I have a young spider plant in a plastic 6" pot. I realize that the plant will grow and have to be transferred into a larger pot. I want a blacksmith to make me a custom hanging hook for this plant. He is not sure whether to use 1/2" iron stock or 3/8". Does anyone have any idea as to how much a mature spider plant would weigh, pot and all, and how much weight a forged iron hook could support? Thank you!!!!

ewalk, what is 130 degrees F relevant to? An air/propane torch produces a flame temp of approximately 3600 degrees F which is certainly hot enough if the torch tip is capable of flowing enough gas to deliver sufficient btus of energy for the size metal you are working. If propane doesn't work you might try Mapp. A friend of mine built a forge using a steel truck wheel with a metal trash can over it, charcoal, and a blow dryer for forced induction to heat some metal that he was working. I didn't see it in action but he reports that it worked. Guess you won't know unless you try. I figure it's your Mantis, you can do whatever you want to it.

I love working with hot metal. It a new form of metal fabricating I just started. Kevin - I make a template welded to some scrap flat sheet stock to form my repeated curves or radius. I heat my stock using a coal forge and clamp one end and pound or bend the material into place. I can use the horn on the anvil also. I do have a hand bender with different diameter round dies to for small rounds. Pooh Bear - I made a special tool I mount on my anvil which I use to bound the vains on my leafs. It is a "C" shaped punching tool with a punch that looks like a curved chisel. I hold the red hot stock with tongs and hit the spring return "chisel" to form the vains on the leaf. The "grapes" I make by resistance welding a wire to ball bearings. I mig weld the 1/32 diameter curled wire and the leaves to the 1/8 diameter stem which gets welded to the frame. I will post some more pictures of my tools and me working on the hot metal in the future.

Hi Redcurls, Sears had 370 designs of kit homes. That's 370 different houses that were offered in their 32 years in the kit home business. When I decided that Sears Homes would be my life (and they were for a long time), I purposefully decided memorize each of those 370 houses. I have a good memory. :) So now, I can drive the streets of different neighborhoods and pick the houses out. In fact, after a time I got bored with the 370 houses so I started memorizing kit homes offered by other companies, such as Aladdin Kit Homes, Gordon Van Tine, Lewis Manufacturing, Montgomery Ward, etc. I got several hundred houses memorized now. It's a whole lot of fun! I don't have a street name in Norwood. It's written down in my notes and those notes are packed away, but I can tell you to look for Rodessas, Cornells and Gladstones. Those were the three housing designs we saw on that one street and those three houses are fairly distinctive. If you just memorize those three houses, you'll find the streets I'm talking about in Norwood. Look at the link below to see a picture of the Rodessa. That front porch roofline is VERY distinctive, as are the oversized eaves and the way they terminate at the back of the house. Those are the kind of details you need to look for. Search "Cornell" at my website (see link below) and you'll see photos of the Cornell. Ditto for "Gladstone." As I said, memorize those three designs and you'll find that street in Norwood. And yes, you're right about Norwood Sash and Door. :) Rose Here is a link that might be useful: Scroll down to bottom to see photo of Rodessa