Maker Loses Wedding Ring in the Surf, Immediately Fabricates Another

Our friend Jonathan Danforth, programmer, Maker Faire North Carolina founder, and avid woodworker, was heartbroken when he lost his wedding ring last weekend:

I was swimming in the ocean in South Carolina and managed to lose my ring in chest-deep opaque surf. I reached out to the Treasure Hunters forum, and even to a local metal detector enthusiast, but it was almost certainly a lost cause.

Feeling weird not having a ring on his finger after 12 years of marriage, he did what any self-respecting Maker (with a lathe) would do:

Woodshop to the rescue! I got back home on Monday and managed to whip this ring up in about an hour and a half. I picked ebony because it’s very dense and hard. I believe this wood will hold up to a bit more abuse than a softer wood might.

Danforth’s ring actually only took about 20 minutes to fabricate. But it took three tries, on rings that exploded, before he ended up with one that worked.

Bingo-bango, I’ve now got a stand-in ring until I get around to buying a proper replacement. I’m pleased that I was able to create this without any explicit know-how. I just looked around my garage until I figured out a way to make a custom-sized cylinder thingy, and settled on this method. And really, that’s a Maker skill in and of itself, figuring out how to make something from scratch that you’ve never made (or even though of) before…

First, I cut 12″ of wood from a broom handle and turned a gradual conical taper into it on my lathe.

Using my chop saw, I sliced off a 1/4″ thick slab of ebony from stock that I’ve had laying around for about 6 years.

My piece of ebony ready for drilling and turning.

I then bored a 7/8″ hole through the slab with my drill press.

Once the piece was drilled, I wedged it onto the broom handle with the aid of gaffer’s tape and super glue.

Beginning to rough out the ring shape.

Further refining of the shape.

When it looked approximately ring-shaped, I stopped cutting and began sanding it with 400 grit paper.

When sanding was done, I applied a coat of Renaissance Wax.

This ebony ring is lovely but it’s a bit fragile. And I confess that I made a backup ring this time. :-)