Something I had a go at recently. The old 2 shillings & half crowns are a popular ring to use. But are 50%Nickel 50% Zinc. Pre 1920 british silver coins had .925 sterling silver content. So much better to use but expensive to buy. Just bought some Morgan 1881 Silver Dollars to do. They are 90% Silver. I wore the half crown ring for a few days & it did make my fingers go a bit black. Ones made of none precious metal need either a coat of clear laquer of which I have gallons of 2 pack from doing my write off cars & bikes rebuilds. Or maybe some way of anodising. Got stacks of coins to go at. There was an issue of, sort of destroying coins but seems like no one gets bothered by it. Obviously the coins I am practicing on are no longer tender. There was some bylaw in the states saying that you cannot alter currency that will make it worth more than the ring value. The half crown shape is what is termed the fat tyre. Popular in the states where they use a large ring. Smaller coins not so easy as you have to stretch the metal & lot & the writing is much harder to read. That half crown was annealed 6 times during the process. They work harden very quick once you start to reform them.

Edited By Steviegtr on 20/01/2020 22:47:01

Forgot to say I am looking for a parallel Knurl for the lathe to recreate the edge of the coin. It will have to be very fine though & only a single wheel one. If anyone knows of a supplier. All the ones I have seen are much too coarse. Also need to make some stepped arbours so I can install in the chuck of the lathe to work on the outside of the rings without damaging them.

Steve.

Thanks for that info. Some more I will be doing. I have a Krugerand coming which is pure.

How do you guys do it, the idea's you come up with, a lighter sparker. Just looked & it does look pretty much the pitch I would need. Thanks you David.

Steve.

Well watching the ring making on you tube tonight & thought of this forum. A few minutes of your time to watch this guy line a coin with silver. His technique for putting the solder on was good. The finished product was stunning & no black or green finger.

Been messing on the lathe today. Made a complete blooper trying to turn a ring expander down to make a stepped ring holder. The whole thing exploded & wrecked everything. To top it all the cross slide on the carriage went tight to move. Thinking the worst as always I guessed I had bent the cross slide casting. So I stripped the whole thing off, only to find that with the vibration the lock screw had moved inward & made the whole thing tight to move. Phew. A few further pics of my progress with the rings. The 1st one I made was a 2 shilling piece. It was not very good & very wonky. Tonight I attacked it again & made it a bit better. Now it is called a fat tyre.

I am sure a lot of you members are perfectionists. You look at something & say that is not quite right. I have been like that since I was a kid. I guess these days the establishment will have a meaning for the condition. I am sorry ma'hm your son is a nutter. Or has something zymer disease. I am trying really hard to get right.

Before I start with the Silver ones that will be bad if I mess them up. Anyway a few pics of tonight's progress. You will see the black on the coins, this is Liver of sulphur. It is supposed to stain the metal black to give the patina look. ( JA have I spelled this correctly, feel free) It comes off very easy so not really suitable. I am working on a way to stain a permanent colour which will never come of & not discolour the finger. I digress as usual here you go. Enjoy.

Ian S C . Thanks for the picture. Could I make the tool from square section brass. I say this because those pins on the flint are very small & I would not be able to make bushes so small. Also what or where is the roller, from a roller bearing.

I have taken a few lighters apart & all those have the pins fixed. How would I get the thing assembled without the fork being bolted together.

Steve.