Metal
Metal Markers
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.
Aircraft Instrument Coasters
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.
Which Metal Is Strongest?
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.
How Heat Sinks Are Made
Take an up-close look at the surprising process that goes into making the stacked fins of a heat sink. Rather than casting the aluminum cooling device, they’re made by shaving the fins out of a solid block of metal, and bending them into place.
MezmoTop
Designed by serial crowdfunder Kristaps Krišjans, this unique spinning top mimics the look of a droplet of water splashing into a pond. Its lower part resembles pond ripples whether at rest or in motion. Available in CNC-machined stainless steel or titanium, polished or matte finish, and with or without a matching base.
Fusion Wallet: Cyberpunk Edition
There are tons of wallets to choose from these days, but we’ve never seen one that looks like this. It has an all-aluminum body with an aesthetic inspired by Japanese cyberpunk anime. Each one is made from numerous CNC-machined parts, with exposed Torx screwheads to complete the look. Available in 3 customizable designs.
Making a UFO Gyroscope
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.
ToolCart MX
Keep all your tools organized and easily accessible with DiamondLife’s 6-foot-tall rolling pegboard rack. It’s made from sturdy metal, and offers up thousands of pegboard holes for hanging tools, along with a pair of shelves with lips to keep gear from falling. Available in various finishes, in 2-foot and 4-foot-wide versions.
The Adamantini Glass
This cocktail glass is virtually indestructible. The folks at Wolfram Manufacturing individually mill each one from a 25 pound billet of solid 303 stainless steel, resulting in a beautiful, substantial, and quite expensive vessel for your martinis, margaritas, or ice cream sundaes.
Metal Spinning
An amazingly satisfying demonstration of a skilled metalworker converting a flat disc of metal into a smoothly curved one, by spinning it at a high speed around a form, then pressing against it with shaping tools. The technique is used to make conical or domed shapes.
Stainless Steel Keycaps
Add a bit of personality to your gaming keyboard with these cool keycaps. They’re made from metal instead of plastic, giving them a little extra heft and a shiny surface. The letters are allow backlighting to shine through too. Available in WASD, QWERADSF, Arrow, and Escape key sets in several hues.
Gallium in Slow-Motion
“It’s like a cross between silver and milk.” Gallium is a pretty amazing element, a shiny metal that melts above 85.57ºF. The Slow Mo Guys decided to play with some of the stuff in front of their high-speed camera, capturing some amazing footage of the metal’s properties when in motion.
G-SHOCK Full Metal Aged
A special limited-edition version of Casio’s full metal wristwatch. All of the metal surfaces of the GMWB5000V-1 were first hit with a black ion-plate, then distressed to give them an aged, matte finish. Features include 200m water resistance, world time, 5 daily alarms, a calendar, and network time sync via Bluetooth.
Laser Engraving a Disc
Hypnotic and wonderfully-satisfying footage of a high-speed laser engraver rapidly etching an intricate geometric pattern into a metal disc. Z-Tech Lasers‘ video wasn’t sped up either, and was shot in real time.
Machining Darth Vader
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.
Inside a Spring Factory
Music label INDUSTRIAL JP presents a hypnotic, close-up look at the metal bending machines at Goko Spring Co. which take spools or stiff wire and convert them into tiny springs. We could seriously put this on repeat and watch it all day long. The track is Goko Bane by Sountrive.
Perfect Fit Metal Art
Artist Dieter Stahlwerx shows off a couple of his creations – thick metal sculptures which are cut so precisely that their second part nearly disappears into the background as it glides smoothly into place. Second video here.
Artifox Desk 02
This walnut and steel desk from Artifox combines clean lines with utility, providing users with a slotted docking space with cable openings, a cable management grid with anchor points, and pegs for hanging headphones or bags under the desk. It’s also compatible with accessories like a floating stand, and a monitor riser.
Noemi Shipping Container Cabinet
17 Stories‘ distressed metal bar cabinet has looks inspired by an industrial shipping container. It features a double-decker design that’s ideal for storing bottles of wine and glasses, but really can be used for all sorts of items. Measures 49.2″ H x 28.7″ L x 16.5″ D.
Milling a Metal Gear
Sturdie Sharpie Marker Case
A smaller and slimmer version of the Tactical Marker metal Sharpie case. The Sturdie is meant to house the ink core of a Sharpie, so you get practically the same size and shape as the marker’s original body. It comes in titanium, aluminum, brass or copper.
Gold Party Cup
A fun take on the classic Solo cup design, Fred’s whimsical stainless steel 16 oz. cup has a shiny gold-tone finish that will make all your buds with cheap red plastic cups jealous. Also available in rainbow anodized or copper-plated finishes, the latter being perfect for mules.
Making the Dragon Twist
Mt Phillip Metal Works shows off an amazing method for turning a bar of metal into an intricate and sculptural decoration inspired by the scaly tail of a dragon. The technique was inspired by the work of fellow metalsmith Matt Harris.
Melty Metal Minifigs
DaveHax shows us how to use silicone LEGO molds to create replicas of minifigs and other bricks using gallium, a very soft metal which is solid at room temperature, but turns back to liquid at about 30ºC (86ºF). He needs to mold a T-1000 figure from Terminator 2.
Golden Star Skull Marine Keycap
Give your keyboard the makeover it deserves with one of these creepy custom Cherry MX-compatible keycaps. Sold individually, they can be cast from bronze, gold-plated, or .925 silver. We’d do an entire keyboard with these if we wouldn’t go bankrupt doing it.
Aluminum Spiral Plaything
Designer and fabricator Chaz Capobianco shows off a cool creation, a large, flat spiral cut from a sheet of aluminum, which produces mesmerizing patterns as its center is moved about. It’s sort of like giant, flattened Slinky, and so much cooler than a fidget spinner.
Making Cookie Cutters
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.
Machining Metal Pens
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.
TM 2 Sharpie Marker Case
The Tactical Marker 2.0 or TM 2 is a tough metal case for Sharpie markers. You can even drive over them and they’ll remain undamaged. The carrier comes in aluminum, brass or copper variants and with your choice of a blue, black or red Sharpie.
Casting a Hammer
Fabricator Brian Oltrogge walks us thorough a truly modern process for casting a custom hammer. He used a 3D printer to generate patterns, hand-sanded and smoothed the parts, then used them to make sand molds for its aluminum handle and lead head.
Use Arrow Keys ← → for Faster Navigation | Keyboard Shortcuts: OnOff