Metal

GoldPointProps walks us through the process of creating an incredible replica of the Dark Lord’s infamous head gear using sheet metal, bending tools, tin snips, an arc welder, a Dremel, and a heaping helping of elbow grease.

These palm-sized, flat-pack metal models require patience and attention to detail to assemble, but the result is well worth the effort. Choose from Millennium Falcon, R2-D2, AT-AT, X-Wing Fighter, TIE Fighter, Imperial Star Destroyer, and Vader’s TIE Fighter kits.

Designer and fabricator Chaz Capobianco shows off a nifty 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.

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.

A clever 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.

CMM Laser shows off a nifty construction method which uses lasers to cut flexible corners into square steel tube, allowing them to be bent into custom shapes and angles all from a single piece, and without a bending machine.

We’ve seen metal miniature kits before, but never ones like these. Time 4 Machine’s big selling point is that their detailed models are mechanical. The wind-up cabrio and tank actually drive, the clock tells time (for an hour), and you can actually play the table hockey game.

A truly stunning piece of drinkware unlike any other. Each of Discommon’s Lowball 2 whisky tumblers is CNC machined from a block of aerospace-grade aluminum, and features precision engineered geometry and textures for an optimal grip and to minimize drips.

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.

For Inventables’ fidget spinner challenge, Giaco Whatever decided to see if he could make one that could float in mid air. After a bunch of experimentation, he was able to get it to work by placing it between two opposing magnetic fields, and spinning it for stabilization.

Transform your basic black Apple Watch into a wearable piece of neo-futurist art with one of Joy Complex’s metal covers. They’re available in cast bronze or silver with a patina finsh, or shiny or distressed cast copper. You can find the watch bands shown over on Amazon.

Designer Paul Braddock of the Mold3D Channel demonstrates how to use objects made with a 3D printer to create silicone molds for casting items from a mix of metal powder and resin, giving them a sturdy and substantial part with a weathered metallic look with actual rust.

Those fidget spinner thingies are starting to turn up everywhere, but rather than buy some cheap mass-produced toy, our old pal Engineer BrunS decided to make some of his own. There are few things more satisfying than watching metal shavings go flying as it’s milled.

Appropriately named metalsmith Alec Steele starts out by welding 31 layers of steel together, then heats and repeatedly hammers them together so many times that he eventually hits one million layers. He later turned the resulting Damascus steel cube into a karambit knife.

One of the few self-illuminating materials to find its way in front of The Slow Mo Guys‘ lens is this liquid copper being poured at more than 1200ºF. We’re sure glad they didn’t splash any on their schmancy high-speed camera.

Truly unique six-sided dice which have an open void in their centers. They’re precision machined from anodized aluminum, and weigh just 1.5 grams each. Their unique pip design and balanced weight distribution ensures statistically fair rolls too.

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.

Over the years, YouTuber NurdRage has demonstrated how pouring liquid gallium onto aluminum can cause catastrophic failure of the normally durable, lightweight metal. Watch as the stuff causes a heat sink, sheet metal, and even a baseball bat lose its strength.

Each of Craighill’s metal desk puzzles does double duty as a pint-sized work of art and a brain-teaser. The six-piece puzzle measures 3″ x 3″ x 3″, weighs about a pound, and is milled from solid cartridge brass in Massachusetts.

This video from the Crown Point High School machine shop works on multiple levels. It’s not only a cool demonstration of how to create a complicated metal sculpture, but we’re also convinced the school has developed the ability to time travel back to the 1980s.

Engineer BrunS takes his metalworking skills to the world of Fallout, meticuously crafting this bronze, duralumin, brass, ebonite, and luminofor model of the Red Rocket from the wasteland’s #1 diesel fusion filling stations. Available from his Etsy shop for about $500.

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.

Owen & Fred’s stainless steel shot glasses each hold 2oz of your favorite spirit, and are die stamped with an appropriate cheer of “Bottoms Up” in the bottom that you can read as you prepare to gulp down your drink.

If you’ve ever wondered how they make those giant springs used in the suspension systems of cars, check out this footage of a molten hot rod of steel as it’s bent around a moving cylinder, then quenched in a vat of oil to harden it.

Thailand sculptor Mari9art’s incredible build is made from recycled car parts and scrap steel. It measures 2.2m tall (~7.2 ft), and includes free door-to-port shipping, though getting it to your house might be a challenge from there. His lifesize T-Rex is even more mindblowing.