Steel Text

Create a new file with a 72DPI resolution large enough to contain your text.

Alt+click on the Paintbucket Tool so it changes into the Gradient Tool.

Click the "edit gradient" box in the options bar and check if you have the preset Silver loaded. If not load Metals.grd from .../Adobe/Photoshop 7.0/Presets/Gradients.

Grab the Horizontal Type Tool (T) , click on your image and type in your text. The color of the text doesn't matter.

We are now going to add a drop shadow and a bevel to the text. Go to Layer > Layer Style > Drop Shadow...

Set the dialog like this...

Move on to Bevel and Emboss:

This is how it should look. Remember that the color of the text doesn't matter!

Create a new layer by clicking the -button at the bottom of the Layers palette. Hit D then X on your keyboard to reset and switch positions of the active colors. Pick the Gradient Tool and in the Options bar select Radial Gradient . Click and drag out a gradient like on the image below.

Go to Layer > Group with previous (Ctrl+G).

Ctrl+click on the type layer to bring up its selection. Go to Select > Modify > Contract... Set 2 as the value and hit OK.

In the Layers palette click the Create new fill or adjustment layer-button and choose Gradient Map... in the flyout menu.

In the Gradient Map dialog choose the Silver preset and hit OK.

There we have it! Shiny steel text.