EZ mailbox

I was trying to keep this a surprise, when my neighbor walked by and asked… “What are you working on?”

“Nothing!” I replied, hoping to conceal the evidence, only to arise my wife's interest.

Trying my hands on something more interesting

Luckily she enthusiastically pronounced the part to be a perfect fit for our mailbox, snatched it, and ran outside.

“Eureka!” I thought. I really had had no plans on what to do with it. 

We all ran out after her.

"What you think of this?!"

Everyone loved the idea. 

Now it was up to me to figure out how to mount it. I wanted it on the mailbox for good, so double-stick tape didn’t sound permanent enough. 

So, I went out and bought an 8-32 threaded rod from Lowes, put it in my CNC mini-lathe and programmed it to cut ¾” sections. I cut four, so that I could make another EZ for the backside of the mailbox.

After drilling and tapping two holes in the strakes and screwing the rod sections in, I set it on my table, looked at it, and started laughing at the tiny Long EZ in the grazing position.

It even kneels like a Long EZ!

I TIG welded the threaded rods to the EZ, painted it white (of course), drilled a couple of holes in the mailbox, and Voila!

"See honey... I told you, I'd eventually use the TIG welder on something useful!" 😁

One gear leg "down and welded", one more to go.

If only flipping an EZ was this EZ 😅

A little sanding, and we were ready for paint.

Strictly white of course, per Rutan instructions.

It was a little like having a fly-in on my dinner table!

Here's the finished mailbox

I used extra nuts on the outside to space it off the mailbox for a more 3D effect.

Back side too, in case the mailman ever looks in the rear view mirror. 😁

I used extra nuts on this side as well

Mailman's view

Let there be no doubt a Long EZ builder/pilot lives here 

This project consumed a couple of days for various reasons, but the plasma cutting portion of it only really took about thirty seconds of that. Regardless, I think the mailbox looks awesome now, and what's more important... the boss agrees. 

"Glow in the dark"?... Why not!