The process of making a US quarter into a ring takes a bit of patience and trial and error too, becuase these are handmade, they are not always perfect, but thats the idea. In general, it takes about an hour to form a ring, polish it off and make it into something wearable.
We first start by making a hole in the middle of the coin. It needs to be precise, otherwise one side of the coin may be thicker than another.
We use a die punch to make the hole. Next we shave the sharp bits of the inner hole by deburring it with a special tool. This removes the shapr edges and helps prevent the coin from cracking under pressure. The little bits from the coin are collected into jar for use later.
Once deburred, we start the process by putting the coin into a die block and slowing bending it to a cone shape. The die block and ball bearing helps us to get an even bend in the coin. Electrical tape is used to keep the coin in place while the press forces the ball bearing into the mold.
Once the first pressing is done, you have the start of the ring. The next step is to further deburr the ring and to anneal it.
Annealing is a heat treatment process that softens metal so it’s easier to work with. To anneal a ring, you can heat it with a torch until it glows red, then quench it in water.
The coin is taking shape! Once we anneal it, we start to put it on the ring stretcher and work on making both sides pretty equal. Depending on the ring size and the coin itself, this process of reheating, cooling and forming can happen several times.
Once the ring has been formed, the process of cleaning the ring takes place, firest by removing the build up, buffing it several times and then putting it through a ultrasonic cleaning process. In the image below, you can see the start of it being cleaned on the left, while the right still had heat discoloring.
Finally, we work on cleaning and polishing the ring so that its clean, package it and offer it up for sale through wholesale orders.
Each ring is unique and handmade, so its might not be perfect, but thats the point. When you purchase one of our rings, you know that the proceeds are going to a great cause, the Blessing Bag Program, our 501c3.