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Posted: 7/22/2001 9:35:23 PM EDT
[#1]
C4 and proximity fuse[}:D]
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Posted: 7/22/2001 9:36:58 PM EDT
[#2]
Get some thick steel and weld your own mail box. Then when they hit it, it will hit back. Either that or go on the hunt. Stake out the mailbox, either with a camera or yourself in cammo, then strike when the time comes. The scare alone will make them stop. If it doesn't call the police.
The final option would be to hire StyerAUG to run mailbox security. |
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Posted: 7/22/2001 9:36:58 PM EDT
[#3]
my landlord solved that problem. He lined his mailbox with a 2 inch think concrete liner. The next little punk that hit it damn near broke his arm.
mike |
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Posted: 7/22/2001 9:38:58 PM EDT
[#4]
Get a really large mail box, and a smaller mail box. Fill the larger mail box with concrete, and place the smaller mail box inside the concrete before it sets (with the mouth exposed of course so mails can go in it....) then mount the whole thing on a sturdy post. When those pricks try to bash the mail box, you will hear (wham!) ouch s*it! (baseball bat falling to the ground) too late lets go! (tire screeching)
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Posted: 7/22/2001 9:40:58 PM EDT
[#5]
Video cameras are real cheap these days.
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Posted: 7/22/2001 9:45:38 PM EDT
[#6]
If their timing/method is consistent you should be able to come up with something without straining yourself. Example: Years ago I had gasoline being siphoned out of a truck I owned. It had a 30 gallon tank and got to be upsetting, to say the least. The gas cap had a black portion to grasp when opening it, and somehow a couple of single edged razor blades came to be affixed with black electrical tape. End of problem. If you are in a rural area, and this only occurs late at night (typical) you might find a vehicle in front of your home with tires flat on the passenger side. Make sure implements are removed before daylight. If the mailbox is being bumped by the vehicle you might want to mount it VERY securely in concrete using a heavy pipe filled with concrete. Makes a big dent in bumper. Might try a "stakeout" if you are highly motivated. Baseball bat stakeouts are boring but effective.
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Posted: 7/22/2001 9:45:43 PM EDT
[#7]
I have thought about the concrete or steel box, but then they would just knock it down and then I would have to sink a damn pole for my box. The trouble with that is if somebody runs off the road and hits it, they might get killed.
I have considered sitting on my roof and blowing out their tires when they go by, but that is something that I would have done when I was younger. I would rather find some very crafty way to get even with them and make sure that they know who did it. |
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Posted: 7/22/2001 9:48:27 PM EDT
[#8]
Sit in some bushes and when they come next throw down some spike strip and then beat the crap out of the little punks. Four blown tires and a broken jaw should offset the price of 12 mailboxes anytime. Teach them a lesson also.
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Posted: 7/22/2001 9:49:25 PM EDT
[#9]
We had a neigbor who had this happen to them when I was a kid. They smashed it, stole it, blew it up with a pipe bomb. He finally bought on designed to survive a nuclear attack. I think it was 1/2 inch steel all the way around on a steel post sunk three feet into cement. It was a pain in the ass but the kids weren't able to do anything to it other than paint obscene pictures on it. If someone is such a dumass as to hit it, they deserve some damage. [:)]
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Posted: 7/22/2001 9:49:41 PM EDT
[#10]
The Police caught the bastards that did mine and my neighbors, made them buy new boxes and replace all damaged ones in our area, it was kind of fun standing there watching them replace them. Justice is rare but it does exist.
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Posted: 7/22/2001 9:55:40 PM EDT
[#11]
Quoted: Justice is rare but it does exist. But revenge is SOOOOO much more satisfying to the soul. [}:D] |
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Posted: 7/22/2001 10:00:30 PM EDT
[#12]
Quoted: But revenge is SOOOOO much more satisfying to the soul. [}:D] There is nothing like the feeling of your antagonist knowing that you are responsible for the pain they are experiencing. |
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Posted: 7/22/2001 10:05:11 PM EDT
[#13]
I like the idea of filling it with cement. My neighbor bought one of the big ones & put a cement block in it... A few days later he found his box dented a little and a ball bat lying on the road next to his box. [:)]
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Posted: 7/22/2001 10:06:39 PM EDT
[#14]
Hide in the bushes with glass jars full of paint. When they pull up aim for the windshield first. Makes it real hard to drive and very hard to explain to dad. A shotgun loaded with rocksalt is also a good companion. I prefer the super mailbox trick but if your woried about some innocent person getting killed by hitting it then your going to have to stake out the box. My last suggestion is probably the best. A paintball gun, non lethal but aim for the people with one of the semi auto guns and it sure will make a mess of the interior. A car w/ green splotches is easier for the police to spot too. Revenge will always make you feel better.
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Posted: 7/22/2001 10:19:42 PM EDT
[#15]
Damned kids!
Somebody in my neighborhood did something similar to what you guys are all talking about, they made the mail box nuke proof but their take on the situation from that point forward was quite unique. Rather than getting the thing more rigidly mounted, they made it so it was less rigid. They made themselves a concrete footing to sing a pole into and then ontop of the pole they welded an car's coil spring, to the top of the coil spring they welded their mail box post, and on top of the post they put their mail box. Any deliberate or severe hit to the mail box made it bounce around like a punching bag but it survived all attacks I ever seen thrown at it. As for my own personal items? For some reason whenever people are jacking with me I always resort to trying to find a way to hot wire the damned things. I suppose on a mail box I'd try to hotwire the galvanized metal so that if they were to touch the stupid thing they'd get a shock, only I'd use the most powerful hotwire setup I could find like what is generally used by ranchers for cattle fences. I find myself wanting to hotwire so many things that investing in a high power system would likely be worth it :) I'd love it if I came out one morning and saw a kid stuck to my mailbox because he put his hands on it and became glued to it due to grounding out the eletrical circuit. |
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Posted: 7/22/2001 10:20:30 PM EDT
[#16]
My take on this is that these are probably good kids, but they need to be taught a lesson. If it turns out that these aren't kids, then a good ole ass whoopin would be in order.
I originally liked the idea of spike strips or paint on the windshield, but I don't really want this to get out of hand and get one of these kids killed. So far I like the idea of taking video or pictures of the kids in action. That should get em busted and then I can watch them put up my new mailbox. |
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Posted: 7/22/2001 10:28:00 PM EDT
[#17]
Quoted: My take on this is that these are probably good kids, but they need to be taught a lesson. So far I like the idea of taking video or pictures of the kids in action. That should get em busted and then I can watch them put up my new mailbox. Somehow the above doesn't square with this: Quoted: . . . Now it is up to about 12 and I am pissed off. I need some suggestions on how to catch, skin, and barbecue these little a**holes. So what'll it be--Dr. Feelgood, aw shucks, they're just good kids out havin' a little fun! or " . . . catch, skin, and barbecue these little a**holes." I'm confused [BD] |
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Posted: 7/22/2001 10:28:35 PM EDT
[#18]
Let Miss Magnum camp out with a flare launcher, she will know what to do.
On a serious note I second the paint ball. A guy I worked with years ago got hassled because he buried a piece of 2" (I think) bar stock and welded his mailbox to it. I didn't help him or anything, he was just a guy that worked at our shop. Turns out the dipshit that was smacking the mailboxes flat out shattered his arm. The guy left our shop not too long after so I don't know the what the outcome eventually was. I know he was hearing the dreaded lawsuit words and I wouldnt want to see that happen to you. |
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Posted: 7/22/2001 10:35:36 PM EDT
[#19]
No kidding, with these lawsuit happy days if they do happen to be kids you can bet that the parents will come right after you if anything should happen to *dear sweet* little Billy.
Hehe, 12 gauge bird bombs being fired wildly over their heads would be pretty interesting. Get a bit of a warzone effect going, bring over a couple buddies and surround them and make them really think that they aren't gonna live through the night. But that might be just a little over the top. |
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Posted: 7/22/2001 10:41:24 PM EDT
[#20]
thebeekeeper1,
I was venting a little. A little thought and discussion has made me think these things through. I really do want to get them, but I live in a rural area and I probably know these kids. I want to teach them a lesson, but a nonlethal lesson. |
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Posted: 7/22/2001 10:59:28 PM EDT
[#21]
Quoted: The Police caught the bastards that did mine and my neighbors, made them buy new boxes and replace all damaged ones in our area, it was kind of fun standing there watching them replace them. Justice is rare but it does exist. Isn't it a federal crime to damage a mailbox? USPC40 ------------------------------------------------- [b][blue]NRA Life Member[/blue][/b] - [url]www.nra.org[/url] [b][blue]GOA Life Member[/blue][/b] - [url]www.gunowners.org[/url] [b][blue]SAF Member[/blue][/b] - [url]www.saf.org[/url] [b][blue]SAS Supporter[/blue][/b] - [url]www.sas-aim.org[/url] [img]www.ar15.com/members/albums/USPC40/alabamaflag.gif[/img] |
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Posted: 7/22/2001 11:54:38 PM EDT
[#22]
Magic, you are wise.
I spent an hour sewing up a kids face last month in the ER. He never told me the whole story, but he had been in the back seat of a car out smashing mailboxes. The kid in the front (probably drunk) had been killed when he got hit in the head with one. It came in through the back seat window and messed up the face of my patient. Not something I would want on my conscience, lawsuit or not. |
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Posted: 7/23/2001 12:50:33 AM EDT
[#23]
"I find myself wanting to hotwire so many things that investing in a high power system would likely be worth it" --uglygun
LMAO [:D] |
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Posted: 7/23/2001 1:17:54 AM EDT
[#24]
Check your local and state laws before you alter your mailbox. Many states and counties/localities have laws stating you can't alter your mailbox in a way that would impart injury to someone. To many kids were getting killed or seriously injured(back in the 80's I think,mail box smashing was really the rage back then, and today to a lesser extent) so the tree huggers pushed for laws safe guarding teenage pranksters. Kids lost arms on a few occassions, no urban legend either. I'd want do something to, but less than leathal or seriously injurous. It's nothing worth maiming or killing someone over. I'd go with video or personal surveillance, if you catch them at it and find out who it is, talk to thier parents if you feel it will do any good (never feared getting the cops called on me as a kid, I feared what my dad might do to me though[:D]) or just turn it over to the police if the parents aren't worth a sh*t.
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Posted: 7/23/2001 2:45:14 AM EDT
[#25]
Remove the issue. Get a P.O. Box. Forget about it.
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Posted: 7/23/2001 2:48:41 AM EDT
[#26]
The idea with the coil spring. That's a good one. I would like to see their faces when they tried to wack that one.
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Posted: 7/23/2001 3:36:39 AM EDT
[#27]
I just had to replace ours because it was smashed up.
Get a 4x4 piece of lumber and sink that into the ground about 6" to 1' away from the mailbox. Make sure it is in deep and use concrete. Put on some reflectors so it is easily seen by cars at night. Make sure you put this on the 'right' side of the mailbox. [:D] This will stop anyone driving by and smashing it with a bat or something. As far as saying it could do damage to cars in an accident. What do you call all those bigger pieces of lumber around the edges of the road? Trees? Yup. PS. That coil spring idea is pretty nifty but think about this... After a few wacks the kids will say cool. Talk to other kids and soon everyone with a baseball bat will be driving by to have 'fun' with your mailbox. |
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Posted: 7/23/2001 3:56:51 AM EDT
[#28]
Dude, The mailbox isn't yours, even if you bought it it belongs to the US postal service. Call the Postal Inspector and tell them about the destruction of federal property. Didn't our Congress-Critters pass a law making destruction of federal property a capital offense?
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Posted: 7/23/2001 4:47:32 AM EDT
[#29]
The Postal authorities will refer you to the local law enforcement agency, who will take your report, then they will tell you they have to catch the box bashers in the act before they can take any further action. That has been my experience.
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Posted: 7/23/2001 5:02:26 AM EDT
[#30]
How about one of these from Cabela's?
[img]http://www.cabelas.com/images/imgcache/2Z853K-2Z853K.jpg[/img] Set up this weatherproof camera system and the motion sensor will fire the camera when something walks by. Fully automatic 35mm camera features time and date setting and auto flash for night photos. Operates 24 hours a day. M. |
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Posted: 7/23/2001 5:03:22 AM EDT
[#31]
...if they're playing "mailbox baseball", from a car, try this.
Get one of those dirt screws(for dog chains), and screw it into the ground about 2 feet in front of the box. Attach piano wire to the screw. Run it straight up to an over-head tree (if there is one), or make an over-head point with a bent, steel pipe. Now you will have a vertical piano-wire line in front of the box. Use turnbuckles to make taught. This aparatus may look odd, but they won't see the line. When they swing at the box they will be surprised to find bloody stumps, where their wrists once were. |
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Posted: 7/23/2001 5:12:56 AM EDT
[#32]
How good are you at creating a fake mail box out of card board or paper mache?
You create the mailbox, paint it silver or what ever color your old mail box was and fill with two or three baggies of automotive brake fluid. When this clowns hit your fake mail box, the bags of brake fluid will burst and you'll be surprised what brake fluid will do the paint of a car. You'll be able to find these kids a mile away. Only problem is you'll probably be sued for damages [B)] |
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Posted: 7/23/2001 5:31:10 AM EDT
[#33]
Do what I do, sit by your box with the ol' trusy 12ga. in hand. Should give them a good scare. [:D]
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Posted: 7/23/2001 5:36:32 AM EDT
[#34]
It would take a little work to develop, but this would be the trick.....
A device that, when stuck from the side, sprays LOTS of paint out the front of the box..... I am writing this in general terms as I dont have the materials in from of me to get specific. Take a super squirter squirt gun, fill with paint (or brake fluid has a nasty habit of removing paint). Affix rubber bands or other pulling devices to pull the trigger back. Stick a blocking device behind the trigger so it is blocked from coming back, but make sure the device can slide out easily(a little grease may be needed). Affix a mousetrap to the inside of your mailbox going vertical up one side. Slide the super squirter in against the other side (gotta make sure there is room for the moustrap to trip). Pump the SS, tie a string to the mousetrap, slide in the SS and tie your string to the device blocking the trigger. Leave the door open. When junior hits the box the trap will spring, the trigger will fall, and the paint will squirt. Now that I think about it, this would best be done with the SS outside the box, say in a tree. This gets rid of many failure scenerios such as the SS being destroyed before it fires or the mousetrap beign pushed against the SS and not fully activating. You should have some idea of what direction they usually go in, so aim just a couple feet down the path of travel from the box. Set your SS and mousetrap in the tree or on the fencpost or even in a hole, and run a tight line from the box to the mousetrap. This will work best if the mousetrap and SS are above the box and the box is mounted loosely so it will come off, letting the wieght of the box activate the device. Test fire once with whatever you plan to spray in a discreet area, theN test fire on site with water before you reload. Gotta be sure the SS will handle whatever fluid you use and what the trajectory will be as compared to water. Then the water on site will test the whole design. The obvious uses with gasoline and road flares involved would be a little overkill for this situation. Lesson in life for today....[b]NEVER PISS OFF A COMBAT ENGINEER![/B] |
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Posted: 7/23/2001 5:47:29 AM EDT
[#35]
Replace your mailbox with one of those new ones made from melted-down plastic 1-gallon milkjugs which attaches to a 4x4 sunk into the ground. Kids can beat it to their little hearts' content down to -20F and IT WILL survive intact. The worst that they can do to it is yank the redflag off anf THAT takes some effort. Go to most any home improvement place and you'll see 'em.
You could use something other than a wooden 4x4 (steel I-beam comes to mind), but you would probably be breaking some local ordinance by doing it... |
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Posted: 7/23/2001 5:54:07 AM EDT
[#36]
Quoted: thebeekeeper1, I was venting a little. A little thought and discussion has made me think these things through. I really do want to get them, but I live in a rural area and I probably know these kids. I want to teach them a lesson, but a nonlethal lesson. |
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Posted: 7/23/2001 6:17:40 AM EDT
[#37]
I have the same issue as Magic, but they are so irregular in their attacks, I'd have to live in the front yard for months at a time in order to have a chance to catch them.
I did stumble on a relatively effective (though unintended) mailbox design to minimize the frustration. I bought the plastic Tupperware mailbox from Wally World. It has a plate that mounts to the top of your post, and the box itself snaps down on the plate. If it's struck by something like a bat from a moving car, it'll pop right off the plate. Since the box is high impact pastic, all I've had to to is pick the box up and snap it back on. I went through 3 standard metal boxes before I picked up the current box at Walmart. It's been knocked down 3 times since, but I haven't had to replace the box yet and it still looks and works like new. My neighbor has had to replace his on two occasions and his current box looks like it was hit by a truck. I would love to catch the punks, but my mailbox is something like 100-125 yards from my house and they strike at times when I'm either watching TV at the back of the house, minimizing the likelyhood of me hearing them, or when I'm asleep. The stakeout is the only real chance to catch them in the act, but since they've spread their attacks to 6 or so over 18 months, it's not really feasible. |
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Posted: 7/23/2001 7:18:23 AM EDT
[#38]
Originally Posted By Major Murphy: ...if they're playing "mailbox baseball", from a car, try this. Get one of those dirt screws(for dog chains), and screw it into the ground about 2 feet in front of the box. Attach piano wire to the screw. Run it straight up to an over-head tree (if there is one), or make an over-head point with a bent, steel pipe. Now you will have a vertical piano-wire line in front of the box. Use turnbuckles to make taught. This aparatus may look odd, but they won't see the line. When they swing at the box they will be surprised to find bloody stumps, where their wrists once were. [}:)]I guess it IS a war, isn't it? |
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Posted: 7/23/2001 8:47:30 AM EDT
[#39]
The camera gadget is the right idea, but there is a less expensive way. Get a battery, a mercury switch, and a flashbulb. Rig it so the flashbulb goes off if the mailbox is disturbed. Just make sure to disable it for the mailman. You should only need it once if the same punks are hitting your mailbox.
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Posted: 7/23/2001 9:09:23 AM EDT
[#40]
a neighbor of mine (back home/small town) had the MB problem. he watched one saturday night, and figured out who was responsible. he bought 16 mail-boxes on sunday, waited until after mid-night, (school-night) and went over to the punk's house - he smashed the rear window of his prized-low-rider honda, and filled the interior of the car with the mail-boxes! we laughed imagining the kid's face when it was time to drive to school, but he had no rear window, and had to empty all 16 mail-boxes onto his mother's driveway, no doubt raising an eyebrow! NEVER had a problem of any kind again! [:)]
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Posted: 7/23/2001 9:46:10 AM EDT
[#41]
Quoted: The final option would be to hire StyerAUG to run mailbox security. Ya got a real big bad fish here. I can bag this fish for ya. But it won't be cheap..... |
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Posted: 7/23/2001 9:46:18 AM EDT
[#42]
Originally Posted By David M: Remove the issue. Get a P.O. Box. Forget about it. That's no fun. |
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Posted: 7/23/2001 9:48:32 AM EDT
[#43]
Quoted: Quoted: The final option would be to hire StyerAUG to run mailbox security. Ya got a real big bad fish here. I can bag this fish for ya. But it won't be cheap..... I bet the poor sucker that crosses you won't break any laws after that. |
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Posted: 7/23/2001 9:52:49 AM EDT
[#44]
Quoted: Get a really large mail box, and a smaller mail box. Fill the larger mail box with concrete, and place the smaller mail box inside the concrete before it sets (with the mouth exposed of course so mails can go in it....) then mount the whole thing on a sturdy post. When those pricks try to bash the mail box, you will hear (wham!) ouch s*it! (baseball bat falling to the ground) too late lets go! (tire screeching) And I thought I was the smart on here - beat me to it, pretty much word for word. |
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Posted: 7/23/2001 10:09:37 AM EDT
[#45]
Most likely these kids are drunk. Make a potatoe gun out of PVC pipe and fill it with a potatoe soaked in brake fluid. Shoot the car as they are in the act right on the side where everyone can see the messed up paint. If you do not know what a potatoe gun is just ask, I have a good design that will send a Golf Ball out of sight.
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Posted: 7/23/2001 10:55:14 AM EDT
[#46]
Quoted: Most likely these kids are drunk. Make a potatoe gun out of PVC pipe and fill it with a potatoe soaked in brake fluid. Shoot the car as they are in the act right on the side where everyone can see the messed up paint. If you do not know what a potatoe gun is just ask, I have a good design that will send a Golf Ball out of sight. In some states, Mr. Quail; [b]potato[/b] guns are a felony including Washington. |
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Posted: 7/23/2001 11:04:54 AM EDT
[#47]
I am impressed by the resourcefulness of the members of this board. I was leaning heavily towards the meteorite, but now I have many good ideas to choose from. Well maybe not the piano wire.[:\]
I am going to get pictures if I can. They seem to attack on Friday or Saturday night in the wee hours of the morning, so I shouldn't have to spend a lot of time staking out the box. I am going to do something else too, but I haven't decided what yet. Meteorite or potato gun? Maybe both. cheeks, send me that design for the potato gun. |
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Posted: 7/23/2001 11:07:24 AM EDT
[#48]
Dude, go with the piano-wire. [:)]
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Posted: 7/23/2001 11:10:24 AM EDT
[#49]
SteyrAUG,
How much would you charge to "bag this fish"? |
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Posted: 7/23/2001 11:23:54 AM EDT
[#50]
I had the same problem years ago. I bought a new mailbox to rob the hardware from and built a heavy metal box with the same dimensions as the new one.Once painted silver with new hardware, it looked great. I mounted it on a 3 foot long swing arm and a new post 3 feet back off the road, in case someone did hit it with a car. I only had to touch up the chipped paint one time. A real plus in the winter, I could push it out of the way for the snowplow.
Fred |
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