Textured Rings

Here is a fun project you can complete in one afternoon, with mostly hand tools (for the exception of a drill). This project can be customised to the makers preference; whether you want to change the colour of the ring, the size, or the pattern/texture.

Tools

1. Drill

2. Large sized drill bit

3. Hammer (recommend using a ball-point hammer)

4. Vice or clamp (something to hold the ring while drilling)

5. Medium to fine Sand Paper

6. Steel wool

7. Metal Polish

8. rag/cloth

9. Nail Punch

10. Mandrel (A steel rod that increases in size)

11. small Round File (if needed)

12. ruler

13. Felt Pen

14. Masking tape

15. Source of high temperature, Blow torch, gas stove, or bonfire

16. Pliers

Material

1. Coin of choice

2. small piece of wood.

3. Short length of wire

Find the centre of the coin using a Ruler and mark it out with a pen. Next if you have one use a nail punch to punch a nick where you marked centre.Then heat the coin, using a blow torch or gas stove, until it become glowing red and quench it in water. This will soften the coin making it easier to work with.

Before you start you must clamp the coin for your own safety, for it will spin if not secured. Now drill out the centre so it can fit onto the mandrel. I didn't have a drill bit big enough so I used a round file to increase the size of the hole. Then cleaned up the edge with a bit of sand paper.

Put the coin onto the mandrel. Hold the piece of wood onto the coin and hammer the top of the wood. Turn the mandrel as you hit the coin down the rod. This with stretch the coin increasing the size. It will also cause it to regain strength so you will want to reheat and quench it again, to make it easier to shape.

Once the ring is at the size you desire flatten the sides by hammering it while turning to even it out. This will take a little bit of skill to get it even but you will get the hang of it.

Using medium grade sand paper sand the outer and inner sides of the ring.

Work your way down to finer sand grits. Finish off the sanding with fine steel wool. The more time you spend on this step the greater polish you will get in the next step

Now it's time to polish the ring. Do a little research and find what the metal is made from, so you can get the right metal polish. This coin is an alloy of copper and nickel, so Brasso metal polish will work perfectly. Apply the polish onto a soft cotton cloth and rub the surface of the ring until polished.

Line the inside of the ring and mandrel with masking tap. Place the ring onto the mandrel. Using a ball-point hammer, hammer the ring to create a hammered texture.

Sand the edges of the ring flat and give the whole thing another polish.

Now your ring is complete or you can change the colour in these next steps.

This is a fun and quick step. Give the ring a polish while wearing gloves so that the ring is free of oils, dirt and finger prints.(important to clean the ring or it will show when colour changes). Tie the ring onto a copper wire and Reheat the it. Be careful only to heat it a little, keeping it an inch away in font of the flame, while heating it evenly. Move it away and wait about 15 seconds and it will change colour. If not put it back in-front of the flame for a little longer. You can experiment with this to get other colours, little heat and it will turn gold, a bit more and it will turn red, then to purple, then lastly blue. But you need to be careful trying to get purple or blue because it is easy to over heat it and this will cause it to turn black. (Air cool it, do not cool it in water or it will not work)

If you are unhappy with the colour you can remove it by using the metal polish.

Instead of a hammered look you can customise it to how you like. Using files and nail punchers to create patterns or try using different colour and sized coins. The choice is yours.

Go out and give it a go.