I got one as well, around the same time actually, as a gift. I also fell into a strange fascination with it and find it fun to hold in the exact same ways as the author. Folks tend to get me 1" element (or sometimes non elemental but interesting in another way) cubes as gifts now which works out as it gives a great range of price to choose from while maintaining surprise with the guarantee I'll enjoy it. I've had my…
For context, iridium is probably the densest material you’d want for a paperweight [1] but it’s rarer and more expensive than tungsten or platinum. [1]: https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-heaviest-metal-I-can-legal...
My Tungsten Cube (2019)
101–110 of 336 posts
Re: My Tungsten Cube (2019)
#102Tungsten is about the only minimally-hazardous substance I could find that could max out the 70-pound weight limit on a (US) Priority Mail flat-rate envelope, but that would be an expensive stunt.
Gold is also about the same density as tungsten, though it would make for an even more expensive stunt at $1.5 million.
Re: My Tungsten Cube (2019)
#103Cool cube and I want one. But a metalworking friend of mine warned against getting a ring made out of tungsten. Apparently a climber had one on and broke his ring finger, and the EMTs couldn't get the ring off because the finger had swollen and they couldn't cut the ring due to the strength of the metal. They ended up having to amputate and re-attach the finger (much longer and it would have had to be amputated anywa…
Exactly this. That was my first reaction when someone upthread wrote that they made a ring out of tungsten. I can only imagine that it would lead to misery at some point. You really don't want this kind of metal for Jewelry that surrounds you (wristband, ring, ankleband). You're going to get hurt sooner or later.
Re: My Tungsten Cube (2019)
#104I clicked on this post out of standard curiosity.
Now I have a tracking number for a cube of tungsten that will arrive at my office by tomorrow afternoon.
Happens.
Re: My Tungsten Cube (2019)
#105I wish someone made a standard 608 (fidget spinner, skateboard, etc.) deep-groove ball bearing entirely out of Tungsten - it would be the ultimate desk trinket and I bet it would have the longest and most satisfying spins.
Re: My Tungsten Cube (2019)
#106Cool cube and I want one. But a metalworking friend of mine warned against getting a ring made out of tungsten. Apparently a climber had one on and broke his ring finger, and the EMTs couldn't get the ring off because the finger had swollen and they couldn't cut the ring due to the strength of the metal. They ended up having to amputate and re-attach the finger (much longer and it would have had to be amputated anywa…
This sounds like an urban legend. "Ring cracker" tools are widely available, and can be improvised from common tools.
Scene of an emergency: hold still while I figure out how to improvise a ring cracker that can crack a solid tungsten ring without further injury to your finger.
Re: My Tungsten Cube (2019)
#107I had a neighbor a few years back who was a retired mechanical eng & machinist and as a retirement gift someone gave him a calibrated high percision gauge block set. There was some weird brain tingle I would get handling them, I think simply due to the extreme percision of them, I wonder if the sensation from handling the cube is similar?
> gauge block
It's so cool how they wring without magnetism.
Re: My Tungsten Cube (2019)
#108My wedding ring is tungsten; my wife and I decided to go with, shall we say, non-standard metals for our wedding bands to keep the costs down. I got her the usual gold/diamond sort of ring for engagement. We figured we could always get platinum or gold rings later. I've found that I really love it, and now we may not replace mine at all. It's hilariously heavy and has a nice brushed finish.
Good luck cutting it off in an emergency.
Don't cut, shatter. Grab some channel locks and be free.
Re: My Tungsten Cube (2019)
#109I have a collection of thin tungsten cylinders if anyone is in the market! Glassblowers use tungsten rods to pierce borosilicate glass. When you get tungsten and a piece of glass hot, you can push the tungsten through the glass fairly easily. Tungsten doesn’t get “wet” and stick to glass at these temperatures (~2000F), unlike other metals we use such as steel or brass. We tend to buy these at the welding store (arc w…
Note that if you're buying welding tungsten as a plaything, avoid the oneswith the red paint on the end - they contain thorium to improve the electrical arc and as such are a bit radioactive, and shouldn't be directly handled for long periods.
Re: My Tungsten Cube (2019)
#110Cool cube and I want one. But a metalworking friend of mine warned against getting a ring made out of tungsten. Apparently a climber had one on and broke his ring finger, and the EMTs couldn't get the ring off because the finger had swollen and they couldn't cut the ring due to the strength of the metal. They ended up having to amputate and re-attach the finger (much longer and it would have had to be amputated anywa…
Ring avulsion is pretty scary too, and can happen with any metal ring.
Try finding a machinist that wears jewelry. Either they have yet to learn a painful lesson or they will have learned it directly or indirectly (colleague, machinist friend). That's one thing you learn to respect in a hurry: no jewelry near rotating machinery.