A quest for the better box !

Those seal top plastic bags aren't really waterproof I agree

and there is no perfect container....that I've ever seen..Though old ammo
boxes were great if a bit bulky ! Strangely the oldest of biscuit tins
(big old things you could keep 33 rpm LP's in) are watertight if not
bashed about..I know cos I found a letterbox in one !

I've often wondered if those pneumatic tube containers...those things that
they used to use in all big stores (before Malls) and in banks and places
like that ..which whooshed about in long tubes...
Does anyone remember them..(Dan and I spoke of them ...er a year ago it
seems...)

There were two types I can recall ..one which opened by rotating the tube
so two cylinders moved one within the other...and allowed entry when out
of phase with each other..(I cant help it I have a scientific
education..pity me !) But the other type had big fat tops of plastic
material which had to be unscrewed...

Now I guess these were the nearest thing in size and durability and
perhaps even water tightness...

But they were in my memory..only....a local hospital junked theirs some
while ago..and went over to some new fangled computer stuff ! and I
went just too late to retrieve em all..they'd gone to a landfill !

Now there must be tubes like this...somewhere ?

I use tuppeware..its a bit bulky but it holds a nice size book 4 x 5 ( 4
" wide) and a good size stamp and post cards and all sorts..even little
gifts for first finders...and a silica gel bag..oh I am hopeful !

Others on the Moors us Pill Pots ...those that Pharmacists (Druggists) use
to dispense from...some of these are for 500 - 1000 pills and are about 3
x 4 and have snap tops...they are free because your druggists just throws
em out...you just have to ask nicely and wash out traces of whatever dust
is left...be careful !!!!

They are a bit small for me and the biggest I can find sold by the
manufacturer ..are cheap..but are still too small...

So ...I was told by a L-USA member that "in the USA you can get everything
your heart desires".
...(I wanted then the poster with the world's largest ketchup bottle on
it..Yep I got it )

Now I've tried and tried...to get a nice letterbox pot !

For me my ideal is a 4 and a half inch square cross section, thick but
flexible plastic jar with a round screw lid say 4 and a quarter inch mouth
..allows a quarter inch for a tight long thread, the cap must have a nice
( rubber ? ) seal like those glass jars my ma used to preserve plums (were
they Kilner Jars ?) They must be be watertight !, and be about 5 and a
half inches to six inches high...be opaque..say brown or green...and be
tough enough to withstand knocks and the wet and the cold..

Oh yes and cost about 50c each...

Anybody seen anything like that..?

I'll have about 50 please !

I'll even pay extra for postage

Graham Howard !


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So far the rubbermaid containers have worked for me through a
typically messy Wisconsin winter, but I did notice that one of them
does not seal properly. (Or as properly as I think it should, which
is really what counts!) The ziplock bags do provide adequate
protection though, and I haven't noticed any "decay" yet. Still, I
also wish there were something a little more reliable like a screw-on
cap (cylindrical) on a rubbermaid sandwich container (rectangular).
As you can see, geometrically, we have a bit of a problem. However...
and I haven't tried this yet, just brainstorming, what about one of
those beverage containers? They have screw-on caps, and are
rectangular. Is the circular opening a problem? I don't know. Like
I said, just a thought.

Or better yet, a THERMOS! It keeps hot stamps hot, and cold stamps
cold!

Steven
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Waterproof ship flare containers are pretty good.

Charles

-----Original Message-----
From: Graham Howard
To: letterbox-usa@egroups.com
Date: 20 March 1999 09:24
Subject: [L-USA] Re: Containers


>A quest for the better box !
>
>Those seal top plastic bags aren't really waterproof I agree
>
>and there is no perfect container....that I've ever seen..Though old ammo
>boxes were great if a bit bulky ! Strangely the oldest of biscuit tins
>(big old things you could keep 33 rpm LP's in) are watertight if not
>bashed about..I know cos I found a letterbox in one !
>
>I've often wondered if those pneumatic tube containers...those things that
>they used to use in all big stores (before Malls) and in banks and places
>like that ..which whooshed about in long tubes...
>Does anyone remember them..(Dan and I spoke of them ...er a year ago it
>seems...)
>
>There were two types I can recall ..one which opened by rotating the tube
>so two cylinders moved one within the other...and allowed entry when out
>of phase with each other..(I cant help it I have a scientific
>education..pity me !) But the other type had big fat tops of plastic
>material which had to be unscrewed...
>
>Now I guess these were the nearest thing in size and durability and
>perhaps even water tightness...
>
>But they were in my memory..only....a local hospital junked theirs some
>while ago..and went over to some new fangled computer stuff ! and I
>went just too late to retrieve em all..they'd gone to a landfill !
>
>Now there must be tubes like this...somewhere ?
>
>I use tuppeware..its a bit bulky but it holds a nice size book 4 x 5 ( 4
>" wide) and a good size stamp and post cards and all sorts..even little
>gifts for first finders...and a silica gel bag..oh I am hopeful !
>
>Others on the Moors us Pill Pots ...those that Pharmacists (Druggists) use
>to dispense from...some of these are for 500 - 1000 pills and are about 3
>x 4 and have snap tops...they are free because your druggists just throws
>em out...you just have to ask nicely and wash out traces of whatever dust
>is left...be careful !!!!
>
>They are a bit small for me and the biggest I can find sold by the
>manufacturer ..are cheap..but are still too small...
>
>So ...I was told by a L-USA member that "in the USA you can get everything
>your heart desires".
>...(I wanted then the poster with the world's largest ketchup bottle on
>it..Yep I got it )
>
>Now I've tried and tried...to get a nice letterbox pot !
>
>For me my ideal is a 4 and a half inch square cross section, thick but
>flexible plastic jar with a round screw lid say 4 and a quarter inch mouth
>..allows a quarter inch for a tight long thread, the cap must have a nice
>( rubber ? ) seal like those glass jars my ma used to preserve plums (were
>they Kilner Jars ?) They must be be watertight !, and be about 5 and a
>half inches to six inches high...be opaque..say brown or green...and be
>tough enough to withstand knocks and the wet and the cold..
>
>Oh yes and cost about 50c each...
>
>Anybody seen anything like that..?
>
>I'll have about 50 please !
>
>I'll even pay extra for postage
>
>Graham Howard !
>
>
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>
>


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Just found the smallest rectangular Lock & Lock containers at Big Lots for $ .39 yesterday. They are guaranteed waterproof and have a silicone seal. The one I was in had a ton of them. They also had a longish one that looked as if it might hold celery sticks or something. That one was $1.49.
Memlili


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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

On our road trip last summer we found some great containers at a war surplus store in Idaho. This store had hundreds of them and unfortunately we only bought 12. The size is perfect and they come with a lid attached with some webbing. Look for "Decon" boxes. They are already olive drab and completely water tight if the lid is put back on properly. Cost at that store $1.00. We have found other stores selling them for $2.00.
Don

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

I will second that. I recently came across them in a surplus
store...Very nice

C. latrans

--- In letterbox-usa@yahoogroups.com, "Gwen and Don
Jackson" wrote:
> On our road trip last summer we found some great containers
at a war surplus store in Idaho. This store had hundreds of them
and unfortunately we only bought 12. The size is perfect and they
come with a lid attached with some webbing. Look for "Decon"
boxes. They are already olive drab and completely water tight if
the lid is put back on properly. Cost at that store $1.00. We have
found other stores selling them for $2.00.
> Don
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]