# Making a ring from a coin



## AndyT

You know the way that YouTube suggests videos you might like, based on those you have watched? Well, recently something popped up as a suggestion that was about 'making a ring from a coin.' Intrigued, I watched a couple of videos. No link, as it doesn't really matter, and there seem to be lots of videos to choose from.

Anyhow, I was interested to see a reminder that you really can hammer at metal and change its shape significantly. Of course, I knew in the abstract that it was possible - metals are malleable, right - but since I mostly work in wood, I thought I'd have a go. It's really simple, and I think more people might like it.

I used an old pre-euro French Frank 







The technique is simply to stand it on its edge, on some sort of anvil, and tap it all round with a hammer.

You don't need a proper anvil - I used an 'anvil-shaped-object' I was tempted by when I used to bother looking at Rutlands' special offers - but any lump of metal would do. A small hammer is good, and I suggest cleaning the face with some emery if it needs it. 






No video here, so either imagine the simple technique of holding the coin in your fingertips and rolling it a little after each tap of the hammer, or go to YouTube. 

After a few minutes, the edge of the coin starts to spread out







Just carry on until it's wide enough for the ring you want.






The video I watched showed drilling a big hole in the middle, then grinding it out wider with a small stone in a Dremel. I decided instead to saw out the centre with a piercing saw:
















In retrospect, I should have taken more care to make the hole a neat circle, but it was fairly easy to tidy it up with a small half-round file.

The next stage was to hammer the roundness a bit more, inside as well as out. I cut a couple of notches in some scrap wood, held it in the vice, and used a large twist drill as a mandrel, tap, rotate, tap, repeat.






I also used a bit of steel tube, which was better than the drill bit as I didn't need to beware of the spirals.






If you had something tapered, you could enlarge the ring at this stage. Maybe a drill or arbour with a No2 Morse taper on would be good, but I don't have one. Or you can get a ring mandrel on ebay for a few quid.

The result is shown here:






It's a bit scruffy, and a bit plain - but there are loads of things you could do to embellish it. For me, the point of the experiment wasn't to make a piece of fine jewellery but to explore just how easy it is to deform the metal by gentle hammering.

I'm sure everyone will have a few old non-ferrous coins lying around which could be used in the same way. So why not have a go - it doesn't take long or need special tools.


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## Wuffles

I'd like an anvil Andy, I scour car boots knowing full well one will never turn up due to the weight.

Ho hum. Nice ring.


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## NickWelford

Do you need to anneal it first?


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## AndyT

Wuffles - it's only a 5kg miniature and was under £12. But almost any bit of steel would do. A lump-hammer hld in the vice would be ok, or the little anvil at the back of an engineering vice.

Nick - no heat treatment at all, and I didn't detect any work hardening effect. I assume the metal is cupro-nickel.


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## Wuffles

AndyT":1tqvfrmm said:


> Wuffles - it's only a 5kg miniature and was under £12. But almost any bit of steel would do. A lump-hammer hld in the vice would be ok, or the little anvil at the back of an engineering vice.



I use the back of my vice now, but it's "precious" to me, like your ring..."precious". I have seen a few larger ones, but they fetch big money, not even that large really. I'll keep looking, but ta.

This joke falls right on its ar5e if you are unfamiliar with Hobbits.


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## AndyT

Wuffles":1ml52tgp said:


> AndyT":1ml52tgp said:
> 
> 
> 
> Wuffles - it's only a 5kg miniature and was under £12. But almost any bit of steel would do. A lump-hammer hld in the vice would be ok, or the little anvil at the back of an engineering vice.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I use the back of my vice now, but it's "precious" to me, like your ring..."precious". I have seen a few larger ones, but they fetch big money, not even that large really. I'll keep looking, but ta.
> 
> This joke falls right on its ar5e if you are unfamiliar with Hobbits.
Click to expand...


I'll check what I've got in my pocketses! :lol:


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## Wildman

well that is one way, but I prefer this one
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RiCFOwChJwA


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## AndyT

Wildman":z4kxvl0t said:


> well that is one way, but I prefer this one
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RiCFOwChJwA




Yes, that's a much nicer ring, for a modest outlay on a few specialist tools. There's a world of possibilities.


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## AJB Temple

Brings back memories! My dad showed me how to do this 40 years ago. He would get a silver two shilling coin, ideally one related to the birthday of the intended recipient, and then with careful hammering you could form it so the writing ended up on the inside of the ring. We used to centre punch the doing first, then drill it out and file to fit rathe than cut with a fret saw. If you hammer carefully you can get a perfectly round ring.


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## Phil Pascoe

Which was, of course, illegal then ...


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## Rorschach

phil.p":n1i853fw said:


> Which was, of course, illegal then ...




Not illegal, you can use any coins you like to make jewellery etc. You are using the coins to create something worth more than face value. Illegality comes into it when you are purposely destroying coins in order to remove them from circulation and lessen the value, i.e. melting them for scrap.


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## Phil Pascoe

"In the UK, the Coinage Offences Act 1936 prohibited the defacement of any current coins. This was repealed in its entirety by the Forgery and Counterfeiting Act 1981, thus removing the prohibition on coin defacement." - Wiki


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## bugbear

AndyT":2b2rcntu said:


> Wuffles - it's only a 5kg miniature and was under £12. But almost any bit of steel would do. A lump-hammer hld in the vice would be ok, or the little anvil at the back of an engineering vice.



I've used a 14Lb sledge hammer head for this purpose for years. I mirror polished one face for finer work, and left the other rough.

Buying tip - for some reason heads with bits of broken handles in sell for much less than "clean" heads.

I don't know why, since removing a head is quick and easy.

BugBear


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## DiscoStu

I think it was more to do with the queens (or kings) head and defacement of that rather than the monetary value. I didn't know it had been repealed. Is it not illegal to deface the queens head?


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## Wuffles

DiscoStu":2uakmpw8 said:


> I think it was more to do with the queens (or kings) head and defacement of that rather than the monetary value. I didn't know it had been repealed. Is it not illegal to deface the queens head?
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk



I guess you've not noticed those coin mangling machines at Zoos, piers and places like that. Nobody would blame you for filtering them out, but they did make me think when I first saw them.


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## DiscoStu

Just been looking and I believe that they are illegal and so is breaking down any metal coin. The coinage act of 1971 is still law. 

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1971/24/section/10

If you look at the top it is up to date as of yesterday. I think the wiki entry must be wrong. 

Just because there are machines that bend coins doesn't mean they're not illegal. I'm sure we all do things that are technically illegal on a daily basis. Aren't we all supposed to carry long bows? 

There is also the ability to have a licence granted to enable you to melt or breakdown a coin, so possibly the seaside coin binders have a licence. 



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## Wuffles

DiscoStu":1r4c7skw said:


> Just been looking and I believe that they are illegal and so is breaking down any metal coin. The coinage act of 1971 is still law.
> 
> http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1971/24/section/10
> 
> If you look at the top it is up to date as of yesterday. I think the wiki entry must be wrong.
> 
> Just because there are machines that bend coins doesn't mean they're not illegal. I'm sure we all do things that are technically illegal on a daily basis. Aren't we all supposed to carry long bows?
> 
> There is also the ability to have a licence granted to enable you to melt or breakdown a coin, so possibly the seaside coin binders have a licence.
> 
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk



Would explain why they cost so much - licensing fee 

Ba da bum, tsh.


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## Phil Pascoe

No. If you go to an amusement park and happen to see one of the coin presses that you put in usually a 50p and a 1p, you can get the 1p back enlarged and embossed with an eagle, mermaid, the name of the place or whatever, the machine will probably have a plate on it giving the information and the date of the repeal of the law that forbade it ( I think it's 1982, but am probably wrong) - it's obviously a question that crops up frequently. As an aside - I'd have thought a signature across a stamp (stamp duty) or indeed a post mark was defacing the queens head?


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## Wuffles

bugbear":2rtv4sgp said:


> AndyT":2rtv4sgp said:
> 
> 
> 
> Wuffles - it's only a 5kg miniature and was under £12. But almost any bit of steel would do. A lump-hammer hld in the vice would be ok, or the little anvil at the back of an engineering vice.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I've used a 14Lb sledge hammer head for this purpose for years. I mirror polished one face for finer work, and left the other rough.
> 
> Buying tip - for some reason heads with bits of broken handles in sell for much less than "clean" heads.
> 
> I don't know why, since removing a head is quick and easy.
> 
> BugBear
Click to expand...


Totally unrelated (but people are mentioning lbs and it reminded me), but I actually managed to walk away from a reclamation yard financially unscathed and with exactly what I wanted on Wednesday. 

A 56lb Avery weight for a tenner and I was happy with that. In fact, he caught me unawares when he said "I dunno, a tenner?". 

I intend to use it as a welding and woodworking weight.


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## Wuffles

phil.p":3vfdcr8f said:


> No. If you go to an amusement park and happen to see one of the coin presses that you put in usually a 50p and a 1p, you can get the 1p back enlarged and embossed with an eagle, mermaid, the name of the place or whatever, the machine will probably have a plate on it giving the information and the date of the repeal of the law that forbade it ( I think it's 1982, but am probably wrong) - it's obviously a question that crops up frequently. As an aside - I'd have thought a signature across a stamp (stamp duty) or indeed a post mark was defacing the queens head?



50p?! The micro-inflation zone of Bristol Zoo strikes again.

Coin press, much better word than mangler, in fact, that probably throws something up in Google, mangler didn't give me much.


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## Cheshirechappie

I wouldn't worry about the illegality of defacing coins of the Realm. Andy's was a French franc, and defacing them is probably compulsory!


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## Cheshirechappie

bugbear":11n5lgy4 said:


> AndyT":11n5lgy4 said:
> 
> 
> 
> Wuffles - it's only a 5kg miniature and was under £12. But almost any bit of steel would do. A lump-hammer hld in the vice would be ok, or the little anvil at the back of an engineering vice.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I've used a 14Lb sledge hammer head for this purpose for years. I mirror polished one face for finer work, and left the other rough.
> 
> Buying tip - for some reason heads with bits of broken handles in sell for much less than "clean" heads.
> 
> I don't know why, since removing a head is quick and easy.
> 
> BugBear
Click to expand...


That must be the only 14lb sledge in existence with a mirror-polished face! :lol:

(14lb sledge? Finer work? *wanders off, shaking head in wonderment*)


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## adidat

this reminds me of my days of putting 2p piece on the tram tracks in Croyden and getting back squished coins, when the trams run them over.

the follies of youth!

adidat


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## Benchwayze

I wonder if this is how jewellers make a plain, gold wedding ring? Start with a gold disc? I never notice any kind of join, but then they are fiendishly clever these craftsmen. :-k


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## monkeybiter

I think many are cast, probably lost wax technique. I've looked at this site before, they produce all the parts to assemble your own. http://www.cooksongold.com/Cast-Rings/


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## AndyT

Benchwayze":1bpjmn1l said:


> I wonder if this is how jewellers make a plain, gold wedding ring? Start with a gold disc? I never notice any kind of join, but then they are fiendishly clever these craftsmen. :-k



No, it's far too slow. The normal method is to bend thick wire (of similar cross section to the finished ring) round a tapered former to the required size. Cut and file the ends square, twist the ends together, solder together invisibly, and make the ring properly round by hammering on a mandrel. At least, that's how I was taught for silver. (I was only playing at it and didn't get onto gold.)


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## Benchwayze

Andy, Biter,

Thanks for the info . The rings for SWMBO and me, (in 1962) were made by the husband of one of Jean's friends, so in this case they were individually made at the jewellers bench. Exactly how I wouldn't know of course. As it happens Jean had to have the wedding ring removed at A&E the other day after a fall, which caused a lot of swelling in her hand. Just about managed to get the ring off without cutting it. I can't see how I am getting it back on, unless I get it stretched! :| It's in the safe of course ATM!


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## AndyT

Stretching isn't difficult and you have access to lots of clever people in the Jewellery Quarter. They can either stretch by hammering on a conical mandrel or let in a piece of new metal.


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## Phil Pascoe

adidat":1c65ls95 said:


> this reminds me of my days of putting 2p piece on the tram tracks in Croyden and getting back squished coins, when the trams run them over.
> 
> the follies of youth!
> 
> adidat


Old pennies and halfpennies were better, they were softer. The secret was to get away from a station so the train wasn't braking hard when it went over them - then you kept the design for longer. We could get an old penny up to about three inches.


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## Phil Pascoe

AndyT":2ish42bk said:


> Benchwayze":2ish42bk said:
> 
> 
> 
> I wonder if this is how jewellers make a plain, gold wedding ring? Start with a gold disc? I never notice any kind of join, but then they are fiendishly clever these craftsmen. :-k
> 
> 
> 
> 
> No, it's far too slow. The normal method is to bend thick wire (of similar cross section to the finished ring) round a tapered former to the required size. Cut and file the ends square, twist the ends together, solder together invisibly, and make the ring properly round by hammering on a mandrel. At least, that's how I was taught for silver. (I was only playing at it and didn't get onto gold.)
Click to expand...

Yes, I was taught that way as well, but I suspect/believe that new rings are cast.


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## Phil Pascoe

If you wish to make rings in gold, it's wise to buy colour matched solder when purchasing the gold as every slightly different alloy is a slightly different colour. Different metals are alloyed for different properties - some harden or soften, some colour. E.g. pink has copper in it, white palladium or platinum (often rhodium plated commercially), chromium, cadmium, nickel, zinc and others give a broader spectrum sometimes with only a tiny tweak in the proportions. A jeweller near me sells 18ct wedding rings of gold and Cornish tin which is a nice soft grey gold - and I saw in Changi airport duty free some absolutely stunning purple gold.


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## novocaine

a lot of mass produced plain rings (wedding etc.) from places such are beaverbrooks are machined from hot drawn rod these days. waste gets put back in to pot for the next one. 

for anything with a setting, you'll find the majority are cast. 

a good source if you wan't to make your own wedding rings is http://www.cooksongold.com/Rings/

my wedding band is white gold and cost a fortune, it's a fairly plain band with an intended centre and a comfort fit (the only part of the wedding were we spluged, wife got a nice engagement ring and a plain wedding ring, I got a nice wedding ring). shame I don't wear it, I wear the stirling silver copy I made, the wife hasn't noticed yet, so it must be a good copy.  and at 20 quid for the blank from the aforementioned website. 

and yes, I have a safe lol.

anyway, back on topic, ish, I fancy making a wooden ring, maybe a wooden inlay on a silver band. need to find a coin that's actually silver first.


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## Phil Pascoe

"Waste gold" - "Waste silver" = oxymorons 
Lemel is the word - a useful word for quizes and scrabble - it's not in many dictionaries.


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## novocaine

phil.p":108gz8kq said:


> "Waste gold" = oxymoron



never met a goldsmith who can't make money by shaking his apron.


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## Phil Pascoe

While we're on rings - I cut mine and rounded the ends. I worked many moons ago with crane driver who had a finger ripped out of his hand by a stray wire tie when he was working as a banksman, and it persuaded me easily not to wear a continuous ring. I've had two ripped off and lost but I still possess the finger.
In New Delhi they pan the drains where the gold is worked - and that's after the workers' shower water is panned.


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## novocaine

I take mine off when I'm working on anything I can be hung up on. when offshore I have to remove it (along with the watch and necklace). 

if I'm welding the ring and the watch come off, I've got a lovely bangle that used to be a watch until I grounded it with an Arc. still got the burn mark. 

worked on a maintenance team a long time ago and had to help when the foreman got himself hung by his wrist from a ladder, 2" to the left and he'd have been fizzing on 415v. 

have a look on youtube for a channel called codys lab (or something), he's been mining platinum from the roads recently, thanks to catalytic converters.


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## Phil Pascoe

Off tack - something like a quarter of the world's gold is privately owned in India, now being overtaken by China. My cousin, a GP, married a rather lovely Indian lady GP whose mother, father, uncle, and two aunties were GPs. I went to his wedding reception and someone collapsed - they shouted is there a doctor in the house and 140+ out of 185 put their hands up ( even his father who is a geographer  ). Three of the women flew back to India to get the family gold for the wedding - I saw the bride and she was draped in the stuff. She said she was embarrassed to be wearing so much but she was only wearing 20 - 25% of what they asked of her.


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## Benchwayze

In the old buildings in Birmingham's Hockley district, the floor boards were taken up regularly and the dust collected from between the joists. 
I don't know for sure, but I wouldn't be surprised if the jewellers' aprons were collected every day! 

That's a reminder for me! My first arrest was on a filthy winter's night, in Spencer Street. He was a factory-breaker, with his pockets full of jewellers' findings. Mon Dieu that was 52 years ago! :shock:


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## Eric The Viking

phil.p":2ogvf323 said:


> If you wish to make rings in gold, it's wise to buy colour matched solder when purchasing the gold as every slightly different alloy is a slightly different colour. Different metals are alloyed for different properties - some harden or soften, some colour. E.g. pink has copper in it, white palladium or platinum (often rhodium plated commercially), chromium, cadmium, nickel, zinc and others give a broader spectrum sometimes with only a tiny tweak in the proportions. A jeweller near me sells 18ct wedding rings of gold and Cornish tin which is a nice soft grey gold - and I saw in Changi airport duty free some absolutely stunning purple gold.



Singapore requires you to lock your credit card away for safety. I bought some silk there once, for my wife who couldn't come on the trip, but I also saw a Pentax LX camera (like my own, black one) which had been entirely gold plated. Looked hideous and practically useless - can't imagine why anyone would want one, but there was evidently a market. Lots of bling things available for those that wanted them. 

I think that business has grown in places like Dubai (duty free) and Bahrain, of recent decades.


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