Awesome Turning

The TIE fighters from Star Wars are some of the most intimidating spacecraft in the history of science fiction. Scott’s Mini Workshop celebrates the Empire’s starfighter by encasing it in resin, then turning it into a perfect sphere on his lathe. He’s also made an X-Wing fighter sphere using the same technique.

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.