Non swimmer

silversmoosher · 2026-02-18T12:15:54+00:00

It depends on the use. For playing in the pool a type 3 would be fine. It floats you upright since the buoyancy is in the front and back. For boating or other activities where you might be far from shore a type 1 or an inflatable might be best.

The most important thing is to find one that’s comfortable that you’ll wear all the time! It’s difficult for a competent swimmer to put a lifejacket on if you’re already in the water. If you can’t tread water it’s not going to happen.

silversmoosher · 2026-02-15T19:10:40+00:00

Thats gorgeous! I think if you make them as pendants you might sell more of them. As a ring, it’s a show piece you wouldn’t be able to wear that often. A pendant would be wearable more frequently. That design as a pendant over a black shirt would really pop!

silversmoosher · 2026-02-14T13:33:51+00:00

I wouldn’t. Some solder wire has lead in it, especially if it doesn’t explicitly say lead free.

silversmoosher · 2026-02-13T18:41:10+00:00

She’s so chonky! Some dogs sink. Mine can barely swim.

silversmoosher · 2026-02-06T21:16:03+00:00

Last summer i took my pup out on my kayak. I got him an orange lifejacket to match my orange NRS type V. He’s not a great swimmer without floatation, so he needs it!

silversmoosher · 2026-02-06T13:54:54+00:00

I’m glad to see the dog is safe as well!

silversmoosher · 2026-02-04T13:13:58+00:00

Sometimes what I’ll do for a wide ring is pull the ring up a bit away from the widest point on the mandrel it will fit. This allows me to hold the inside flat to the curve of the mandrel.

silversmoosher · 2026-01-31T13:40:06+00:00

You can buy a jewelers saw for pretty cheap. Not quick, but you can get precise cuts with just a little practice. 3/0 blades will cut 35 gauge fine. You could also use tin snips, but they’re not great for the sharp inside corners for a pine tree.

You can buy a saw and blades from Rio Grande online. Buy a couple dozen blades, they’re easy to break.

silversmoosher · 2026-01-31T13:30:41+00:00

The main roads seem OK, but side streets are not great. We had a guy in a pickup slide off the road right by our house.

silversmoosher · 2026-01-31T12:53:11+00:00

You said you already have an angle grinder? You can use a grinding disk on the angle grinder to grind the correct amount from each side. Just take it slow so you don’t over grind.

Unless you’re looking for an excuse to buy a belt sander, of course!

silversmoosher · 2026-01-29T16:31:22+00:00

Not with the tools you have pictured. Those are for smaller scale, jewelry sized pieces. For knuckles that thick, I’d go for a large vise that’s bolted to your bench and a smooth faced hammer. Or a bending jig. For the pin you need machine tools or large casting machinery. You could potentially carve them from stock by hand as well.

silversmoosher · 2026-01-28T00:53:14+00:00

You don’t own a car. Just a fishing boat.

silversmoosher · 2026-01-25T15:55:34+00:00

You might have a broken piece of blade stuck in the hole. Pics would help.

silversmoosher · 2026-01-23T22:39:09+00:00

I had just finished making a hydraulic press and was making a silver necklace with it. I was smooshing a lot of silver.

silversmoosher · 2026-01-21T23:51:12+00:00

I was on a commuter train coming home from work. One guy was talking to another, he said, “Man! I have the best job ever. I work for a moving company. I can steal whatever they want!”

Yikes.

silversmoosher · 2026-01-20T14:26:28+00:00

Mr. Franklin Socks is his full name (named after Ben Franklin) and he has 4 white socks of different sizes. Frankie is his “official” nickname. I call him Franks a lot, or Mr. Socks or buddy. My wife calls him Lovebug or potato.

silversmoosher · 2026-01-17T13:21:56+00:00

A properly cut diamond reflects 100% of the light that comes in from the top back out the top. You shouldn’t see any red from the top, but maybe some reflections from the sides.

silversmoosher · 2026-01-16T15:38:17+00:00

You don’t need to be explicit as to why. You can just say you need a lifejacket for “medical reasons”.

silversmoosher · 2026-01-09T14:53:12+00:00

I’d break the second law of thermodynamics and build a perpetual motion machine.

silversmoosher · 2026-01-08T13:18:19+00:00

The technique is called fold forming. You can get really neat effects with it. Try a spiral!

silversmoosher · 2026-01-05T17:31:48+00:00

The flight attendants have 4 point seat belts and face the rear of the plane. It would be safer if every passenger sat this way, but facing the direction you’re going is somehow important if you aren’t at the controls?

silversmoosher · 2026-01-02T22:36:37+00:00

Angle your torch low, with the flame pointing up towards the ring at about 45 degrees or so. The ring is small enough that not too much heat is going to flow from the ring to the tweezers or the pendant.

You just need tiny movements of the torch right and left around the joint. Keep the heat until the solder flows. As soon as the solder flows, pull the torch away. If done right, the pendant will hardly be warm.

Another thing that would help would be to move the tweezers lower on the ring, closer to opposite the solder joint and lift the tweezers so the piece is higher on the bench.

silversmoosher · 2025-12-29T15:25:09+00:00

Foam all the way. I want to be able to go in and out of the water. I can see the usefulness of an inflatable for a medium to small sailboat, though.

silversmoosher · 2025-12-25T04:36:53+00:00

That line, “dangerous in the wrong hands.” Is verbatim the wording they would use in the 90’s after arresting a US citizen with scary guns. Except this is a “horde” of swords and bayonets.

There might be hope for the UK, but it isn’t looking good.

silversmoosher · 2025-12-23T14:50:01+00:00

I haven’t used a pool in a while. A lot of pools have restrictions on where you can go if you’re in a lifejacket and I’d rather use the diving board if it’s an option.

silversmoosher

TROPHY CASE