How To Turn Your Mailbox Into A Star Wars Death Star

• One old spherical pressure tank, which you should be able to get at no cost from a pump repairer
• Scrap steel, which is another item the DIY’er says you should be able to find for free
• One hinge
• Rubber sheet to seal the door
• One magnet, to hold the door shut
• All purpose glue to adhere the rubber

Tools

• Personal Safety gear
• Spanners
• Welder
• Angle Grinder
• Flap discs to remove paint and preparing surfaces for welding
• Grinding and cutting discs
• Plasma Cutter
• Pens for Marking
• Compasses, Square, Ruler, etc.
• String line

Step 1

Prepare the tank by removing the flange that attaches the plumbing. You’ll also want to pull the rubber bladder out.

“Using a flap disc on your angle grinder remove the paint and any obvious rust,” the project creator, Australian Cameron Bell, advises in his Instructables tutorial.

Step 2

Mark out all of the” “Star Wars” features. Bell suggests searching the internet for the proper dimensions of a Death Star. Then calculate the proper proportions — you definitely want to make sure you get the “Super Laser Focus Port” and “Equatorial Trench” just right.

The next step is to cut into the steel trenches using a cutting disc on an angle grinder.

You’ll then want to add in the Super Laser Focus Lens. Bell said that all he used for this is a cone made from steel. By creating the cone just as you would with paper, he was able to achieve the perfect shape before welding it onto the tank.

Step 3

Now it’s time to add the door and mail slot. Using a hinge welded to the side of the tank, a rectangle was cut right below it to form the door.

To provide a weather seal and prevent the door from closing too far, rubber strips were glued to the inside of the Death Star around the door opening.  “To hold the door closed I glued a strong magnet to the inside to the lower rubber strip,” Bell said. You’ll use the door to retrieve your mail.

The next thing you’ll want to add is the mail slot. “My letter slot is a simple horizontal slot cut in with the angle grinder. It is protected by a little roof [one we’re guessing he welded from scrap metal] to prevent the rain from entering.”

Step 4

And of course, since the Death Star can’t be in orbit, it will need support from a post. Bell used a metal bracket welded to a steel pipe to support them mailbox.

While Bell didn’t mention it in his Instructables tutorial, your Death Star will clearly also need a coat of black paint. Be sure to find one that adheres to metal.

And at last, the finished project.

Just make sure you read the full tutorial before you jump in your car in search for the perfect pressure tank, because you’ll definitely need some basic metal-working knowledge.

Welding or DIY not exactly your bag? You can always contact the creator via his Etsy shop to see if he’ll make one for you! He also made an awesome Darth Vader stove, if the Death Star mailbox isn’t enough for you.