Hi everyone,
I want to thank everyone who provided useful suggestions regarding sources for 1/4 inch hardware mesh, a number of you provided a variety of options. I really do appreciate everyone taking the time to contribute suggestions and I forwarded the information on to the member who is in need of it. He emailed back asking me to thank the contributors and indicated that he went with the stainless steel option provided by Ben Carter.
In regards to Adrian's comments regarding that my original inquiry for a source for mesh/hardware cloth suitable for archaeological purposes "might be seen as slightly racist", I will just simply state that I find them at best absurd and unhelpful. I don't take the comments personally as we've never been in contact before and it appears that Adrian was simply trying to solicit a discussion apparently on economic/product quality trends somehow related to archaeological endeavors as far as I can gather. I'm fairly new to the Histarch Listserv, but I would just make a friendly suggestion that before making a statement that is potentially inflammatory (in this case a suggestion of racism), my advice would be to ask for clarification on that specific point. In my opinion, relating a personal experience that in part regards a single product from a country purportedly with a 7 trillion dollar economy is hardly a statement/referendum on the people who
live there, economic/technological capability, etc and was never meant to be either explicitly or implicitly. Obviously, unwoven hardware mesh is hardly the first and/or only Chinese made product that I've owned - like many of you I have lots of products made in China ranging from expedient to "apex" technology and most seem to serve my needs just fine. If anyone else has concerns that my original posting was intended as anything other than a simple, innocuous inquiry regarding sources of hardware mesh suitable for archaeological purposes and a brief outline of my previous experiences to acquire a suitable product, please feel free to contact me directly as I would rather not tie up everyone's time reading through a page long explanation on what I consider the obvious (as several of you seemed to also indicate in your replies).
Thanks again everyone for all who provided suggestions and have a great weekend!
Tim
From: Adrian Myers <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
Sent: Saturday, March 23, 2013 12:14 PM
Subject: Re: 1/4 inch screen mesh source
Hey Tim,
My iPhone is made in China and it is the apex of technological
advancement and quality.
My point being that the fact that the mesh you describe is of low quality
has nothing to do with it having been made in China, it has to do with the
American retailers you mention ordering a specific kind of mesh (metal
type, weave/non-weave, durability, expected uses, etc.) for a specific
price. Equating "Made in China" with "poor quality" is both bogus, and to
be honest, might be seen as slightly racist. Of course China makes lots of
cheap crap, but they also make highly advanced and durable things. And in
any case, the only reason THEY make it is because WE want it.
I don't at all mean to be argumentative or accusatory towards you Tim
specifically, I just wanted to point out that I think it's a generalizing
stereotype that may have had some truth to it in the past,
but not longer
does.
And in my defence for going on this tangent (pre-emptive), I think this is
a very archaeological discussion, in more ways that one! I would be
interested in other people's opinion on this.
Good luck finding the mesh you are looking for!
Adrian
__________________________________________________________________
Adrian Myers, Doctoral Candidate | Department of Anthropology, Stanford
University
On Sat, Mar 23, 2013 at 8:43 AM, Tim Bennett <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Hi everyone,
>
> Does anybody have a good source for 1/4 in hardware mesh? I did a quick
> search on the Listserv archives and there are a couple of mentions of it,
> but that was quite a few years ago, at least what was returned on the
> search parameters. The 1/4 in
mesh/hardware cloth that is sold
at big box
> stores such as Home Depot, Lowes, Menards, etc is not suitable for
> archaeological work, at least what is sold in my area of MI. The product
> they offer is made in China and is not woven and is very thinly galvanized.
> This screen is rendered useless after about 2 days of use. I did quite a
> bit of searching on the internet a couple of years ago but it seems that
> the only 1/4 mesh out there is the China made non woven stuff or high grade
> stainless steel, brass, etc that is mostly for commercial/industrial
> purposes. I have a chapter member that is in need of building some screens
> so if anyone has any sources of archaeological quality screen, it would be
> most appreciated.
>
> Thanks,
>
>
Tim
>
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