I actually made this in December of 2010 but just now was able to get a picture from the owner. He wanted a South Texas scene so we did prickly pear and a road runner surrounded by leaves and tendrils. Frame is 1/4x2; the profiles are 3/16 plate. Everything was chiseled or punched hot. The customer liked basic black so I was not allowed to add my normal colored tints but it still came out OK. He's used it for two winters now and seems to be satisfied with it.

Did you paint it? How does your finish hold up to the heat? Very nice job!

Yes, it's painted with the cheapest black rattle can that Home Depot sells ($.99 a can) then coated with clear urethane. I treat all of my screens this way and have never experienced peeling issues.

Would you tell us your method of stretching the firescreen tight ? This is a fine job , you got the "beep beep" right on !

I use "screen tongs" - an idea I got from Francis Whitaker. Basically, they are large bow-jawed tongs with two swivel plates riveted to the ends of the jaws. The plates are crosscut to match the screen pattern so they don't damage the wire. I clamp them to the screen (like visegrips) and pull over the edge of the screen then fasten the backing piece with rivets. By the time I'm ready to stretch the screen, the backing piece and frame have already been predrilled so I line up the holes with an icepick and set the rivet. Using this method, I can get the screen tight enough to actually warp the frame if I'm not careful.

In the future, when you are making another screen, some pictures of this process of stretching the screen and the tools you use would be great.

I'm about to make another one in the next couple of weeks so will try to take some pics. I make several custom screens every year - they seem to be popular in this area.