Awesome Machining

A Möbius strip is a twisted object that loops back onto itself, so it has only a single side. Brandon from Inheritance Machining shows us how he made a similarly perplexing object out of a single block of steel. Like the strip, his Möbius cube has one continuous side, but it was far more complicated to engineer and craft than its source of inspiration.

Iron and steel are the most recyclable materials on Earth. So it’s no wonder we often see items made by melting and reforging metal. In this video from Maker B, the machinist shows us how he took an assortment of steel bolts and removed their threads to create the parts for a working combination lock – no melting required. He made the dial from a brass rod.

A vacuum engine moves due to air pressure on one side of its piston and a partial vacuum on the other. The simplest example uses a flame on one side of the piston to create these conditions. W&M Levsha shows the process of making a working miniature of this kind of engine using brass, aluminum, and precision machining techniques.

Inspired by the stainless steel pool ball made by MyMechanics, Cool Again Restoration set out to make their own. They used different techniques to set their pool ball apart and incorporated copper and epoxy resin. They started by machining cylindrical sections, gradually refining into a spherical shape. We’d love to see a whole rack filled with these.

One of the coolest weapons that ninjas carry is the throwing star – also known as a shuriken. Maker B offers a satisfying machining video showing how he transformed a large industrial bolt into a pocket-sized shuriken with points that deploy with the push of a button. He made its body from the bolt head and its retractable points from slices of its threaded shaft.

Screws come in all shapes and sizes. In this video from Mike at Chronova Engineering, he show the process of creating an insanely small 0.6 mm screw for use in a watch. After milling down a metal rod on a watchmaker’s lathe, the part is turned in a threading die, its head cleaned up, and a slot cut into it with a skinny saw blade.

An isogrid is a kind of metal structure that uses hollowed-out triangles to provide strength while reducing weight. Barry from Titans of CNC Machining used the technique to create a truly awesome skateboard. He started by plotting a design in SolidWorks, then used a CNC mill to carve the board from a block of aluminum.

One of the more interesting items you can produce in a machine shop is a sphere inside of a cube. Emil Hogslätt shows how he produced one such object using a DMG Mori 5-axis milling machine. The finished product is immensely satisfying, as are the soothing noises the machine makes as it cuts and smooths the aluminum piece.

Hand Tool Rescue came across Michael Volpe’s 1919 patent for an insane multi-wrench. The concept for the hand tool was that it could turn just about every imaginable fastener. He decided to make a replica of the impractical wrench in hopes that one day he might find every kind of fastener it can tighten.

The process of knurling metal involves applying a criss-cross pattern to create a grippy, textured surface. This satisfying video from My Mechanics Insights shows how the metalworker created the handle for a dumbbell and applied knurling to both ends of the shaft, along with an overlapping section in the middle.

We can’t think of a practical use for a vise you can fit between your fingertips, but that doesn’t make this tiny vise any less impressive. W&M Levsha created the micro tool by milling shapes from a small block of metal, drilling holes for its mechanism, then fitting it together with a teensy threaded rod and handle to make it work.

A while back, My Mechanics machined a sweet stainless steel 8-Ball. In this video, he makes a unique display stand for it, using a lathe and a rod of brass which he turned into a helical shape by gradually offsetting the piece before cutting. We wonder if he could create a double helix with a similar technique.

A Euler’s Disk is a plaything that illustrates the physics at work between a spinning, rolling disc, and stationary surface. Beyond the Press supersized the experiment by machining medium- and giant-size versions of the toy. Both are incredibly loud as they spin, and you wouldn’t want to put your hand underneath the bigger one.

TITANS of CNC: Academy presents footage of a truly epic creation – a hefty chess board machined from a massive hunk of metal. It’s got a grooved playing surface, and logo art on its sides. We’d love to see how they milled all of those beautiful titanium chess pieces too.

Artist Ilia Gyrevich makes unique and functional objects by machining metal. In this video, he shows off how he creates his EDC pens from brass rods, as the metal shavings fly forth in a most satisfying manner. You can buy his wares from the MachinedGift Etsy shop.

Engineer BrunS is an expert at metalcraft. In this clip, he machines an impressive, smooth-spinning, 3-axis gyroscope toy that looks a bit like a flying saucer. Along the way, he fabricates a couple of simpler spinning tops to tease us, while his buddies pimp a phone for their sponsor.

Watch the Dark Lord come to life via modern machining tech, as an Okuma MU-5000V 5-axis mill completes milling a perfect metal bust of Star Wars’ baddie, courtesy of Morris Midwest. We’d love to see the sculpt from the beginning, but we’ll settle for metal Vader on our desk.

G.I Customs posted this cool time-lapse video that shows off the painstaking process of hand-machining a custom bronze and brass steampunk-style lighter. We would have liked to see how he created the skull design though.