Awesome Metal

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.

Poligon’s etched metal calendars not only look cool, but offer a satisfying feature – the ability to punch out each day as it passes. Choose from a foldable triangular design or a flat version with hidden magnets for fridge mounting.

Progressive Products uses precision machining to create these perfectly smooth desktop spheres from brass, copper, stainless steel, and titanium. Each one unscrews at its equator to reveal a small storage space inside.

Metal is home to some of the most genre-blurring artists, but Boston-based quintet Astronoid takes the bar and throws it to space. Blood Music calls the band’s product “dream thrash” – melodic vocals rising over thick shredding, like emo aged to perfection.

This unique timepiece from Y. Kimura and Seahope Ltd. features a display which tells time using blobs of liquid metal. The metal moves freely, then magnets under its face pull them into place to display the current hours and minutes. Comes in silver, black, or gold.

Sure, you could go to the store and buy a skillet for about 10 bucks, but you won’t get the satisfaction that Tito4re got when he made his own from scratch, using a sand mold and some molten aluminum. Though he did need another skillet to make the mold too.

Check out this footage of the DMG MORI Lasertec 65 3D, an amazing marvel of modern engineering which is capable of first building up rough metal forms using laser deposition welding, then switching heads to precisely mill and drill them into finished parts.

Artist Toby Boswell of Pale Rider Handmade has perfected a metalworking process to create these wonderful spherical lamps from recycled bicycle gears. Measures ~15″ dia. and sits on a wood base. Toby also offers the spheres by themselves, and a pendant is in the works.

Metalworker Engineer BrunS walks us through the painstaking process of machining a block of aluminum into a metal matchbox with a sliding drawer, then making tiny brass matches to go along with. They don’t actually burn, but they still look amazing.

Students at the Netherlands’ Delft University of Technology and 3D printing company MX3D programmed a welding robot to “print” the cage structure of this awesome and unique bicycle frame. We love the open and organic design, though it’s probably still quite heavy.

Watch in awe as this CNC cutting machine transforms hunks of solid titanium and aluminum into an intricate electric guitar. The 124 piece guitar looks identical to the real deal, though at 15 pounds, it’s about twice the weight of a Fender Stratocaster.

Using a combination of 3D printing and wax casting, Fire & Bone creates incredibly detailed, but tiny skulls of animals made from bronze or sterling silver. Some even have articulating jaws, like the miniature human. Each includes a 24″ chain and an optional display stand.

The King of Random shows off another cool DIY project in which he creates a styrofoam model of an object, and transforms it into a wonderful solid aluminum sculpture using sand-casting to replace the foam with molten metal.

Modern machinery has enabled the creation of all kinds of seemingly impossible objects. But this amazing three-layered cube was created using a hunk of metal, a lathe and drill bits, masterfully manipulated by craftsman Engineer BrunS.

The design lover/office supply junkie in your life will love these forged metal book binder style scissors. Rustic and refined, they’ll look gorgeous on a desk or the workbench. You can throw those cheap plastic handled ones out now.

For his latest series, Korean artist Seung Mo Park creates intricate sculptures using densely-packed layers of bent aluminum wire over fiberglass lifecast forms. His other series, made from cut mesh screen is equally impressive.

Enter for a chance to win one of 7 of Obtainium’s minimal metal wallets in Military Olive ($199 value). Holds 8 cards and cash, is waterproof, and blocks RFID skimming. Readers save 33% with code “AWSMR33” (Contest Ends 11/11/13)

Displate offers imagery from over 1000 artists, printed onto a slim steel canvas. A magnetic wall mounting system makes them easy to hang, they look great, and there’s something for just about every style. (Thanks Eric!)

Enter now for a chance to win one of three of Obtainium’s minimal metal wallets ($199 value). Holds up to 8 cards and cash, is waterproof, and blocks RFID skimming. Readers also save 33% with code “AWESOMER” (Contest Ends 8/4/13)

Let the 12-year-old metalheads of Unlocking the Truth capture your heart all over again with their uplifting message of individuality, creativity and the rock and roll spirit in this feature from Avant Garde Diaries. (Thanks Amy F!)

Don’t be surprised if you have to pick your jaw up from the floor after watching the sixth grade shredders from Brooklyn that make up the tiny but powerful metal band Unlocking the Truth.

Star Trek fans can certainly buy a cheap off-the-shelf Bat’leth replica, but Swordmaker Tony Swatton’s epic, handmage version appears to be even sharper and more deadly than the version Worf used in battle.