Howdy all-
This may be common knowledge for those more experienced in this home-made stove business than I, but I found a 12" by 24" sheet of 1/2" expanded metal grille at Home Depot for about $8 and made my pot stand out of it.
It has the same properties as a hardware cloth stand, except the expanded metal is considerable heavier. My 4" diameter pot stand is strong enough to support my weight!
However, the stuff is not as easy to work as hardware cloth. I needed a bi-metal blade on my Sawzall to cut it, but it was easy to shape by hand.