Strongest Metal for Construction Working Hubby

[LBug75]

I''m sure someone has asked this before so forgive me but I can''t decide what type of wedding band to get hubby. We are renewing our vows this year and I want to get him a new band that will be durable. Because of his job he doesn''t wear his band that often but when he does it gets all tore up and there''s no way I''m putting that messed up tweaked looking ring back on his finger at the renewal. I was thinking of stainless steel but I''m not positive.

 

[mrssalvo]

Titanium...but surely he doesn''t wear any rings while on the job

.

boone rings

 

[LBug75]

Actually sometimes he does, even though I tell him not to...they never listen LOL

 

[glitterata]

I don''t know, shouldn''t you be looking for a WEAK ring so it doesn''t injure his finger if it gets caught on something? I''ve heard horror stories! You want something that will break rather than strip the flesh off his finger.

 

[mrssalvo]

Date: 5/24/2006 5:27:41 PM
Author: glitterata
I don''t know, shouldn''t you be looking for a WEAK ring so it doesn''t injure his finger if it gets caught on something? I''ve heard horror stories! You want something that will break rather than strip the flesh off his finger.

excellent point. If he''s going to wear it on the job, i''d be the weakest metal I could find.

 

[FireGoddess]

Another vote here not to go titanium. If he''s gonna be wearing a ring, make it something that will break instead of taking his finger with it.

 

[canuk-gal]

HI:

19K white gold--"hard as stainless steel". But make sure he doesn''t wear his new ring to work!!

cheers--Sharon

 

[Iceman]

Ive never heard of 19k ? The closer you get to 24k the softer it is ?


For people like your husband we knotch a line on the inside of the ring so if it gets caught it breaks off.

Thats old school, I dont know if its done anymore. More people today have more sence not to wear them on the job. Ring or no ring your still married

 

[lizz]

My husband also works in a profession where he has the same problem. He has a titanium band that he wears all the time (except if he's on a job where he feels there is a potential for it to get caught), but he said tungsten carbide would also be a good choice. It's up to your husband if he wants to wear it to work.

 

[MustangGal]

My husband works in a job that''s tough on rings. He''s had a titanium band for 2 1/2 years now with no problems. Her never takes it off either. I would suggest going with a satin or textured finish, a shinney finish will get scratched up pretty fast.

 

[perry]

I think he needs to decide if he is going to wear a ring at work or not.

From a safety standpoint - if his work is hard on a ring --> then the ring is probably a safety hazard.

A ring weak enough to always break in time would not be durable to stand up to ordinary wear.

Of those horror stories: I won''t repeat the whole story - but I was part of the cleanup crew for one of them. A rag caught on a ring. The ring did not easily pull off his finger. Total loss of the arm. You would not expect a cotten rag to be able to break a ring. I have never worn a ring since.

What I suggest: give him a nice manly chain that he can wear arround his neck (that would break if pulled hard) and let him wear his ring on it - tucked into his shirt. With that - just pick whatever ring suits you for looks.

I will note: I do not wear rings at all; usually take my watch off if I involved in any work in the plant, and wear short sleeve shirts.


Perry

 

[coda72]

My husband does construction part time, and I got him a platinum ring. He wears it most of the time unlesss he''s doing something that will scratch it up too much. I also got him the hammered finish so that scratches don''t show as much. The ring is scratched up, but it doesn''t look so bad with the hammered finish. I figure I''ll be buying him a new ring in a few years. Here''s the ring I got him (from Blue Nile):

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 5/24/2006 7:33:49 PM
Author: perry
I think he needs to decide if he is going to wear a ring at work or not.

From a safety standpoint - if his work is hard on a ring --> then the ring is probably a safety hazard.

A ring weak enough to always break in time would not be durable to stand up to ordinary wear.

Of those horror stories: I won''t repeat the whole story - but I was part of the cleanup crew for one of them. A rag caught on a ring. The ring did not easily pull off his finger. Total loss of the arm. You would not expect a cotten rag to be able to break a ring. I have never worn a ring since.

What I suggest: give him a nice manly chain that he can wear arround his neck (that would break if pulled hard) and let him wear his ring on it - tucked into his shirt. With that - just pick whatever ring suits you for looks.

I will note: I do not wear rings at all; usually take my watch off if I involved in any work in the plant, and wear short sleeve shirts.


Perry

Yikes Perry

My Hubby is in a job now where he can wear his but I can certainly see the need to be careful. Thanks all for getting the safety awareness out there, it never entered my head how dangerous these can be at times in the workplace.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

It is against company rules for people to wear rings in the manufacturing areas where my husband works. I can''t imagine anyone in construction wearing rings. It is definitely a safety hazard. Get him a ring he loves and that can be worn when he is not working.

 

[klavigne]

The strongest metal for a ring will be hands down a Tungsten Carbide ring. Virtually indestructible, scratch proof and it will not corrode. It will not give however, so if safety is a concern to him then I''d tell him not to wear any ring at all. It''s such a hard metal I doubt most ER rooms could even cut it off if needed. Even a weaker metal ring that would "self-destruct" in an accident is still going to do a lot of injury regardless. His best bet is to never put himself in a situation were he could lose a finger or a hand, therefore, don''t wear a ring at work. Tada! Brilliant!!!! Then you could get him a nice gold or plat ring and it really wouldn''t matter how durable it is, would it? I think you need to talk to him and express your concern for his safety and ask him not to wear a ring at work.

 

[Mara]

My husband has a titanium ring, but I would definitely agree no rings on the construction jobs! That is like asking for trouble.

His ring is a satin finish, it does hide scratches better than a shiny finish for sure.

 

[firstbase32]

one thing i''m concidering for when I get married is to get my ring tattood on my finger. I am going to get some crosses and designs in the ring and then have it tattooed so that way I wouldn''t have to worry about wearing it if I were doing an activity I didn''t want to lose the ring...or my finger.

i''ve told my girlfriend about it and she thought it was an awesome idea...but i''m sure it''s going to be painful.

 

[LBug75]

See that was my hubby''s first idea, get a tattoo for a ring. Most of the time he doesn''t wear his ring to work but every once in a while he gets a wild hair and decides to wear it. It drives me crazy but since he doesn''t listen I figured I''d get something strong but I think I''ll just have him read about the guy losing his whole arm and maybe that will convince him. I mean I understand the reason he wants to wear it all the time but it''s just a ring, what matters is how he feels inside. Now ladies, don''t get me wrong, I love bling just as much as the rest of you, but I mean when it comes down to it I''d rather have my husband whole !! Before this thread I had actually never heard of something as severe as losing a ring, I know in the past my husband has been shocked because of a ring. Now, I mean, I''ll hide that ring if I have to just so he doesn''t wear it to work. Thanks so much for the input you guys.

 

[firstbase32]

i had a high school teacher who did roofing in the summer...he slipped...and now he can put his stub for a finger infront of his nose and make it look like his entire finger is way up his nose....pretty weird...tha''ts about the only comical side of a possible bad situation

 

[Tacori E-ring]

My FI rehabs houses and will NOT wear a ring while at work. It just isn''t worth the risk.

 

[LBug75]

OOPS I meant losing an arm earlier sorry

 

[Cathers]

I personally really like the idea of tattooing, of course it will hurt, but so will losing a finger. My BF isn''t in construction, but wears a tungsten carbide ring because he works with computers all day. It shines constantly(the cut is called a diamond cut and is oober sparkly)He tried a titanium ring for over a year, but found it scratched too easily, so we went with Tungsten. He says he has the ring he wants so he will not need a wedding band when we get married. Out of the 2, I prefer Tungsten as well. Just an opinion from someone who has seen both on a daily basis. All the best to you.

 

[perry]

LBug:

I think we understood you well.

Along with the personal safety issues that can occur... there is another in certain situations: "Foreign Material."

Foreign Material is things that are there that should not be - and that can cause trouble....

Examples: A loose part shorting out a circuit, a metal shaving plugging a fitting, and the list goes on and on.

In my current work (nuclear power) they are extreemly concerned with foreign material - as many of the past plant shutdowns and equipment problems in the industry have been traced to foreign materials. It is also - if in the Reactor Coolant System (RCS) - possible for foreign material to wear through the cladding of a fuel rod (the first of 3 barriers to protect the public from radiation problems). Fuel leaks, as they are called, also spread high level radioactive materials arround the RCS and cause higher radiation doses for the plant workers. Various safety equipment from valves, pumps, breakers, etc have failed from foreign material "gumming" up the works.

Thus; the policies are no rings in the plant for workers (you can walk through with a ring) - and if a gal cannot get her ring off she must tape over it (and I routinely have a contract worker gal who duct tapes her engagement ring to her finger because she can no longer get it past her knuckle). We have had contract workers who have cut their rings off so that they can work certain jobs (sometimes you have to have good dexterity and cannot tape your finger).

Just another thing to consider.

In general - I consider rings to be something to wear away from work and serious play.

I note that I do like the idea of a tattoo... Can I get one that glows in blacklight if and when I get married?


Do have a great day - and wish you well.


Perry

 

[Cathers]

I should add, he doesn't just type on a keyboard, he does service work which involves taking machines apart ( he once sliced his thumb to the bone on a shard of metal), and climbing in some *interesting* and crowded spaces, so him wearing a ring is a bit of a concern for me. Another point to ponder is that one day an EMT came into our shop, and commented on his sparkly new bling(small town, everyone knows everyone) and asked what it was made of. BF said Tungsten, and was told by the paramedic if he was in an accident, and his finger swelled up, they would have to cut his finger off, because you can't cut Tungsten?!@#$ Is that for real or was he just yanking my chain???

I like the tattoo idea you had Perry!

 

[cinnabar]

Date: 5/25/2006 11:41:39 PM
Author: Çã†hër§ 
... one day an EMT came into our shop, and commented on his sparkly new bling(small town, everyone knows everyone) and asked what it was made of. BF said Tungsten, and was told by the paramedic if he was in an accident, and his finger swelled up, they would have to cut his finger off, because you can''t cut Tungsten?!@#$ Is that for real or was he just yanking my chain???

That''s not for real, don''t worry. Tungsten rings aren''t easy to cut but can be fractured off. In fact they''re possibly safer if they get a really hard knock because they would break into pieces rather than crush.

There''s some info here:

Boone rings website

 

[strmrdr]

tattoo?
A friend of mine actual did that.
his job wont allow rings he works with a cutting and welding torch all the time so he had a tattoo done for a wedding "band" around his finger.

 

[perry]

I have to disagree that a tungstun ring is "easy" to fracture; It takes the right kind of conditions (support and forces) to fracture tungstun rings.

I agree that in an accident the paramedic would cut the finger off. This is also true in an emergency room under the right conditions (they don''t always have time to find special tools - if they have them - to be able to fracture tungstun rings).


The tatto idea was not mine: Firstbase first mentioned it in this thread - but it has been discussed before.

Çã†hër§: Your husband should not be wearing a ring on the job. I know he feels macho - and that "things" won''t happen to him. I knew about 60 people who felt the same - until one of them lost an arm due to their ring. I don''t think any of them wear rings anymore: People actually took a break to get their ring off and in a safe place after that - and they would almost pounce on any new person to not wear their ring for years....

Let him know that you love him - all of him - and would like to keep it that way.

Perry

 

[boonerings]

I certainly agree with the advice not to wear a ring to work. I never wear one in the shop. I''ve seen a welder arc through his gold ring before, and it cooked his finger like bacon. Realistically, any metal ring, be it gold, titanium, silver, or tungsten that can get caught in rotating machinery or on things like a nail in a roof is enough to rip a finger off. The application of force is so quick that the finger would go rather than the metal.

The tungsten rings are made from powder, so they are relatively brittle. It would take a vise, visegrips, clamp, or a well placed hammer blow to crack it. None of those would feel comfy when a finger is broken, but they can be cracked off. Tungsten alloy rings can also be cut with a hacksaw whereas tungsten carbide cannot be cut whatsoever.

One interesting option if he insists on wearing a ring to work is one made completely from hardwoods. I''ve made myself one using 3 different laminations of wood, so it''s somewhat strong and actually looks pretty nice. This would be well suited as a welder''s ring. Obviously, it''s not as strong as a metal ring would be, but maybe that''s the point.

Another option might be to make a thin titanium ring in a C shape so it can easily be pulled off the finger if it ever got caught on something.

 

[klavigne]

Tungsten Carbide can be cut, either by diamond blades, Cobalt blades or a grinding disc. Typically they are made of powder and under extreme pressure and heat are formed into shape, but I wouldn''t call it a brittle metal by any means. 90% of the machine tools we use are Tungsten Carbide and they will only "fracture" if the stars line up because someone did something very stupid. Visegrips will not crack it, a hammer might, if it was a sledge hammer. And I wouldn''t want to break every bone in my hand to get a ring off. ER rooms usually have a hydraulic cutter they use, like a mini jaws-of-life, to cut rings off.
It is the hardest material for a ring no doubt, and cheap compared to plat. So to answer the original question, Tungsten Carbide is the winner. But he''s better off not wearing a ring at work for the reasons everyone else said, the risk isn''t worth it. So buy him a nice gold or plat ring and don''t let him wear it to work.

 

[boonerings]

KPL, I''d like to point out for clarity that Vise Grips will indeed work on a carbide ring. I''ve done it. It probably has a lot to do with the ring shape that allows it to crack. Here''s Trew Tungsten''s recommendations for removal showing Vise Grips as well: http://www.trewtungsten.com/remove You can actually throw a tungsten ring at a concrete sidewalk with a strong throw and it will crack. I''ve done that too. As a matter of fact, I need to be extremely careful whan making tungsten rings with a ballpeen finish because they crack about half of the time. No sledgehammer needed. I agree that diamond grinding can work, but will get extremely hot, so is not a good option for removal while on a finger.