Fishing Lures Out of a Stack of Quarters Using Mokume Gane

In this instructables, We show you how to make fishing lures out of a small stack of quarters using the japanese blacksmithing technique called Mokume Gane.

Before we start. Let's just get this out of the way, it ISN'T illegal to destroy currency for this project. it IS illegal to destroy or alter currency and then try to sell it for more. Now that we have that out of the way, lets make some lures!

The first step in the process is to procure a stack of quarters. Once you do, make sure you wash them with acetone to get rid of any dirt or oils from your hands.

So for the lures we made, we took a visit to a local bait and tackle shop to grab some premade lures for inspiration.

these two are the ones we bought and trying to replicate.

Now that the quarters are clean, grab some locking c-clamps and clamp the quarters together. (this stack has about 3.50 worth of quarters)

Once clamped, weld the quarters together. we used a tig welder but mig works just as well.

Once welded. check your welds! you might need to make 2-3 lines of welds to make sure the quarters wont seperate during blacksmithing.

The welds look good for us! now that the stack is welded, we light up our small forge. wait a little bit for the forge to heat up. IMPORTANT! because of the metals used in a quarter (copper and nickel) they have a lower melting point compared to the common steel. with that being said, don't put the stack directly under the flame due to the risk of melting metal. nobody wants melted copper in their forge.

With proper tools such as tongs and pliers (and maybe a friend with an extra set of hands) start shaping the stack!

First flatten the stack while cherry red so that the quarters will forge weld to one another. after you check that the forge welds work, start hitting the stack on its side to draw out the shape that you desire

Keep checking the size and shape of the lure your making against the store bought one to see if you need to tweak and shape it more. if not, lets go to the next step!

Now that we have a rough shape of the lures, it's time for final shaping! the first thing we did was to take a rotary tool and scalloped the back of one of the lures to replicate the store bought one...

For shaping the other lures, we used a belt grinder with 120-220 grit belts. watch your fingers!

If you feel that you like the final shape of the lures, use a drill and make a hole sized accordingly to the fishing hardware you have.

One of the lures we purchased at the bait store (pictured on the left) had some stippling on the face. to replicate that we just used a center hole punch. use as many times as you'd like...hey you're the artist here!

Looking good!!! Now it's time to add all the hardware (split rings and fishing hooks)

Now it's time to put our hard work to the test! we did a test cast and it really did swim the the store bought lure!

after an afternoon on the water we ended up catching over 15 fish with our lures...(we swear!)

We hope you enjoyed this project and video! check out more videos on Narwhal labs youtube channel!

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClNpgohnT6dXWI2Th8gb9Uw