Alignment disks, and the creation thereof

cctalk-bounces at classiccmp.org wrote: Never having build a drive from rocks isn't going to stop me Given that there must be engineering drawings around and so on (and assuming that appropriate permissions - if any - are obtained to replicate such drives), I assumed that a well equipped hobbyist could put together the mechanical aspects of a drive. (Alternatively, throw an appropriate sum towards a machine shop). I'm also assuming that some parts are likely to still be available: you don't need an original motor - just one with the right characteristics (or which can be modified). But what about specialist parts that are likely to be unique to a drive? Once all the existing drive heads are dead, how difficult would it be to produce a suitable head for a 8" drive or a 5.25" drive or a 3.5" drive? BTW: I'm also assuming that if you can get a working drive built then you can also fairly easily modify it to write off-track at will in a deterministic way ... just a simple matter of tolerances, no? Are there any other parts (other than the head) which would be difficult to fabricate from scratch? Antonio