There are no indications that I’m aware of to suggest I am Jewish. However, a fellow I do occasional work for is. He’s also an excellent artist, with a deep appreciation for art. Conspiring to make a gift for him, I asked how difficult he thought it would be to carve or file the shape from a large coin. He said it would be quite a bit of work. I procrastinated for a while, but eventually forced myself to kick the idea into the tangible realm. He was right. It was difficult, and it would have been much more difficult if I had done a finer job.
I had an old (.999 fine) 0.6 oz silver round that was in rough shape. I started by making a template of an equilateral triangle sized to fit the silver piece. That was more difficult than I anticipated. After tracing the outline onto the piece, I then drilled holes into the area that I knew would be removed. I attempted to use a dremel, but quickly found it impossible to control. Setting the dremel aside, I grabbed the needle files and for hours, persevered with a task I’d have given up on if it was for myself.
As usual, my first attempt at something often ends with salient imperfections. A less primitive approach would have been to cast the final piece and skip the low-brow process of mangling and discarding half the silver. The gift is for an artist, one who appreciates imperfections, so perhaps the efforts will not be wasted.
I cannot foresee myself ever doing this again, unless I get into some really bizarre coffee and have no other method to do so efficiently.