I got so sick of cleaning my mixer, and generlaly fooling around getting the consistency of the mix "just right" and then fishing it all out of there, that now I just put the dry ingredients in it, let them chug around for 15 minutes (or longer if I'm doing something else), then pour them dry into a mortar tub and hand mix in the water. Works fine for smallish amounts. Actually, it saves time, and it's easy to get the hypertufa the consistency I want the first time.

I dont remember all the info that is in the thread above, but what I am doing now is adding 1 cup of straight battery acid to almost one gallon of water (using a non-reacitve plastic funnel), then filling it to the top with water. By the time its been diluted that much, topping off the gallon with water is not dangerous. Depending on how much tap water is in the garbage can, I add about 3 cups of this to a 2/3 full garbage can, then test the well-mixed water with acid indicator paper. I use an old oar that I got at a yard sale to mix. This garbage can has a leak near the top so I'm planning on getting a new one so the amount added will be very uniform. Every time I also add 4 measuring tablespoons of ammonium sulfate or -less frequently- a combo with miracle grow, etc to each garbage can of water. No leaf burn what-so-ever. Just nice, well-formed green leaves and actively growing plants. (my apologies if I am repeating myself - I dont remember what I have written where.) I am using an old vinegar plastic gallon bottle with a non-reactive plastic lid for this stock solution. It is stronger than a gallon water bottle. I do not allow it to be exposed to the sun since these sorts of plastic bottles will break down in the sun. Glass would be good too, but I dont like the idea of something breaking outside. I also have 2 sturdy PETE (# 1) clear plastic cranberry juice gallon bottles from costco that I am going to use too. I'm planning on mixing several stock bottles at once so I dont have to do it too often. I water my full-sun blues in pots (with mulch) about every other day thru the summer. Less in winter, daily if over 90 and/or windy, but that is rare. On infrequent occasions when they need water, and I'm in a rush, I will use tap water from the hose. My plants are absolutely thriving on this treatment by the way. Other than using a potentially dangerous chemical, I have no regrets about this technique at all. Just make sure if you use a strong acid such as this, that you follow the directions on the package, never add water to straight acid, wear protetive clothes and eyewear, do it outside, etc etc.

Since I own a glass company (33 years) and we also install shower doors, I'm very familiar with methods of drilling all sorts of vitrified or hard material, including glass, ceramic, granite, and pots. I too use tableware for pots. For drilling semi-hard material, the 3-point/spear point bits are far superior to and faster than masonry bits. If the material I'm drilling is relatively soft, like terra cotta or glazed clay, I generally use water as the coolant. I either submerge the pot I'm drilling in a larger plastic tub so the drilling surface is just beneath the water (no need to stop drilling periodically, the object/tool interface won't heat up using this method). Alternately, I'll fill a contact lens solution bottle with water and apply a slow, continuous stream of water to the cutting tool interface area. For harder material, a 50/50 mix of antifreeze and water, or just turpentine, are among the best coolants likely to be handy and will add life to your cutting tool. For extremely hard and/or thick material, I'll use a with water as the lubricant - glass, granite, highly vitrified pottery. Though I have a drill press at home, and several at work, we/I usually prefer a battery operated 18V drill such as that made by Milwaukee, DeWalt ...... for drilling. Pressure isn't important as you should be letting the tool do the work. I also make sure the hammer function is out of play as it increases the odds of fracture significantly. BTW - there is no advantage in having more than 1 drain hole insofar as the end result is concerned. Good 'drainage' is a function of soil choice, not the number or size of drain holes. 1 unclogged drain hole at the lowest part of the pot is as effective as 100, The only advantage in having more drain holes would be if we got some degree of satisfaction from seeing the pot drain in 30 seconds instead of 45; the plant won't care. Al

clg, I'm sorry--I meant a random orbit sander. We have one that is one of my best remodeling friends :) I used some 60 paper on it to sand down thinset bit by bit to get to the wires. You'll want to have a shopvac handy, the windows open, and to wash your hair after you're done, unless you like the statuary coiffure look :) (kind of fun to play with before you shower, though :)) weedyacres, I had *planned* to remove the grout with a dremel, but there were some coping saw blades lying around and I picked one up to do something else and found myself using them on the grout, just fine. The tiles are 8.5x17, so I had 17" groutlines to slice away into. Then I cut canals in the tile with a 4.5" angle grinder, another one of my remodeling best friends (although I have a love/hate relationship with it at this point). Not all the way through, just most of the way down. When I whacked the tile with the hammer, the tile (very hard throughbody porcelain) just cracked up, not necessarily along the canals specifically, but much more than it had pre-canal. YOu really want to make sure you do the groutlines before you whack, though, so the impact doesn't transfer over to any neighboring tiles you want to keep in.