed up with the base ball bats.

Yours will stand a fare share of ball bats. Post man may lose a finger on the door it not wake.

Possible find an old long chain and weld into the shape you would like for the base. Big "L".

I would not bother with a gasket on the mail box, just mount it tipped forward a little so water will not run to the back.

Dusty

Nice welding. Not so good prep work for paint. But then that's what I do and I don't fab anything.
Are you done with the trailer?
Did you read the thread about big pictures?

Nice work, Lanse. But I feel sorry for the mail carrier, having to raise that heavy lid. A carrier would probably have to open the lid with the same hand that carries the mail--------

Good job!

nice job BUT it is not legal to make a mail box like that. check your postal codes MUST be of brake away material. someone hits it and get hurt YOU are liable our mail carrier will not deliver the mail to a box like that sorry

*rolls eyes* Legal-shmegal.

It will be legal, when it goes up on a wooden 4x4. Thatll break away.

Looks nice Lanse, You should really think about some engineering classes. With your abilities (read talent) and creativeness it might be something you would enjoy. Then you can design your own welding machine, remember someone engineered (and someone improved) the one your useing now. Keep up the good work.

and goes trough the windshield like a bullet!!!think about it is a life worth just a mail box

So how is Lanse's mailbox any more or less of a "deathtrap" than one of those encased in bricks, or one set on a steel I-beam set in concrete? Or how about those other ones encased in 1/4" steel that I've seen and pass every day?

Cheeze...give the guy a freakin' break. He's not out to kill someone with the darn thing. Folks around here are darn tired of teenagers and 20-somethings killing mailboxes with their baseball bats on a drive-by, or kids [and I use the term loosely] blowing the darn things up.

If in doubt, I'm sure he can contact his local postmaster, and if they can't decide together, the PM can call in a postal inspector to "interpret" the law for him, and decide whether the mailbox meets postal regulations.

There are too many pinch points on that mail box.The flag could cut a finger off and the door could crush or cut off a finger.Interesting design but not practical.

Lanse, every thing you build has liabilty issues.When I repair a fence chargers I cant make any changes.Ive built picnic tables for over 50 years.I have make sure they are strong, not tippy had have no hazards built in to them.I see plenty of poorly built tippy tables.I stopped at a road side restaurant with a picnic table in my truck.There were 4 new tables there that were very tippy.I told the owner this and he gave me your legal shmegal reply.A fellow I know well was at my shop and told me he and his wife stopped at that restaurant.They got their food and drinks and went to sit at one of those tables.They sat on the same side and the table tipped.It dumped them on the ground and covered them with food and drinks .He said if they had been hurt there would have been a lawsuit.He said since the owner had been warned the tables were tippy the suit would have been a sure thing for him.Talk to a lawyer about liabilty issues.Most will do it free of charge.Large companies have deep pockets and insurance, you dont..

I AGREE WITH WELDS NEED TO CLEAN YOUR SPLATTER BEFORE PAINTING. I HAVE A BRAND NEW 5000.00 KABOTA LOADER AND IT PISSES ME OFF EVERY TIME I LOOK AT THE WELD SPLATTER ON IT.

Got any bigger pictures? Them ones are hard to see.

You got a lotta imagination, creativity and are turning into a good welder. Dave

Looks good Lanse. Those are the kind of mailboxes everyone in the rural areas need. That way when some punk gets bored with their video games and decides to ride around smashing mailboxes they dislocate both shoulders on ones like these and decide to stay home from then on. I like it!

I just love the safety police!!

Ask a mail carrier if they would put mail in one.

If you make another one, try hinging it at the bottom, and hang the counterweight slightly behind the hinge, under the box. It might take some trial and error, but you should be able to get it where it opens easily and swings back closed without too much force. I agree, I wouldn't want to deliver mail to that box, especially from a vehicle. The swing of the handle/counterweight is way too long to make it anywhere near convenient.

If you do that, perhaps also relieve the bottom half of the tube. That way the top of the door will swing up under it's own little "awning" of sorts.

I like the idea. Work with the postmaster on it, and advertise in American Rifleman and/or Guns and Ammo, and I bet you could sell a bunch.