A Modified Mailbox

Here it is, gang, my as-yet only slightly modified mailbox. This handle was made to replace the crummy injection-molded plastic one that barely lasted 2 years. I probably could have bent up a replacement out of thin flatstock and had it installed in a day, but I got on a roll. This one only took me something like a year to organize and an hour or two to make...

Photo #1: Here's a shot of the whole sorry mess. No sooner had I finished the handle then the flag assembly disintegrated. This will take a while more to set to rights; details in a future installment...
Photo #2: Close-up of the new aluminum handle. I eased the edges of the pulls with a radius cutting tool that was mounted in a boring head. The finished handle is 5/8in. thick and sticks out about 2in. As it turns out it's so heavy I'd have to add a cord to keep the door from flopping down in a strong breeze, were it not for the fact that the whole thing is bent enough so that closing the door requires a good bang with a clenched fist.

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