Tim,

About a year and a half ago we made the switch to using 1/4 inch woven stainless
steel.  It costs us about $50.00 a screen but we have not had to replace one yet
and they have more than paid for themselves over again.  Think about how much
time and money you have spent in the past on the old galvanized screen?  We
bought our on the Internet from a NASCAR supply/parts site but there are other
I'm sure.  They have sheets of it which we fasten to our screens with half-inch
wide 1/4 inch thick strips of wood (we were considering cutting strips of PVC
now available at Home Depot in sheets) stapled and screwed onto the bottom of
the screens.  Sometimes it starts to belly from crew leaning in on the screens,
but all you have to do is unscrew it and reattach it...that simple.  We also use
it for 1/8" screening.

Bill Liebeknecht, MA, RPA
Hunter Research, Inc.
Trenton, NJ


On March 23, 2013 at 11:43 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