After a short introduction into general dynamo theory, I will present a model of the solar dynamo that attempts to explain its various periodicities across a wide range of time scales in a self-consistent manner. Starting with Rieger-type periods, I demonstrate how the two-planet spring tides of Venus, Earth, and Jupiter stimulate magneto-Rossby waves in the solar tachocline with periods between 100 and 300 days and amplitudes of meters per second or greater. The dynamo-relevant quadratic action of these waves contains a dominant beat period of 1.723 years, which is shown to corresponds almost perfectly to the observed period of the quasi-biennial oscillation (QBO). A second beat period, emerging at 11.07 years, corresponds exactly to the Schwabe cycle. It is then argued that a further beat between the 22.14-year Hale cycle and the Sun's 19.86-year periodic motion around the solar system's barycentre explains the longer-term Gleissberg and Suess-de Vries cycles. The spectrum emerging from this synchronized dynamo model shows an astonishing degree of agreement with that of climate-related sediment data from Lake Lisan. In the second part of the talk, I will examine the current status of the DRESDYN precession experiment. This experiment is motivated by two factors: firstly, the possible influence of the various Milankovitch cycles on the geodynamo, and secondly, the as yet poorly understood spin-orbit coupling effect in our solar dynamo model. I will discuss the combined numerical and experimental efforts to identify dynamo-optimising precession ratios and nutation angles in some detail, show first results of the large water experiment, and outline the next steps towards the final liquid sodium experiment.