I’m sure many of you have already seen the “captive nut” in one form or another. I came across it a few years ago and forgot all about it until it showed up on the forum recently.

Here’s Gareth Bell’s Captive Nut:

And here’s another version by Jerry:

It’s a great project for the beginner for a couple of reasons, but mostly because it allows you to practice single-point threading. Once you’re done you’ve got quite the conversation piece that will puzzle and entertain kids and adults alike.

For more information (including links with directions on how to make your own) visit the original forum post by Gareth.

This isn’t exactly the kind of project I intend to regularly promote on this site, but I saw these earrings today and I cracked up. I called my wife over and she loved them. So “simple and elegant” is how she described them. She had no idea that the earrings were made from re-purposed spring retaining rings.

So I thought to myself, what machinist wouldn’t dig it if his wife were to wear such a pair of earrings out to dinner? Ok, maybe it’s just me. But if you’re itching for a unique gift for your wife that only your buddies would get a kick out of, these would be great. After all, Valentine’s Day is right around the corner. You can purchase them directly from here for $15, or you could make your own.

After all, who doesn’t have some of these retaining rings rattling around at the bottom of their toolbox? … Or maybe that’s also just a me-thing.

If you decide to make your own, just be sure to use real earring hoops and not some random unplated wire you pull out of the scrap bin (you don’t want your wife to get an earlobe infection!). Hoops can be purchased from several places. Almost any craft store would carry them, and I believe Tandy Leather Goods carries them if you need to order them online.

Here are a couple of other designs by the same artist. Not exactly “metalworking” per se. But hey, they’re fun.