Rural porch pirates: ideas?

   / Rural porch pirates: ideas? #111  
My SIL has a stack of pole mounted bird houses and one has a camera inside that records thru the opening.
I like that idea! Definitely will consider it if I ever feel the need for a security camera. No one ever notices a birdhouse.
I partly blame counties that don't provide for easily disposing of paint,tires,appliances and some other items.
More of a city/town thing around here, but I agree, they don't make it easy to properly dispose of this stuff. I've never gotten a straight answer from anyone on where to get rid of old antifreeze.
 
   / Rural porch pirates: ideas?
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#112  
Our county provides disposal of that sort of stuff, at a rather stiff dump fee. The result is lots of stuff dumped along rural roads. If it is reported the county road crew comes out and picks it up. Still can't figure out how they think it saves money to charge.

Our county sells special orange bags at the grocery stores that you can drop off at the county recycling centers. Some also buy cheap black bags at the hardware store that you can apparently throw out along any county road.
 
   / Rural porch pirates: ideas? #113  
So.... the mailbox pirate struck again last night. (Why? It was one of the coldest nights of the year.)

Whoever it was tried drilling the lock out (no luck), tried prying the door open around the edges (paint chips removed from three sides), and seems to have tried to chisel or hack into the main door itself. (No luck any where, actually. Judging from the damage, not a happy camper.)

My questions are;
a) the original mailbox had a powder coat finish. Any tips on getting paint to adhere well on top of powder coat and hardening the new paint up to be similarly durable?
and
b) any tips on repairing the key way (slot) where they tried to drill? (It is hardened steel.)

Thanks!

All the best,

Peter
 
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   / Rural porch pirates: ideas? #114  
So.... the mailbox pirate struck again last night. (Why? It was one of the coldest nights of the year.)

Whoever it was tried drilling the lock out (no luck), tried prying the door open around the edges (paint chips removed from three sides), and seems to have tried to chisel or hack into the main door itself. (No luck any where, actually. Judging from the damage, not a happy camper.)

My questions are;
a) the original mailbox had a powder coat finish. Any tips on getting paint to adhere well on top of powder coat and hardening the new paint up to be similarly durable?
and
b) any tips on repairing the key way (slot) where they tried to drill? (It is hardened steel.)

Thanks!

All the best,

Peter

What make & model?

Bruce
 
   / Rural porch pirates: ideas? #115  
@bcp Made by Fort Knox Mailboxes in Grant's Pass, OR. Their medium large sized box, with the heavy duty latch and lock.
Not cheap, but built like the proverbial tank.

The thieves hit a couple of mailboxes along the road apparently, but didn't get into either of the two Fort Knox mailboxes.

All the best,

Peter
 
   / Rural porch pirates: ideas? #116  
Thanks.

Lots of mail theft around here. That's why we have a PO box.

Bruce
 
   / Rural porch pirates: ideas? #117  
Need a camera and angle to point it to catch license plate.
Though it seems police have been told to not deal with low value crime in many places.
Ours are really good at chasing them down if they have a picture.

Those fort know mailboxes look pretty tough, sad you require them due to low lifes on the prowl.

I would write Fort Know and ask them how to clean the mailbox up, they might even get you a new lock in trade for your story about how it survived the attack.
 
   / Rural porch pirates: ideas? #118  
Need a camera and angle to point it to catch license plate.
Though it seems police have been told to not deal with low value crime in many places.
Ours are really good at chasing them down if they have a picture.

Those fort know mailboxes look pretty tough, sad you require them due to low lifes on the prowl.

I would write Fort Know and ask them how to clean the mailbox up, they might even get you a new lock in trade for your story about how it survived the attack.
Thanks! I did write them. 😆 I will post what they say.

Given what else was going on in the neighborhood when we moved in, this is nothing, and the other stuff gradually died down as we kept calling it. But we still do have moments, probably because we are close to a large metropolitan area, and low lifes interested in shady activity come our way. What they don't realize is that they stand out, and it gets phoned in quickly. My neighbors have various cell phone equipped cameras that catch all sorts of folks.

All the best,

Peter
 
   / Rural porch pirates: ideas? #119  
@bcp Made by Fort Knox Mailboxes in Grant's Pass, OR. Their medium large sized box, with the heavy duty latch and lock.
Not cheap, but built like the proverbial tank.

The thieves hit a couple of mailboxes along the road apparently, but didn't get into either of the two Fort Knox mailboxes.

All the best,

Peter
1/4 inch steel and 136 lbs. wow. I’d like to see some kid hit one with a baseball bat. That would be a Wyle E Coyote moment. :LOL:
 
   / Rural porch pirates: ideas? #120  
1/4 inch steel and 136 lbs. wow. I’d like to see some kid hit one with a baseball bat. That would be a Wyle E Coyote moment. :LOL:
Yeah, that's kinda why I got this one. The original mailbox was a 1/16" fiberglass mailbox, never damaged in 34 years, but with no security. My neighbor has the version with a fake front door that is welded shut.

I remember one year growing up that a few of the local high schoolers near our farm thought it would be fun to drive around denting and mangling mailboxes with baseball bats. The locals weren't too happy about it, and eventually the problem stopped one day. I heard a rumor, but nobody was willing to spill the beans to me as an outsider. (I wasn't born in the valley to one of the three families.)

I have the current mailbox installed with an axle grabbing ditch on one side and a concrete back axle grabber on the other. BTDT, though not here.

The folks at Fort Knox were very helpful, and said that while they no longer offer my powder coat color, they having matching touch up paint. (In a pen, 2oz bottle, or spray can) All taken care of in minutes. I filed out the divots in the key slot. Looking closely at it in daylight, I think that they tried hammering something pointed into it.

All the best,

Peter
 
 
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