When i was around one years old, i dropped my mom's wedding ring down a hole...?

Question

When i was around one years old, i dropped my mom's wedding ring down a hole...?
that hole that is located at the side of a doorway. i really wanna get it back now in time for chrismas. it would be nice for her to get it back as a gift. i feel so sorry that i did it. plz give any tips or advice that can help me... the hole is soo small! i can hrdly get anything into it except for a stick. i wanna get it out without damaging our wall. that ring has been down there for 13yrs! plz give me any helpful tips. (i already tried all the obvious tricks to get the ring out and it did not work) :-(

Answer 1

The most powerful magnet you can lay your hands on. Maybe you can cobble together an electromagnet with materials that would be flexible enough to get in there.

If you get it, it's not a gift to her. It's giving her her stuff back.

Answer 2

First off, I'd like to point out that if any sort of magnet scheme works, your dad either was conned, or really cheap! If the ring is made of any kind of self-respecting precious metal, i.e. gold or silver, it would not be attracted by any sort of magnet. Since obvious is a relative term in most cases, and I've seen some very dismal displays of intelligence on this site, believe me, I'm going to suggest some ideas that may seem obvious, but maybe you haven't considered.
One suggestion would be to use a thin metal rod or stick with a piece of gum attached to the end, and attempt to stick the ring onto the gum. Since your description of the hole wasn't very detailed, I don't know how effective the gum would be.
Another suggestion is to use the same general idea, only with two-sided tape. Depending upon the diameter of the ring, and how it is lying in the hole, you could design the end of the rod/stick to fit inside the ring and "fish" the ring out of the hole.
A third suggestion is to attach a small diameter tube to a shop vac and suck the ring out of there.
A fourth suggestion is to cut open the wall, get the silly thing, and give it back to your poor mom. What kind of child are you to deprive your precious mother of her cherished symbol of marriage for 13 years? But really, how hard would it be to fix the wall afterwards? You aren't decimating an entire wing of your house; a small cut in the wall would probably be sufficient. Then again, judging by your time line you are 14 years old, and might not have access to high enough quality tools to complete the job in a nice-looking way.
Final comment: as a sign of growing up, most people start to take responsibilty for their own actions. It would be a great idea to do this for your mother, and will really show how much you care if you go to such great lengths for her.
Merry Christmas!

Answer 3

If the doorway is on an exterior wall go down into the basement directly beneath the hole and look on top of the foundation. move any insulation or anything else that may be there. If there is a ceiling in the basement you may be able to make a small ''Hand hole to gain access and feel around. Don't forget to keep your eyes (and ears) open! By the way, magnets don't attract gold.

Answer 4

maybe you can use a metal detector...they work through walls, to locate exactly where it is. Then you can cut a very small hole in the wall, instead of tearing half the wall out. The small hole is very easy to patch if it's only a few inches wide.

If you already know where it is, but can't reach it... maybe you can use some kind of pipe cleaner - a wire with stiff bristles. Test one on another ring to see if you can shove it through a ring and it "sticks" to it. The good thing about pipe cleaners is..they are flexible but you can push them into confined spaces. Or, the old gum on a coat hanger trick.

Answer 5

You can go to almost any hardware store, or home depot, or lowes, or sears....and get this gizmo that has a handle on one end and aclaw on the other. A picture of it is below. If the hole isn't too deep you can probably easily get it out with that.

If that doesn't work.....just hey a long narrow hose affixed to your vacuum cleaner.

If that's not a good idea to you, get a long thin piece of wood or whatever will fit in the hole and affix something sticky to the end and use that to retrieve the ring.

A magnet will not work.

Hope this helps! Good luck. :)

Answer 6

It seems that if the hole is 3 feet OFF THE GROUND then you must have a raised wood floor. There should be a crawl space you can enter to get under the house to get the ring even if you have to create an opening to get into the area.

Answer 7

There are cameras that plumbers use sometimes now... they are small things on the end of a wire that can go down pipes and see what's going on. Maybe you could rig up something like that with a hook on it and get it that way? Good luck

Answer 8

Bend a metal hanger

J

Answer 9

did you try a magnet? Good luck this would mean so much to her!

Answer 10

I wonder if a magnet in stick shape can help....