Conference quark::mennotes-v1

    
    	Jim - believe it or not, try Windex (the window spray cleaner).
    	Just spray it on your finger and ring, and it should slide off.
    	A jeweler told me to try it and it sure worked for me, especially
    	during this hot weather when fingers tend to swell up somewhat.
    
    			carole

        This in combination with .1 should almost certainly work....
        
        Thread a piece of thin  nylon  string  under  the ring, so that
        there is one end on each  side of the ring.  Get another person
        to hold both ends together and ease  the string around the ring
        as you push forward on the ring, turning  it as you do it.  The
        Windex  should lubricate things enough to allow this method  to
        work if the Windex alone doesn't....
        
        Good luck!
        
        Andy.
        
        PS.  If you still can't get the ring off, a jeweller can cut it
        and repair it to a slightly larger size - the repair  should be
        completely invisible.
        

    Also -- you might try soaking your hands in cold water --
    the hot weather may have caused them to swell slightly.
    
    					andrew

    Ok, no luck with the windex...Haven't tried the windex + nylon
    string yet, and I'll try soaking my hands in cold water...
    
    
    Thanks for the tips
    
    Jim

    Pass one end of a length of string under the ring.
    
    Push the ring as far away from the swollen area toward the hand
    as possible.
    
    Wrap the string on the side of the swollen area around the finger
    for 12 turns or so.
    
    Grasp the end of the string that extends under the ring and while
    holding it firmly unwind the string from the hand side of the ring.
    Continue this until the ring is free.
    

    
    Or. . . . . .take a chain saw and . . .

    Ok, this is the absolute truth and can be verified by 4 other DEC
    employees including my wife.  
    
    Take a trip to Maine and go white water rafting down the Kennebec
    River with a flow of about 4800 cfs.  Go over Magic Falls and have
    the raft flip you and 7 others (including the guide) into the river.
    Continue white water rafting without the raft.  Emulate your socks
    in the Maytag.  When they pick you out of the river 200 yards down
    stream your wedding ring will be gone.
    
    This is the absolute truth.  It happened to me last weekend.
    
    PS - My ring was a half size too small to begin with.

    A hospital or possibly even your family doctor may have a ring cutter
    designed exactly for cutting off stuck rings. The cutter leaves the
    ring in perfect condition except for the small cut which will be fixed
    when you get it resized. I had to have this done with my HS class ring
    the jeweler joked that I had saved him the first step in enlarging it.
    
    
    
    -j

    
    
         How about dish soap??  I've had a few rings that just wouldn't
    come off.....and dear Mom would always save the day {along with
    my ring and my finger} with her Dawn dishwashing soap!!!
    
                                      Penny
    
     

    Well, I haven't tried the methods using string, did try Windex
    and dish soap. Haven't had a great deal of time to try them all.
    Hopefully this weekend I can devote some time to it.
    
    
    Thanks
    
    
    Jim

Have you been cracking your knuckles ?

If YES,  Your knuckle has grown wider than the rest of your finger, trapping
your ring.  If this has happened, cooling it down will not help.  The windex
will work only if symptoms are not too prevalent.  Your knuckles can grow
slowly over the years, such that you really don't notice the difference.  The
only way you can determine this is by comparing the whole finger to the knuckle
at the middle joint of the finger in question.

    Well, you got me on that one. I have been cracking my knuckles and
    I was afraid that might be part of the problem...
    
    
    Jim

    So, did you ever get it off? (and without breaking your finger?)
    
    Becky   oo
            \/

    I have yet another remedy...kind of gross, but it worked for
    me...either cooking oil (and type will do) or Crisco...it seems
    to lubricate the finger enough to get the ring off.
    
    Good Luck!
    
    Jill
    

    Nearly a month now and no news, looks like the ring made it but
    Jim didn't. What an advertisement for staying single!  :-)
    								Ben.

    Sorry, folks, haven't been in this conference for a while..The 
    ring is still there, I've decided to go to a jeweler to have it
    removed, sometime in the next couple of weeks. The hurry I was in
    to get it off when I entered the note kind of subsided.  Since
    I am a knuckle cracker my knuckle is a bit larger than it was
    when the ring went on, it seems as if removal by means of applying
    lubrication is doomed to fail.  
    
    Since I was informed by my soon-to-be ex that I will be visited by
    a process server (or whatever they call them here) in the not to
    distant future, I'll get the thing cut off pretty quick.
    
    
    Thanks for the tips.
    
    
    Jim

    
    	A couple of things:
    
    	Lubricate your finger and the ring with KY jelly. Place the
    forefinger and thumb of your right hand  behind the ring and a bit
    beneath it on the palm side of your left hand and gently wiggle the 
    ring forward. When you reach the point wear the ring begins to bind,
    stop! Try to place more KY in front and under the ring. Just remember
    to keep your left hand up in the air to prevent excess fluid from
    entering the hand. You may want to raise your hand like a student for a
    minute or so as you work the ring off.
    
    	I've removed a couple of my own and few other people's using this
    method.
    
    Good Luck.
    
    Ken 

    
    Amputate.
    
    
    Hi Jim!  ;^)
    
    

I didn't bother with a jeweler, since I have a lot of minature tools at
home. I put a thin (almost paper-thin) GRINDING wheel in my Dremel high-
speed drill, and went after it. This is quite safe, since the grinding
wheel will only scuff your skin, unless you really bear down on it.

Have a bowl of ice-cold water handy, the ring will get HOT quickly. Took
about five short bursts of cutting followed by a dip to cool the metal.
Then I clamped the ring in a small vice, spread it with needle-nose pliers,
and slipped my finger out. No strain, no pain. Wear goggles, these little
wheels can shatter explosively.

This was 14 years ago. I remember it as one of the better moments of getting
divorced, which was not an experience filled with good moments. Still, it
was a little symbolic act of self-liberation...

Well, after months of procrastination, I had my wedding ring removed at
a Jewler on Saturday.  My divorce became final on Wednesday.


Thanks again for all the responses.

Jim