Michigan web designer Richard Crawford thought it would be too impersonal to simply buy his fiancee's wedding band from a store. So he decided to make his own -- out of a coin.
Crawford posted photos and step-by-step instructions for the wedding band he made out of a Canadian quarter to Imgur Saturday. He told HuffPost Weddings he had never done any sort of metal working before.
"I'd been vaguely aware that it was possible to make a ring out of a coin for a while so I did some (extensive) online research to figure out the details and whether or not it would be feasible," Crawford said. "I figured I would give it a shot."
He said he chose to make the ring out of a Canadian quarter because his fiancee, elementary school teacher Sarah Bontinen, is Canadian. After drilling a hole in the coin, he used a tool made out of a hammer and spoon to tap the edge of the coin down until it was the correct width.
He then used a rotary tool to enlarge the hole, and sanded the entire ring to give it a shiny finish.
Although he had originally wanted the ring to be a surprise, he decided to tell Bontinen before he started working because he figured she'd get suspicious after hearing a metallic tapping noise for hours a day.
"She seemed enthusiastic but a little skeptical in that way that people are when you tell them that you're going to hit a coin with a hammer until it becomes a wedding ring," Crawford said. "She was pleasantly surprised when she saw the finished product."a
Though he's finished with Bontinen's ring, Crawford's work isn't over. Before the two marry around the end of the year, he plans to create his own wedding band out of a British silver shilling since he originally hails from Scotland.
"I'm a firm believer that you can accomplish anything if you tackle it sensibly and put the effort in," he said.
Click through the slideshow below for photos of the ring-making process and Crawford's instructions for those interested in making their own wedding ring.
