If you need to be screwing and unscrewing it regularly then you need to come up with something else. How about some type of bracket that gets screwed in and then the vase plate slides in/out for easy removal.

What is the actual construction of the plaster walls. Is it horsehair plaster on wood lath or cementitious plaster on metal lath or something else?m Something that small and light weight can be easily attached to any kind of wall but the hardware needed depends on the wall construction.

Looks like vases in my local mortuary. The vase lifts up.

there is a bracket, the vase sit inside the ring on the bracket.

what you “love” reminds me of dead people.

Chispa- sorry, I didn't make it clear. The mounting plate holds a ring, which the vase slides in and out of fairly easily. Still, I'll be frequently sliding it in and out- it's not like I'll mount it and then never touch it again. Just want to be sure it's rock solid and stays that way.

RES 3d Sketches

Thanks for your thoughts! I don't know the construction of the plaster walls- how can I check? Is 3-5 pounds lightweight? That's good news.

You need to locate a stud with a stud finder and have at least one long screw (preferably, two) go through the bracket into the stud. I can;t tell from your photo where the screw holes in the bracket are. Are they on each side of the bracket, or above and below the center line?

Yes, mount it to the wall studs. You will have to locate them first. Cheap stud finders often have trouble with horsehair plaster and lath. You may need a longer screw than came with the bracket.

kudzu9, thanks for your thoughts! The holes are on either side of the bracket, not top and bottom. The vendor provided screws, but they are not more than 1.5 inches long. I will definitely get longer screws.

The holes are also pretty small. There are some guys at work with a proper workshop who may be able to enlarge them for me. I figure as long as they are doing that, I should have them add two more, top and bottom. More is better, right?

Yes, top and bottom holes will be better as both can go into the stud; you don't need to use the side holes as two will be plenty.

I agree that stud finders don't always work as well on plaster. Last week I used one on a friend's plaster wall and wasn't sure I had it exactly, so I used a 1/16" bit and made several small holes in a horizontal line about an inch apart so I could be sure where the stud was. It's easy to spackle such tiny holes afterwards. (You can also do this right above the baseboard where it's less noticeable, and then use a level to locate the stud at the mounting height.)

As for the screws, 2"+ or so in length should be fine, and you can dab a little paint on them to match the finish of your mounting plate. Use a square drive or star drive screw head and a powered driver as you can get stuck partway in with long screws and a stripped head if you try to drive them in by hand and are using a slotted or Phillips head.

If a stud isn't in the exact right location (odds are it won't be), just use toggle bolts to mount it. They can handle a ton of weight without loosening or pulling out.

Toggle bolts will work...but require rather large holes to get the wing nut through, which I hate to do on a plaster wall. And you can end up with small chunks coming out of the plaster around the edges of the holes.

Of course you can! But if you want it to stay mounted on the wall, mount it on a stud with screws long enough for a 2-inch penetration into the stud itself.