Metalworking

How To: Blacksmith decorative steel scrolls

Watch this instructional blacksmithing video to forge three different types of steel scrolls. You can use these techniques to forge fence posts and other decorative metal designs. Follow these clear instructions to begin the craft of metalsmithing and add a creative flare to your blacksmithing projects.

How To: Tailor your chain mail armor for the best fit

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.

How To: Blacksmith a mortise and tennon steel joint

Watch this blacksmithing video to forge a tennon and complete a mortise and tennon traditional joint in steel. The mortise and tenon joint is basic socket joint used for pick axes and other heavy duty tools. Follow these clear instructions to begin the craft of metalsmithing and forge a useful tool.

How To: Make a tin frame out of soda cans

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 ...

How To: Make a cool recycled license plate mail box

Laura and Charles are a thrifty couple to have around in this time of recession. Using old license plates, some rivets and lots of love, they will teach you how to make a license plate mailbox. A simple and easy craft project that could be fun for the whole family, imagine the look on the mailman's face when he sees your new creation sitting in the front of your house. Your mailbox will be the talk of the neighborhood and who knows you just might start a trend! A friendly video with simple in...

How To: Use an anvil in blacksmithing

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!

How To: Wire a candle holder into a lamp

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. Wire a candle holder into a lamp.

How To: Make a shopping cart chair with MAKE magazine

Kick back with John Park as he demonstrates how to upcycle a no-longer-usable shopping cart into an easy chair. This Make: magazine-based project offers an introductory look at how to cut, bend, and shape metal using metal cutters, saws, vice grips, and other tools common to home workshops. John also attempts a “deluxe” version of this project that employs motors and switches to transform it into a “go-kart chair.” View the clip to see his mixed results, and download the PDF.

How To: Make Chain Mail Armor from Start to Finish

This article is a guide for making Chainmail Armor from start (simple wire) to finish (a finished chainmail shirt). We will be using the European 4 in 1 weave, as this is the most common weave. This is the weave that you usually see in movies. There are several sections to this guide: Materials, Making the Rings, Weaving the Rings, and Making the shirt.

How To: Weave a suit of medieval scale mail

Scale mail is slightly superior to chain mail, since it has a greater ability to deflect blows. But it is a little trickier to make than chain mail - but not by much! This tutorial shows you how to make an excellent suit of scale mail.

How To: Frame Things Cheaply by Soldering Picture Frames

This video will teach you how to frame anything two-dimensional using inexpensive materials and a soldering iron. The technique used is called tinning, using beveled glass, copper foil, solder, and flux. Tinning is great for framing dried flowers and leaves and only takes about ten minutes to finish your professional looking frame.

How To: Chainmail a spiral pattern

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.

How To: Forge a steel striker for flint and steel

Watch this instructional blacksmithing video to forge a high carbon steel striker for flint and steel. The flint and steel striker served as the original portable lighter. Flint and steel lighters are also used on outdoor trips to light camp fires. These detailed instructions will allow you to begin the craft of metalsmithing and forge a useful tool.

How To: Mig weld using the push technique

This MIG Welding Video shows the demonstration of a push welding technique that is use when mig welding. When mig welding you can either push or pull the welding torch. The push technique is the most common. Watch this video tutorial and learn how to weld using the push technique.

News: Make DIY Earphones Out of Bullet Shells

It's 2017—new year, same us. We vow to keep scouring the net for the best how-tos and feature the makers and doers who create mind-blowing projects.

News: Artist Burns Chairs into Decorative, Fragile Steel Ring Seats with Fire

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? He burned them. His project is called Engineering Temporality, and the inspiration came from his grandmother whose Alzheimer's disease is deteriorating her health and memories. Once he cut the rings, he laid them over an existing chair, only partially covering it. The fire acted as a varnish, creati...

News: Chinese Ironworkers Build Massive Transformers Megatron Tank

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.

How To: Make a set of candlesticks out of plumbing hardware

Make you have some spare plumbing hardware you're looking to get rid of, or maybe you just want a fun way to make a pair of candlesticks. This video solves both problems! Use a few pipes and other bits and pieces to make a fun and unique set of candlesticks.

How To: Craft Chinese soda can lanterns with ribbon birds for Chinese New Year

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.

How To: Craft a very easy DIY hair style holder using a clothing hanger

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.

How To: Craft Lady Gaga's solar system orbital headpiece

Have you ever found the stars at night so pretty you wish you could just grab them with your fingers and move them just a little closer? Well, now you not only get to have the stars right next to you, but also a whole planetarium!

How To: Craft the iron fence glasses from Lady Gaga's "Lovegame"

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.

How To: Craft a vintage studio metal holiday container

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.

How To: Craft a person-sized spiderweb out of rope

You can also make this person sized spiderweb out of chain for extra sturdiness. Aside from the rope or chain, you will also need a solid frame (either wood or metal wil work) and 24 eye bolts to run everything through.

How To: Craft a "Harry Potter" style wand that lights up

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.

How To: Coil wire to create links for weaving chainmail

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.

How To: Join the front and back pieces when building a chain mail shirt

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.

How To: Weave a suit of dragonscale style chain mail

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.

How To: Attach a chain sleeve to a chainmail shirt

It can sometimes be confusing for new armorsmiths to figure out the best way to attach a sleeve to a chainmail vest. However, the technique is actually quite easy, and this tutorial demonstrates how you can add a sleeve to a four in one style chainmail shirt.

How To: Make chainmail in a European six in one pattern

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.

How To: Use the European 4 in 1 method for making chainmaille

This tutorial shows you how to make chainmail following the tradition European four in one method. You'll need many small metal rings of uniform size and some metal pliers (work gloves are also recommended!) Afer you make each individual unit, you're also shown how to bring them together in a larger piece.

How To: Weave a suit of elven chain mail

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.

How To: Make chainmail jewlery using the Persian style of chain linking

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.

How To: Make chainmail jewelry using the Byzantine chain pattern

The Byzantine pattern is a variation on the box chain pattern, it just has two extra links per unit. This tutorial shows you how you can make a string of chainmail using this beautiful pattern, that you can eventually turn into jewelry.

How To: Make chainmail jewelry using the box chain or great queen chain

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.

How To: Make the classic Roman lorica segmentata armor

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.

How To: Draw out metal in blacksmithing

When getting into blacksmithing, learning proper hammer strikes and heat levels for your metal and forge are good to know, but one of the most important techniques to know when hammering your metal is "Drawing Out", which is a method that you use to make your metal thinner and longer or thinner and flatter. In this video you will get a full tutorial on how to implement this basic, yet important, technique.

How To: Use a hardy tool and how to curve and form metal on an anvil

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.

How To: Use basic hammer strikes in blacksmithing

Blacksmithing is an ancient art of metalsmithing that has never gone away and is still done today! Knowing about heat and what sort of metals to use is good, but if you are just whacking at the metal wildly without any sort of form, you're doing it wrong. In this video you will learn the eight basic hammer strikes in blacksmithing that you will need to know to do any sort of blacksmithing.

How To: Create a blacksmith forge in your backyard easily

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!