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Mail Call [1]
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Date: 2023-09-24
We’ve been living here for better than four years now, and I’ve finally got around to making a decent mailbox post. When we first moved in, things were kind of busy and I just slapped up something that sort of worked.
Well, a week or so ago, I did something about that. I went to the local building supply store and got two eight foot 4X4’s. $20.00 each, holy crap..
I decided I’d make this without using any power tools. A hand saw, a chisel, a mallet, two hand planes, a screwdriver, an egg beater drill, and some sandpaper did the job. I don’t think it really took much more work than modern methods, and my risk of injury was lower, so there’s that.
There was no expert joinery involved in this project. For the crosspiece and post, I just cut square notches in each piece so that they fit together more or less flush.
It didn’t really need it for structural support, but I added an angled section for cosmetic reasons.
Laying it out.
I figured hey, if I’m going to make something that’s going to have my address on it, I should probably class it up a little. In that spirit, I cut some chamfers on the top of the post and added a couple of angle cuts to the crossbar. No craftsmanship spared here, for sure.
Getting there. Behold those beautifully aligned screws. Where’s that damn beer?
These were construction-grade 4X4’s, so the surfaces were pretty rough. I filled in the bigger gaps, screw heads, splinters, etc. with some wood putty, then went at it with a big-ass No. 7 jointer plane to get it flat. I finished things off with a smaller smoothing plane. Finally, I sanded it down and put a couple coats of wood stain on it.
Durban Poison in the background there. Buds are fat and frosty. Harvest time in two weeks!
And here it is, ready for installation. I don’t have a pic of it in place, but believe me, it’s the best looking mailbox post in the whole row.
There’s that beer!
My garage knotty pine paneling project is finished at last! Took about a year and a half to complete. Next thing was to put in a ceiling-mounted shelf to hold the inflatable water toys, life vests, etc. A pretty basic job, but it did involve a ladder. I hate ladders. You can fall off those things! I managed to get it installed without any self-harm, though. This time..
Next time, I’m paying a guy to do this..
We’re getting the latest Covid booster next week. Stay safe, everyone!
-ER
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