After ripping some ancient hard drives appart to get the magnets out I was left with some cool looking platter stacks. They sat there for a few years until I came up with the idea of making a clock for a good friend of mine for Christmas a couple of years ago.
This year, I decided to make 2 more (one for my brother and another for a long time family friend). This gift is perfect for any computer nerd out there. Actually, it is a pretty cool idea for just about anybody. It is cheap and fairly easy to make.
Items you will need to make one include:
- Quartz movement with clock hands
- AA Battery (for the quartz movement)
- Clock numbers (to tell what time it is)
- Nevr-Dull polish wadding. Or other types of polishing compounds.
- Torx screwdriver set.
- Hammer, Punch, and small chisel
- Hack saw
- Metal file, file card, or power sander w/ sanding belt
- Gorilla glue or epoxy
- Goof-off (cleaning gluing mistakes)
- Windex (final cleaning)
This year, I decided to make 2 more (one for my brother and another for a long time family friend). This gift is perfect for any computer nerd out there. Actually, it is a pretty cool idea for just about anybody. It is cheap and fairly easy to make.
Items you will need to make one include:
- Quartz movement with clock hands
- AA Battery (for the quartz movement)
- Clock numbers (to tell what time it is)
- Nevr-Dull polish wadding. Or other types of polishing compounds.
- Torx screwdriver set.
- Hammer, Punch, and small chisel
- Hack saw
- Metal file, file card, or power sander w/ sanding belt
- Gorilla glue or epoxy
- Goof-off (cleaning gluing mistakes)
- Windex (final cleaning)
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Signing UpStep 1: Gather items and disassemble platters.
First thing to do is to take your hard drive and a ruler to the local wood working store. I chose to go there rather then the local Hobby Lobby because their quartz clock movements seem to be a much better quality. The 2nd clock later in this instructable (one with 4 platters), unfortunately, has the lesser quality Hobby Lobby quartz movement.
I found that I preferred the 3/4" quartz movement. This gave me the option to put in a 3rd platter which looks pretty nice. The cheaper Hobby Lobby movement was also a 3/4" but it allowed me to put in 4 platters instead of 3.
Some examples of the movements I found:
Wood Emporium 3/4" quartz movement = $8.50
Hobby Lobby 3/4" quartz movement = $4.99
After you get back home put the hour and minute hands on, put the battery in, and hang it on the wall. This will make sure it works and keeps accurate time by the time you assemble everything.
You can also pick up your clock numbers at the wood working store. However, I later found some cool looking ones at Hobby Lobby which I eventually used.
To disassemble the hard drive platters I used a T10 Torx bit. Yours may be a different size. After the platters are off the spindle put them in a very safe place so they don't get scratched. Also, try to avoid touching the platters to avoid fingerprinting them.
I found that I preferred the 3/4" quartz movement. This gave me the option to put in a 3rd platter which looks pretty nice. The cheaper Hobby Lobby movement was also a 3/4" but it allowed me to put in 4 platters instead of 3.
Some examples of the movements I found:
Wood Emporium 3/4" quartz movement = $8.50
Hobby Lobby 3/4" quartz movement = $4.99
After you get back home put the hour and minute hands on, put the battery in, and hang it on the wall. This will make sure it works and keeps accurate time by the time you assemble everything.
You can also pick up your clock numbers at the wood working store. However, I later found some cool looking ones at Hobby Lobby which I eventually used.
To disassemble the hard drive platters I used a T10 Torx bit. Yours may be a different size. After the platters are off the spindle put them in a very safe place so they don't get scratched. Also, try to avoid touching the platters to avoid fingerprinting them.
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Scribing would look good, but good luck to anyone attempting it. Just keep in mind that the best possible outcome would be to screw up on the very first line, thus retaining as much sanity as possible. Normally, I would advise against using a razor blade unless you have the hand strength, and mental acuity of a Jedi knight. An awl and a straight edge might work. But, the odds of hitting all of the marks exactly where you want them and not where they want to go make it a potentially fruitless endeavor. So a razor blade and paper template might just cut out the middle man. I can imagine making every mark perfectly and cheesing the very last one. Nice clocks, the fact that they aren't all scratched up is impressive.