The above image shows my orchid tools. The Tools of the Trade so to speak. A 2" clay pot is there for reference.
The first of these three images show my Needle Nose Pliers.
The second image is of my angle cut pliers.
The third is my "Bull of the Bench", my Linesman's pliers. These are my workhorse tools.
The reason I use substantial tools is that I am working with significant wire. Smaller tools that us older folks might prefer are not substantial enough to deal with the heavier wire.
This is the wire that I use for certain 4" pots and also 5 and 6" pots. I get it from either Lowe's or Home Depot. It is 12 gauge galvanized wire sold as a roll. I placed a typical pencil next to the wire to try to give some sense of thickness of the wire.
The other wire I use a great deal is 14 gauge galvanized wire. Same source applies. I used a photo to show you close up just how thick one is compared to the other. I use 14 gauge wire for pot sizes 4" and smaller.
Now this is very important!! For pots bigger then 6" I DO NOT make big clips because the purpose of the clip is to snuggly fit from the rim of the pot, across the media, across the rhizome of a Cattleya and to hold it snugly in place. When you make bigger clips in an attempt to secure plants snugly in a pot, the distance across the media is too great. The media offers resistance and it is next to impossible to secure the plant properly. So for larger pots I use two reasonably sized clips instead of a single large clip. 2 clips are better then 1!!!
This image shows a standard 6" plastic pot. I use the heavier 12 gauge wire and cut off a piece roughly 7-8" long Slightly longer then the pot. 6" versus 7-8".
Next I grab this wire between my thumb and forefinger, see above image, to measure just where I need to make my bend for my clip.(remember for later) I let the wire hang about 3/8" longer that the rim is deep.
Then I take the long end of the piece of wire, while holding it forcefully in my linesman's pliers. I position the pliers RIGHT where I held the wire when I measured.a few images back.
Then while firmly holding the wire and pliers in my left hand, I forceably bend the long end all the way down alongside the jaws of the pliers. This will seem difficult to do at first but PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT! You'll get the hang of it.
