THE BEST Metal

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.

Machine shop DataPro shares hypnotic time-lapse footage of a Datron CNC milling machine, as it takes a disc of aluminum and transforms it into a precise and smoothly formed gear. It was shot as a time-lapse, but won’t it be awesome when machines can do this in real time?

Utah artist Andrew Chase creates truly impressive metal sculptures of animals, each of which includes, as he puts it “heavy, greasy, and lethally sharp edges.” Many of his creations even have articulated joints, so they can be put into different poses.

Microworld makes these intricate metal building kits of mech-animal hybrids. The collection includes a polar bear, crocodile, lion, flying tiger, scorpion, and a police dog. Each one is made from iron and brass, with fade-resistant color coatings. Expect a challenge for all but the most experienced builders.

After wowing us with his Fallout-inspired Red Rocket, metal artist Engineer BrunS is back with an even more challenging build, a big bronze rocketship. Watching the precision-milled components fit together so perfectly is wonderfully satisfying. If you’ve got 1500 bucks to spare, you can even own this masterpiece

We love the simplicity of FutureRelic’s rod-shaped bottle opener. Its shape reminds us of keychain flashlights, but this tool is perfect for opening a cold brew. Available in copper-finish bronze or brass, with a knurled grip. Measured 2.25″ long.

Designed by Wales-based sculptor Ivan Black, this hypnotic, kinetic plaything is made from 21 interconnected metal rods, which can be spun and twisted to produce visually-stimulating patterns inspired by the Fibonacci sequence. It’s available in silver, gold, bronze, or a limited edition scarlet color. Be sure to watch the video.

Plane Pieces’ drink coasters are the perfect gift for aviation enthusiasts. They’re made using authentic Pratt & Whitney gears from vintage WWII radial airplane engines. Each one is encased in clear resin, surrounded with a machined aluminum outer ring, and has a protective bumper underneath. Sold individually, or in sets of four.

Metal shop Midwest Tungsten makes this elegant desktop conversation piece that includes five 1″ cubes, each made from the element it describes. Includes blocks made from 100% pure copper, aluminum, titanium, iron, and 95% pure tungsten, each engraved with the element’s symbol, electron configuration, and atomic mass.

In this clip from Japanese metalsmith Swap Lamp, he shows us how to use an offset disc to mill repeating geometric patterns into a piece of metal. It takes a bit of manual work to re-position the workpiece, but the resulting design is something like a Spirograph would make if it could engrave metal instead of drawing on paper.

These beautifully-crafted metal chopsticks offer substance and permanence, while nodding to tradition with their bamboo-inspired form. Each one is molded from pure titanium, which won’t rust, and is resistant to germs. Available in black, silver, grey, or gold.

Watch as a pile of ordinary brass nuts and bolts is transformed into a shiny sculpture of an insect by artist Ross the Random. We weren’t quite sure where he was going at first with the wing piece, but the finished work turned out to be quite amazing.

This keychain storage cache has two sections, so you can store different items in each of halves. It’s airtight, and perfect for carrying pills, emergency cash, or other small items. Internal dimensions are .45″ across, 0.63″ deep on one side, and 0.71″ deep on the other. Available in brass, stainless steel, or titanium.

Specode’s elegant keychain flashlight resembles a chunky dog tag, and is made from real brass. It packs a 60-lumen CREE XP-G2 LED light source, and is rechargeable via its MicroUSB port. Also available in aluminum.

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.

Upgrade your D&D game with Rainbow Shop CN’s beautiful shimmery electroplated metal dice. Made from zinc alloy, they have a nice heft to them, and you’ll get a full set including D20, D12, D10, D10(percentile), D8, D6, and D4 for all your gaming needs.

The scorpions we encounter here in the U.S. are relatively small, but this oversize metal creature measures 8.25″ long. This awesomely creepy creation is made by Thailand artists Kreatworks using recycled automotive and machine parts. Also, it turns out that there are real scorpions that are almost the same size in South Africa.

Builder Phil Vandelay needed a door to separate two spaces in his workshop. Rather than just go with a traditional rectangular design, he fabricated a metal frame which folds into triangular sections when opening and closing it. The design was inspired by this one he previously saw online.

This impressive piece of computer-controlled machinery from Germany’s J. Neu can take straight pieces of metal tubing, and bend them to its whim. We’re not getting the accompaniment of The Godfather music, but maybe it’s a threat that the machine will bend you like a pretzel if you go against it.

Cookiecutter.com shares a brief look at a machine that transforms rings of metal into cookie cutters. It uses several, hydraulic tools to precisely push the metal against a central form. While the machine is amazing, for some shapes, they still use the old-fashioned method. Wow.

Time for Machine makes amazing metal and wood models of vehicles. Among them is a tiny tank called the “Marvel.” TOMs Modeling in Motion assembled one of these mini mechanical marvels and captured the build as a time-lapse, stop-motion video. We also enjoyed watching him put together a metal Hindenburg from AEROBASE.

Vital Carry has upgraded the classic Sharpie permanent marker by wrapping its ink cartridge in an aluminum, brass, copper, or titanium sleeve. Each one is machined from a solid bar of metal, and the Sharpie insert is replaceable. Laser engraving of up to 10 characters is available as an option.

The perfect gift for aviation fanatics, this set of round nickel coasters features images of four critical instruments from an airplane cockpit – the turn indicator, the attitude indicator, the heading indicator, and the altimeter. Backed with felt to protect your coffee table.

Between steel, aluminum, copper, and brass, which one is strongest? The guys at the Hydraulic Press Channel decided to put each one to the test on their 150-ton press, with some pretty explosive results. We wonder what titanium or tungsten would do under the same forces.