Liturgical artist, Nancy Chinn prefers the humble, but heavy duty, eye hook to the pulley. “A pulley has a wheel and a track” she says, “and when the line jumps the track, it gets tangled, and someone needs to get up there and fix it.” In churches where ceiling access is difficult, it is easy to see Chinn’s point. When questioned about the load bearing capacity of an eye hook vs a pulley, Chinn suggested it is always better to think creatively about choosing materials which will lighten the load.

As an example of lightening the load, take another look at the monstrance designed by Renovata Studios, Inc. which was hung with monofilament line. Unlike heavier installations such as large suspended crucifixes hung from the trusses with connectors and strong airplane or sailboat cable, for example, this 14 foot diameter piece was constructed of tubular aluminum and weighed less than 100 lbs.