Thread: Letterbox

Very 'Aussie' looking

Looks great custos. Gives me insperation to make a new letterbox for myself.

Vasco

Nice looking

Nothing like the ones you see in New York:eek:

Originally Posted by junkboy999

Nice looking

Nothing like the ones you see in New York:eek:

:eek: Very welcoming!

Originally Posted by custos

SHMBO was after an "Aussie outback" type of design...

It looks too good. I'd recommend a rapid ageing process:

1. Pour vinegar all over it, and let dry to age the colour.
2. Spray with leftover water from cooking rice, to encourage growth of moss, moulds and lichens.
3. Apply sand to roof, rub down with coarse steel wool: allow to rust.
4. Bash it with a bunch of old keys, nails, chain, etc.

Then it'll look like something from the outback:eek:

Seriously: well done on a nicely executed, original design.

Brings back memories of the one and only project my dad did in wood 35 years ago on our farm where he made for us a wonderful letterbox that looked like a house - lasted three days before someone stole it. He then replaced it with a real outback letterbox - cut open 5 gallon can - that lasted decades. Nice touch though Custos - hope it is well anchored into the ground . This is more a question than a "are you sure?" - but cyprus pine into the ground (concrete or otherwise) is that a durable option?

Very nice.. something to be proud of.

Love the New York one, imagine that in Aus

Cheers
Wayne

Originally Posted by TEEJAY

Nice touch though Custos - hope it is well anchored into the ground . This is more a question than a "are you sure?" - but cyprus pine into the ground (concrete or otherwise) is that a durable option?

Cyprus Pine is a pretty common material for posts, e.g. for decking and the like. It has natural termite resistance. It's much harder and denser than radiata pine, which can only be used in-ground with treatment such as CCA (while it's still legal).

Nice work Custos. I like the corro iron on the top.

A coupple of questions - how did you cut the iron for the top?

When I was making a letterbox, I thought of doing the same kind of thing. But I was really concerned about sharp edges on the iron and the chance of someone (like the postie) cutting themselves badly on it. Did you use a little rubber strip around the edge or something?

Trav

I cut it with tin snips.. an absolute **** of a job. The little corrugations are really hard to cut across. It had pretty sharp edges at first so I filed them down. Probably not even necessary -- when you cut colourbond it starts out sharpish but after a little while the edge just goes dull. I cut some for a chook shed roof once that started out like a razor but within a week or so the edge was as dull as a steel ruler. Aluminium is the same. I guess the sharp edge rusts smooth in the weather?

Definately a Oz style, I likes it!

Good one Custos. Dovetails on the letterbox - that'll tell 'em a woodworker lives here.