wiseman
off to a rocking start
Member since April 2016
Posts: 17 
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Post by wiseman on Apr 8, 2016 12:19:33 GMT -5
Hi everyone and thanks again, I didn't expect you all to be interested in my dusty polishing machine! I didn't invent the HDD grinder, or rather, I wasn't the first to use one for grinding. But: Some long time ago, I bought a "Speed controller ESC" to control brushless motors, as I thought I could try to control hdd motors to make a quad-rotor. (Well, this was a side effect of watching a few Control Systems videos in Coursera.) I tested some old HDDs and some started when powered up. Anyway, when I tried to gut different hard disks to get their motors, I found out that some models have the motors base molded into the aluminum alloy case. And you definitely can't cut them loose from their case. So I had this Seagate hard disk (motor fixed in case) lying on my desk. And I already polished stones using sandpaper at that time. I cut SiC sheets to grind stones using HDD. Tried grit 60 at first, very bad results. then tried grit 220, better results. After that I used grit 360 (highest that I had got). It's not easy to grind with this machine. I pressed some bee's wax where I thought water could leak into the hard disk's electronics board. Flat disk makes it some kind of faceting machine, but I did a few cabochons and one or two facets on it. Fun fact: HDD's DISK is usually made of CBN (Cubic Boron Nitride, a bit softer than diamond, but its thermal and chemical stability is superior). Here's a photo of the hard disk drive running (SiC sheet fixed over the disk using screws):  A photo when the machine is not running:  -Wm |
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Post by mohs on Apr 8, 2016 13:33:17 GMT -5
nice!
maybe you could use a floppy for polishing ?
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wiseman
off to a rocking start
Member since April 2016
Posts: 17
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Post by wiseman on Apr 8, 2016 13:38:07 GMT -5
Welcome from Canada. That mine picture is amazing! Are you close to the Caspian Sea? Beautiful! Yep, It's a 15 minutes ride from where I am. Country's northern area is compressed between mountain ranges, one (potentially active) volcano and the Caspian sea.  |
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jamesp
Cave Dweller 
Member since October 2012
Posts: 36,607
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Post by jamesp on Apr 8, 2016 13:42:49 GMT -5
This is substantial shade tree mechanizing. Some fast spinning going on there. Very precision bearings in those disc drives.
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wiseman
off to a rocking start
Member since April 2016
Posts: 17
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Post by wiseman on Apr 8, 2016 13:51:11 GMT -5
nice! maybe you could use a floppy for polishing ? Floppy drives and CD/DVD drives 'is' possible, but you need to send commands to their controller in order to make their motors run at some speed. It may also need some firmware/system calls knowledge that I do not have. I also wouldn't risk attaching one to a PC motherboard's IDE and *grind* stuff with it! The hard disk drive i use is *only* attached to a standard Power Supply Unit. HDDs also have many safety functions (surge protection, Overload power cutoff, motor start/stop when sth happens! etc.) for free! Even using HDDs is most likely not safe nor wise! -Wiseman |
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Post by mohs on Apr 8, 2016 14:28:59 GMT -5
I see the problem
Cause if the rock goes flying
the FSB could really be shattering
Maybe 777MHz !
emphasis on hurts !
happy surfing
mohs
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Post by kk on Apr 8, 2016 17:51:43 GMT -5
Welcome to the club. Nice to see someone here participating from your area.
Far to few people on here able to give information from such a mineral rich region with huge potential for Lapidary use.
I suppose computer parts and that kind of SIC paper are not that cheap (this brand (SIC) is the most expensive in Hong Kong markets and is the softest (rips the quickest)), so I do wonder why you don't use something a bit more powerful. I have seen versions/copies of Foredome or Dremel all over Asia, and they would give you much faster results at prices often lower than HDD's.
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wiseman
off to a rocking start
Member since April 2016
Posts: 17
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Post by wiseman on Apr 9, 2016 2:37:18 GMT -5
Welcome to the club. Nice to see someone here participating from your area. Far to few people on here able to give information from such a mineral rich region with huge potential for Lapidary use. I suppose computer parts and that kind of SIC paper are not that cheap (this brand (SIC) is the most expensive in Hong Kong markets and is the softest (rips the quickest)), so I do wonder why you don't use something a bit more powerful. I have seen versions/copies of Foredome or Dremel all over Asia, and they would give you much faster results at prices often lower than HDD's. I'll try to share as much info as I can. Here is a geological map of Iran:  If I remember correctly, many interesting rocks and gemstones are found in "igneous rocks" areas (highlighted red color). Am I right? Turquoise is found mostly in northeast of the country. Lapis lazuri mines in east. There are big gold mines in central iran. Agates everywhere! Lots of tree agates, topaz and amethyst come from northwest area. kk , At that time I already hand-polished stones as a hobby. The only extra thing that I had to do was simply cutting the SiC paper and attaching over hdd disk lying on my desk. And I liked the result!. The hdd was recycled material, so not expensive. The SiC papers are 50 cents each, and one sandpaper makes 6 disks. I'd really like to buy/build a better cabbing machine. Time/money/(and some political stuff let's not talk about) won't let me  But I'm doing my best -Wm |
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Intheswamp
Cave Dweller
Member since September 2015
Posts: 1,910
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Post by Intheswamp on Apr 9, 2016 11:01:49 GMT -5
Nice job on re-purposing the hdd. Interesting area where you're located, seems you are in one of the focal points of geopolitics. Welcome to the forum.
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Post by mohs on Apr 11, 2016 9:44:51 GMT -5
[quote author=" wiseman" source="/post/858457/thread" timestamp="1460187438 I'd really like to buy/build a better cabbing machine. Time/money/(and some political stuff let's not talk about) won't let me But I'm doing my best -Wm [/quote] Is it hard to get lapidary machines and supplies in Iran? Will the new accord with the United States open up the market ? Were you born and raised in Iran ? Its so interesting to have a new voice from this region and as you could probably understand a large segment of us are igneous  interested in Az. Ed |
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wiseman
off to a rocking start
Member since April 2016
Posts: 17
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Post by wiseman on Apr 11, 2016 12:41:13 GMT -5
[quote author=" wiseman " source="/post/858457/thread" timestamp="1460187438 I'd really like to buy/build a better cabbing machine. Time/money/(and some political stuff let's not talk about) won't let me But I'm doing my best -Wm Is it hard to get lapidary machines and supplies in Iran? Will the new accord with the United States open up the market ? Were you born and raised in Iran ? Its so interesting to have a new voice from this region and as you could probably understand a large segment of us are igneous interested in Az. Ed [/quote] Yes, It is hard, and also expensive. There are some basic tools available, and at a reasonable price, but you can't find what you want most of the times. You can't buy that white six wheeler cabbing machine that you saw on the net. No, it will not. Both sides profit from this made up war. This accord, it is just a propaganda. Both sides will hold on to their enemies, like treasure. But again, is it a good idea to talk about dark and dirty politics in this forum? If everyone likes me to share what I see from this side of the wall, I will gladly speak, but I prefer talking about the shiny crystal-clear agate that I will post photos of next time. Yes, I was born here. I love it here -Wm |
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rockwizz
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since May 2007
Posts: 971
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Post by rockwizz on Jun 16, 2016 9:13:49 GMT -5
Welcome to the forum Wm.
Hope you have a great experience with everyone here.
I live in Utah, and have a good size collection myself, but
The cool thing about joining is getting involved in traveling
Boxes, trips, and rock exchanges.
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But I'm doing my best 
