[Newbie] Hard drive platters as a reference surface

rspenc

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I'm new to the hobby. I'm wondering if you could use a platter from an old hard drive as a small reference or straightedge? They are incredibly flat and are thrown in the trash regularly.
 
Sure why not? Are you talking large ones like 8"?
Mark
 
Just thinking about stuff that can be re purposed. There are probably very few of the old monster drives around anymore. They are buried in landfills around the world.
 
I would be concerned with flexing and/or thermal distortion. There's a reason that surface plates are made from 3 or 4" slabs of granite.
 
And excellent plinking targets, too

Dave H. (the other one)
 
You could stick them all over you and make a really interesting Halloween costume-
Mark
 
Yup, as said, way too thin.

They make great mirrors though. I used to work in electronic depot repair. We scrapped tons of failed HDDs weekly. We had a guy who's job was to drill into HDD platters all day long (we were required to destroy them to protect customer data).

Some of us as techs woud stick the platters on our work benches to see anyone sneaking up on us. Then I when I became part of management, I had them stuck all over to spy on my techs & as well as those higher ups that were disliked. I've always admired how nicely the parts are machined inside HDDs.

They're also good for scaring birds away if you hang them in trees. I always thought this was a myth but it really does work. Most people use old CDs.
 
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