Metalworking

For his thesis at Design Academy Eindhoven, artist/designer Tuomas Markunpoika Tolvanen created this incredible chair using tubular steel cut into thin rings. How did he get them to stay that way?

Jiiang Chen and Yang Junlin, of the Wing Wah metalcraft factory in Huizhou, China, forged together a 10,000-pound replica of the Megatron tank as seen in the movie Transformers 2. The tank is from a series of other massive works from the company's "Legend of Iron" project (see last year's insane Megatron below). The tank was assembled and welded together with mostly scrap metal by the two expert craftsmen. In a word... insane.

We know that December 31st may seem like old news now, but for the Chinese the New Year is just getting started. Chinese New Year begins on February 3rd and ushers in the Year of the Rabbit.

Did you know you can recreate Snooki's bump, or "invisibly" hold your hair up in a voluminous ponytail with something you already have lying around the house? Don't waste your time on Bump Its or other hair devices - all you need is a clothing hanger.

Want to look like Lady Gaga without breaking the bank with all those expensive costumes? Then check out this DIY tutorial to learn how to craft the iron "fence" glasses Lady Gaga wears in her "Lovegame" video.

This embossed, brass finish metal container is perfect for storing beautiful amaryllis or paperwhites during the holiday season, but they can be used year round to enhance flowers or even to act as a storage bin.

With the first installment of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" out, don't be surprised if you find yourself more than ever wanting to whip out a twelve inch phoenix feather wand and wrist twirl your way to defeating your own personal Voldemort. While this video won't teach you how to do magic (so sad), it will teach you how to craft a very cool-looking "Harry Potter" wand that can do the "lumos" spell.

If you don't want to buy your links pre-made, you can coil your own links. You'll need wire (sixteen gauge is the most common), metal dowel rods in the diameter you want, variable speed drills, wire cutters and at least two pair of pliers.

If you're halfway through making a chainmail shirt, and confused on how you can join the front and back pieces together (or any two large pieces of chainmail), this tutorial gives you a few hints on how you can seamlessly bring two pieces together.

No, it doesn't use actual dragonscales. This technique actually uses two different sizes of rings with the proper aspect ratio (at least three of the larger rings have to fit through the smaller ones). If you have enough rings, then just follow along to master this challenging technique.

This tutorial is a variation of the traditional European 4 in 1 pattern and uses a 6 in 1 chain. Using this method uses more links, but gives you greater coverage and creates a much fuller look for the whole piece.

Tailoring isn't just for fabric! To have the best chainmail shirt, that doesn't pull or hang too losely, you'll want to tailor it. Tailor your shirt around curves by slightly altering the pattern of your weave, and this video demonstrates how.

This tutorial shows you how to make an elven style of chainmail. This is an intricate style of chainmail that is nevertheless very sturdy and gives good coverage. Good for anyone looking to make their own armor for Renaissance Faires, larps, the SCA or other historial costuming events.

This tutorial shows you how to make pieces of chainmail jewelry by using the Persian style - also called the woven-V style. This is a simple pattern that builds off the tradtional four in one style, which you can use to make any number of jewelry pieces.

You can make jewelry out of chainmail! It will be bulky, unless you use incredibly tiny rings. This tutorial shows you how to make the box chain out of many small metal rings, which you can expand to a necklace, bracelet key chain or any other type of jewelry you can think of.

Make an authentic piece of Roman armor! You will need quite a lot of metalworking tools, including hammers, drills and rivets. But if you have access to a workshop and the raw materials, you can make a replica of classic Roman armor, the lorica segmentata.

If you're looking to create curves and various shapes with metal, one way of doing it is using a hardy tool with your anvil. In this video you will learn what exactly a hardy tool is and also how to create your own curved S shapes out of metal.

When getting started with metal work and blacksmithing, you may be confused as to what you can do with an anvil. In this video you will learn every aspect about the anvil and how to actually use each section of the anvil for cutting, shaping and more!

Have a passion for metal working and metalsmithing? Want to get into the art without having to go to an expensive shop to set up a forge? Well this video has all the tips and tricks you will need! In it, you will learn what parts you will need and what steps you will need to take to create your own backyard forge easily!

Welding is a method of permanently joining metal pieces together. If you're looking to get started in the field either as a hobby or as a career, then check out this great video. In it you will get tips on how to get started and where to look as well as what tools you will need.

You can easily copy the aged look on old brass jewelry and hardware. Brass, an alloy of copper and zinc, oxides naturally. But you can encourage the process to go faster by using vinegar and salt water, or a rag soaked in ammonia. Use these techniques to mimic an antique patina.

This ten-part series on machining skills for prototype development comes straight from MIT & Erik Vaaler. It's one of the most extensive video tutorials available on the web for machining. MIT's artificial intelligence laboratory's primary work is done for their robotics group. And most of their equipment is unavailable to the public because they're machines that MIT have built directly in their machine shop, or items that came into the shop needing repair. But if you can get your hands on some...

Like A Flint demonstrates how to quickly make chainmail. First, find heavy gauge wire at a construction site or a craft store. Then, wrap the wire around a dowel or a tube until it forms a coiled spring. Remove the coiled spring from the tube and clip the spring into rings with a pair of wire cutters. Using two pairs of pliers, open up the ring and thread four rings inside of it. Close up the ring. Keep adding rings on top of rings until you achieve a chainmail like design. The process of...

Chainmail is quite difficult to make, but with this two part tutorial, you will soon be on your way. In these videos, learn how to make a piece of classic chainmail armor at home. Make smaller pieces to use as jewelry or decoration or make a whole suit for a cool knight costume.

This two part video will show you how to make the Japanese 8 in 2 patter, an important part of making a chainmail cube.

How to Make a Tin Frame with Soda Cans You don't have to throw out your old soda cans anymore. Laura and Claiborne show how to recycle old cans into a craft project that creates a frame. You will need a wooden frame, soda cans, 5/8 of an inch nails, tin snipers, and a glue gun. While cutting the cans, make sure to be careful to avoid cutting your hands. Smaller square scissors tend to be more effective at cutting the cans. When cutting, try to cut the can in a rectangular shape. Try to avoid...

This video illustrates how to make a vase out of old light bulbs.

Have a candle holder that would make a great lamp base? You can wire that candle holder and turn it into a working lamp for your living room's newest decorative piece. This video takes you through the process of how to do so... However, with no narration, this how-to tutorial falls a tad short of being helpful.

This how-to video shows the steps for making chain mail, just like the authentic armor of the Medieval period. Making chain mail is fairly simple, requiring only a couple supplies. You will need a rod, wire cutters, two pairs of pliers, a variable speed drill, and a spool of un-galvanized fencing wire. Watch this video metalwork tutorial series and learn how to make chain mail.

For all your jousting and costume needs, finally, an instructional video guide to building a chain mail suit of armor. While periodically inaccurate for Renaissance Fairs, Medieval Times employees or reenactment actors might be curious to either learn how to make the suit or at least witness the process. Chain mail was used as a protective armor in Medieval times, and was nearly impervious to arms of the period, but new advances in weaponry caused it to become obsolete. Chain mail is...

This metalsmithing video segment shows how to speed weave Byzantine chainmail.The Byzantine chain is a popular metal weave pattern for supple and flexible necklaces, bracelets, and other pieces of jewelry. This video assumes you know how to construct 2x2 chainmail units.

Watch this instructional metalsmithing video to weave a European chainmail pattern. You can expand this pattern to make a costume for your local Renaissance festival. This is also known as the four in one chainmail pattern.

Watch this short 3d animation of rings forming into a chainmail pattern to learn how this chainmail pattern holds together. This four in one metalsmithing pattern seems complex at first, but after thinking it through once or twice, the linking pattern should come quite naturally.

It is possible to weave chainmail with a plastic fork. This instructional metalsmithing video will show you how it's done. This chainmailing technique does work better with a metal fork, though. You still need a pair if needle nose pliers to close the rings and work at a reasonable pace. Do you think it is possible to weave chainmail with a fork an knife? Now that would be truly decadent.

Watch this instructional metalsmithing video to knit the chainmail box pattern. Use a quality set of pliers to knit this chainmail box pattern for complex chains. Use different widths of wire to make smaller or larger box patterns.

This instructional metalsmithing video demonstrates how to knit the spiraling chainmail pattern. This spiral pattern is useful for some chain link bracelets and necklace forms. Don't forget to use a quality set of pliers to save your hands some trying metal bending work.

This instructional metalsmithing video demonstrates the basics of making chainmail. Making traditional chainmail is a long and involved process. First, you must spin the wire into a spool. Then you have to cut the coil into individual rings. Embark on the long process of closing and linking the metal rings.

Watch this video demonstration on how to forge a medieval arrowhead, or long bodkin, by Paul Selby at an English Heritage Living History event at Kenilworth Castle. This type of arrow head was commonly used during the War of the Roses. This arrow is a professional craft, but a blacksmith in training can also learn how to forge arrows like this. These long thin arrow tips are designed for penetrating chain mail.