Smelt Your Own Ring

!!!Caution!!! Melting pennies will release Zinc Oxide fumes which cause flu-like symptoms including fever, chills, nausea, headache, fatigue, muscle aches, joint pains, shortness of breath, chest pain, and cough. Use a well ventilated area with power assisted ventilation to avoid breathing these fumes.

That being said, this is ring made from pennies. You can smelt the copper coating off leaving you with zinc. Pennies minted after 1983 are all made like this.

You don’t have to have a lathe to do this. You could always hammer the ingot flat and follow the nickel ring instructions. A surprising thing is how lite it is. My wedding ring is the same size weighing 8 grams. This ring weighs in at 3.

Step 1: Smelt

smelt 1 (sm lt). v. smelt·ed, smelt·ing, smelts. v.tr. To melt or fuse (ores) in order to separate the metallic constituents.

I placed 10 pennies on a spoon and heated them with a propane torch. The spoon was held with locking pliers, which was held by a wooded clamp. Once the zinc liquefied I removed the copper with a metal probe (I used a light tester I had near by).

I then poured it into a section of ½” pipe and let it cool off.

Comments

[bloomautomatic]

Nice job. How long does it stay shiny? When I've casted zinc it always oxidized in a few days or weeks, but I never polished it either.

V

[repurposed]

If you're looking for a protective coating that wears well, check out Protecta-Clear. Easy to use and wears very well to protect the shiny finish. However, no solution will permanently protect so it may need to be reapplied.

[SamuraiSpirit]

This idea is really cool, but I don't wear rings. So, I used this idea to make a pendant version of the Miyamoto Musashi style Tsuba, or sword guard.

[Lord of The Things]

cool...

[rashoot]

Why would anyone want a zinc ring? Sounds toxic! Wouldn't it be easier to get a piece of scrap Stainless steel tubing and do the same stretch and polishing technique? Seems like a waste of time?

[pyrorower]

I'm looking forward to doing this! My only concern is corrosion. You mentioned that wearing the ring on a daily basis keeps it from getting dull, though I would think some corrosion would happen since zinc is somewhat reactive. I would think that exposure to sweat and the like would cause some form of corrosion. Have you experienced this?

[Mrballeng]

I only wore it for a week. But during that time I never noticed any corrosion. I didn't even see any trace metal on my finger like a nickel ring would leave. Most important is that every surface is polished. I'll post a picture soon of what the ring looks like today. I polished a part of it so people can see the difference in how it dulled vs a fresh polish. Really the difference is not very noticeables. Good luck.

[black hole]

What sort of cutting bits do you use with your lathe?

[poofrabbit]

Hey congratulations on being a finalist in the hack it contest! Good luck to you!

[schumi23]

Nice! If I had all the supplies (torch, tools (I only have a dremel) and driveway (Outdoor area) I might do it!
Though... it is technically illegal, I believe - destroying currency :) Should be fine as long as you dont post it online or something... (just kidding - though I do think it is technically illegal...)

[ImageMaker]

In fact, it is legal to make jewelery from US coins. It's a gray area concerning melting pennies; there is a law against melting coinage in order to sell the metal content, but I doubt anyone would worry about half a dozen pennies (especially since the zinc obtained from that number is probably worth two cents).

[schumi23]

Interesting... I didnt know that - here I am, enlightened! Thanks :)

[jack393939]

before i start this, is there any chance of the zink flowing out of the edges of the pipe?
i don't want to get the zink all over my driveway.

also, dose the zink dull very fast

[Mrballeng]

Molten metal has a surface tension. Just like water stays together as a drop. Even if there was a leak it wouldn't flow uncontrollably. Concrete can pop up when heated. As a caution I placed a piece of hobby brass under the pipe. Zince does dull but while I was wearing the ring it stayed shining. My guess is that just wearing it in everyday life causes it to be polished.

[KoomoriForge]

Mrballeng,

Great Instructable! You made the steps simple and easy to follow. I have but one suggestion: your caution about the zinc fumes is just a little too tame. It should read like this:

"WARNING! Breathing zinc fumes can KILL YOU! If you decide to do this and find yourself feeling flu-like symptoms including fever, chills, nausea, headache, fatigue, muscle aches, joint pains, shortness of breath, chest pain, and cough, go directly to the Emergency Room. You may have just contracted Metal Fume Fever."

Here's just one tale about a blacksmith who died from Metal Fume Fever: http://www.anvilfire.com/iForge/tutor.php?lesson=safety3/demo
Paw-Paw was an all-around great guy. BTW, Anvilfire is a great resource for blacksmithing and metalworking.

Zinc fumes are bad...mmkay?

I've enjoyed your other instructables. Keep 'em coming.

All the Best,
Matt

[Mrballeng]

Thanks or the comment. I tried looking up statistics on metal fume fever deaths and found nothing except for the anvilfire example. OSHA had this though didn't list death. I'd be very interested on more information. I don't want to leave Earth any faster then needed. 

[KoomoriForge]

You're welcome. As a hobbyist metalworker, I find it's easy to disregard safety rules through ignorance or complacency (it won't happen to me). Your caution may be apropos for occasional smelter hobbyists who make one or two rings, but if the smelter has preexisting conditions (like Paw Paw) or if, like a couple of your commenters stated, they want to make lots of rings, metal fume fever may turn into a serious condition.

I found a Scandinavian journal that documented the death of three metalworkers: http://www.sjweh.fi/show_abstract.php?abstract_id=625

Here's an extract: "...The warning follows three independent reports of deaths from pneumonia with septicemia to the NLIA since 1997 among previously healthy men 50 to 55 years of age. All three men were exposed to welding fumes immediately before they fell ill. Two were experienced shipyard welders. According to their widows, they used to have bouts of metal fume fever several times a year..."

Many people survive metal fume fever, but like you said, I'd rather not find out how many times I can survive it. I appreciate your positive reply. Keep up your great work!

[Mrballeng]

I'm with you. I'm not taking any chances. Looks like this ring will be the only one I make from zinc.

[MrE]

I share the same sentiments of KoomoriForge. Be safe. Also I was watching "How it's made" the other day. They did a segment on pull handles and knobs for desks and drawers. almost all of this stuff is brass or copper plated Zinc. So another reason to not destroy pennies and recycle some old pulls off of old furniture. So save your pennies to buy junk zinc and help the economy a little, as well as making some cool jewelry.

[chockenbury]

Given all the hubub about legal or not legal what other sources could be used to have the same outcome?

[MrE]

Yes, read my post, cheap battery casings are pure zinc.

[Rhowryn]

If you or anyone you know happens to own an anvil and you're planning to make a couple of these, make a quick hardy to hold the blank. The sturdiness makes it much easier to hammer.

[mjursic]

Could you explain how to do this? I own an anvil and I'm very interested in this project.

[Rhowryn]

My thought was to make a hardy using a square pipe for the base, and a solid top with a hole smaller than the blank but large enough to allow your expanding tool through. Hammer the tool down through the blank and hole in the hardy. This way you can get a similar result each time.

[MrE]

I love this ible it's such a neat idea for turning zinc into a neat ring. However I have an objection to melting down the pennies, as has been previously stated on here it is not illegal to melt money in the U.S. But the fact that we are destroying money for this leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. I did a simple research on zinc using Google and found through my reading that batteries, specifically alkaline and carbon rod batteries have a pure zinc cathode. According to my readings this is the reason that cheap batteries eventually pop and leak, since the anode transfers inc away from the casing. I managed to pull apart an old duracell using a pipe cutter but realized the casing on better batteries are steel and the cathode is on the inside. What they do is add a metal clip to the end nd put a plastic sheath to make you insert it the right way. only a small rod in the center is zinc on better batteries.
Now here is the cool part I had three cheapo chinese batteries I had just thrown away. I used my pipe cutter to crack open the case and peel the casing back like peeling open a ham can, only in a spiral downwards move. This kept me from having to mess with the insides and the acidic alkaline mess. It was all wrapped in paper inside. Now I have all the zinc I need for one ring and am recycling, Sort of... but hey no money wasted.

[TerminalDragon]

You do realise that it is illegal to melt legal tender in both the UK and the USA? In both countries doing so may result in a jail sentence.

[Dr Qui]

This old chestnut again, it only becomes illegal if you modify a coin and try and pass it of as legal tender. it makes perfect sense to melt pennies to get the inc he needed, if you had bought the same amount of zinc online it would have cost way much more plus the postage and packaging etc.

[TerminalDragon]

Within the UK it is illegal to melt down or tamper with money in any fashion.
It makes sense as well as if everyone melted down pre 1992, after this period they become copper plated steel in Britain, there would be a mass shortage of pennies, thus forcing the Mint to make more whilst others are still, in theory, in circulation.

[Adam12hicks]

They have the biggest issue with people modifying currency, especially to look like a larger bill than it is, or bleaching paper to try and re-use. Nabbing someone for melting down 10 cents worth of pennies isn't too high on their radar. At least in the US... maybe the folks in the UK don't have much else going on?

[TerminalDragon]

But if everyone melted down ten pence worth of pennies a shortage of pennies would develop. That's why it's illegal.

[Dr Qui]

If everyone has a big jar of pennies somewhere in the house and who doesnt then a shortage also occurs due to hording.  and i guess those folk who casually throw pennies into fountains that then rust until they are just iron oxide discs should be liable for prosecution too?

The law was most likely introduced to stop the large scale scrap dealers from doing this when scrap metal prices skyrocketed last year.

If everyone did melt down 10 pennies the government would make billions from the fuel duty on all the gas needed to melt them.

The cost of enforcing such a law alone make it  farcical.  You could test the theory and report one of your neighbors on crimestoppers for melting down 10 pennies and see how long before the penny police turn up to kick down his door. 

[Dr Qui]

Nice Ible, although when I saw the tag line in the email that you had smelt your own ring my first though was damn he must be flexible.

[Crazypower]

You specified "10 pennies" but is the alloy here in the UK the same as the US cent?

[Dr Qui]

our pennies are now copper plated steel, older ones are solid copper and are worth way more as scrap metal than their face value, i even think the steel ones are worth more for scrap too. every time I fill up the penny jar i use a magnet to weed out the steel ones and keep the copper ones, once i get enough solid copper ones i'm going to make a lamp shade or something with them.

[jawasan]

I a follower now! I love the simplicity yet he outcome is stunning....who would know it is from pocket change. Thanks for putting this up!

[azharz]

Thanks for this instructable.

[sconner1]

When I made one I just poured the zinc into a ring mold.
One could polish then electroplate it to keep it from tarnishing.

[astrong0]

Gah! Yes!!! I had it all polished up and wore it for about an hour and where it had contact with my skin it had begun to degrade, almost as off I had ran 400 grit sand paper across it. Do you know of a nice electroplating 'ible?

[sconner1]

the simplest way would be to connect it to a battery negative and hang it in a acid solution with a nickel also connected to the battery positive and wait for the nickel to migrate, but other stuff in the solution may deposit before the nickel gets into solution and the results may not be great that way.
As a concept electroplating is simple.
In reality it's a difficult process to get good results,
notwithstanding the fact that the chemicals used are not cheap and the waste electrolytes are considered hazardous and can't be disposed of easily.

[valveman]

I can see other possibilities for melting pennies. Great Instructable!