Four-leaf Clover From Coin

Hi there!

In this instructable I would like to show you how I transformed a 50-eurocent coin into a nice little leaf clover.

For this project it is better if you have a bit of experience with a rotary carving tool since it is pretty small and a lot harder than working with other materials. Also, you can see every little dent you missed in the stage of evening out.

WARNING: In some countries it is criminal to cut or deface coins

• coin
• rotary carving tool
• waterproof sharpie
• bits: drum sanding thing, cutting discs, (+optional: mini diamond bit for the texture on the back)
• polishing paste + Polishing felts
• sand paper (+optional: superglue)

Sand the coin down on both sides till the imprint is no longer visible. The use of water is very important. I started sanding without it, consequently, I almost burnt myself after a few seconds. Just place a bowl of water beside you and dip the coin in now and then to get rid of the heat.

Meanwhile print out a template. There are thousands of results when you search for 'four leaf clover silhouette' or similar. (To get the graphic to a suitable size you could use Microsoft word: Insert the picture, do a right click on your mouse, there should be written something like size & position). Then cut it out and transfer the shape with a waterproof sharpie onto the coin.

To get the rough shape, I used the edge of a fiberglass reinforced cutting disc. This step is basically getting to the rough size of the clover. After that, the size is going to stay almost the same, just the shape is going to be edited further. I decided that i am making it a bit bigger than the original layout.

For the finer shape I first cut slots with a fretsaw to the centre. Thereafter I used the cutting disk shown in the pictures. On a website I visited they were called abrasive cutting wheels. (If you want to look by yourself, this guy also explains the most important Dremel bits: https://blueroofdesigns.com/2009/07/29/what-are-these-dremel-thingies-for/ ). These discs are very fragile and break if you put too much pressure on them, so you are forced to work slow and gingerly. I tried to compensate all dents I left in the step ahead and create some kind of a round bevel.

Now the most time-consuming part: sanding. I used 600 grit sandpaper first to even out all scratches from defacing the coin. To speed this in the beginning up, you can cut a small strip, roll it around the sand drum and fasten it in place with a small amount of supe glue. Then (after hours of working) I moved on to 1200 grit paper. I got most of the previously made marks out and thought the polishing would let the tiny scratches disappear. That was obviously not the case and now I have tiny polished scratches in the leaf clover. Make sure to remove at best ALL marks before polishing. To sand the inside edges, you can put tape on the back of the sandpaper preventing it to rip apart. Using water helps to sand finer / make less new scratches. For the texture on the back I just used a mini diamond bit with really slight pressure.

To make the coin shiny, apply polishing compound all around the polishing felt. Keep it a little bit wet. If you turn on the rotary tool, this paste will be catapulted everywhere so keep that in mind, maybe go outside. Use circular movements to polish. The compound will get the coin to an acceptable shine, but if you want to make it extra resplendent, repeat this step with tooth paste. The two last pictures are a comparison before and after tooth paste.

Now it is up to you how you wear this leaf clover. In the pictures you can see some ideas I edited. You could drill a hole with a metal drill and then put a necklace through, or maybe use a lighter material /smaller coin so it can be worn as earrings. There are tons of possibilities!

This project took around ten to twelve hours, but most of that was sanding. Maybe I could have saved some time if I started with a rougher sandpaper instead of only using 600 and then 1200 grit.

Thank you for reading, have a nice day :)