Concrete mailbox vs Honda Civic

Prefer old coots. When you ask them about a product, they have probably used it and can tell you if it's any good or not.

Ask the young guy and he takes the product off the shelf and reads the label to you.

I think I'm identifying with Ron Swanson more and more these days.

NermalSnert (Forum Supporter) said:

Re: ACE, I can look and act like a old curmudgeon and get them to fade back into the woodwork if they don't catch the first hint or two.

There are two types of Ace hardware customer. The type that generally knows what they need and how to deal with it, at least a basic mechanical knowledge, might need some guidance from a mean ol cuss that's doing Ace instead of sitting at home.

Then there's the one that expects the $12 an hour employee to be a fully licensed electrician, plumber, pipe fitter, mechanic, painter, and whatever else. They're starting to tread more and more to the latter. I used to say it's DIY not MDIFY. 

I don't work there anymore. 

Around here, the Ace stores are the ones with less than useful employees. True Value is the one with coots. And our local mall drove Sutherlands out of town ("we won't renew your lease because maybe we'll be able to get a high end restaurant like a Cracker Barrel!", then they got five years of Spirit Halloween and counting) which I really miss.

In reply to Keith Tanner :

Ace is all Co-op, there are no corporate stores, so it's all down to ownership for how the employees end up. My former employer is legendarily bad, to the point his own daughter hates working for him. Now the Ace closest to me in Longwood is fantastic. Much smaller store, but the employees are those coots you speak of. They know their E36 M3. My old store lucked into a couple people that had their E36 M3 together, but they actively tried to hire the dumbest people possible (seriously. I saw them deny applications for actual qualified people because they were too good and wouldn't want to keep working there). Their current longest tenured employee is one they should have fired for theft- he's been caught selling their E36 M3 at the flea market and eBay. Twice. But- he's basically a slave and they know it, so they abuse the privilege. 

TLDR- E36 M3 owners=E36 M3 employees. 

An update to the thread I'm sure everyone enjoyed in 2023...

After about 1.5yrs of the mailman yanking on the door of the mailbox, apparently the metal spike/wood post combo had issues.  I assumed the spike in the ground had worked itself loose, so my plan was to remove the plastic sleeve from the post, take everything off & reset the whole deal about 1' over and make a base around it.

But when I removed the plastic sleeve, the wooden post came right out.  The spike in the ground was quite solid!  Hm, same basic idea but now with a hiccup.  I started to drill holes in the other end of the post to try to match the L-shaped spike in the ground, until I realized I could rotate the post 180 degrees and drive it back onto the spike again.

So I did that.  Used the level and made sure it was straight both left/right and forward/back.  Ok, time to build some sort of base to try to keep it more sturdy this time.  My ex girlfriend had left a crapload of pavers from a project she never attempted & I figured I could build a base around the post & fill with something.  I bought a bag of small rocks at Home Depot & thought that would work.

But when I started gathering the big pavers I found a pile of smaller ones that had a round bit on either side, and that lets you make curved things easily.  I already had a load of big ones out front, so I made a single base layer with the big ones, and figured out how many I needed to make a decent circle, both large and small pavers.  Then I brought out more smaller ones.

I quickly surmised that one bag of rocks wouldn't cut it.  Quick trip to HD again, I thought I needed two more so I bought three.  Only $5 each and I was glad I did.

I also realized I could fit a couple larger stones against the post and might help brace it better, with the rocks packed around them.  So I added a few front and back, then started scooping rocks into the pit I created.  Again, glad I went with an extra bag, it seemed perfect.

Finished product.  It almost looks decorative, better than I expected.  I was merely going for function, trying to brace the post from the beginning.  One last bit, I figured if I made the box easier to open it would help.  So I used a razor blade to trim off one tab on the right side of the door, and took sandpaper to the tab on the left.  It takes a tiny bit of effort, but not much, and the door stays closed otherwise.  (I wish it hinged from the top.)

Nice job!

Needs a ramp on the far side so the next Honda can get some real air!

Epilogue.  When I went to get the mail after work (and rescuing SWMBO & kiddo on the side of the road with a flat but that's a different story), the door was basically falling open.  Huh, Sunday it was fairly snug, now I guess I took too much off.  Hm, maybe a small piece of Velcro felt to wedge it a little or something.

Elastic cord from the wall to the door?  Squeeze the box walls outboard, or the door lips inward slightly.