what to do, what to do?

[Icarium]

Are there pictures of the titanium hammer also... you have something made out of machined damascus steel? I'd love to see pics of that too.

[n_maher]

Originally Posted by Icarium

Are there pictures of the titanium hammer also... you have something made out of machined damascus steel? I'd love to see pics of that too.

Hammer.

I don't think Kevin ever posted pics (that I can find anyway) of the chisel.

[Pars]

Maybe it found its way to someone's skull as he intended before he could photograph it?

[Dusty Chalk]

Originally Posted by kevin gilmore

bowling ball made out of titanium would be about 200 lbs
and my price is $78 per lb can't be...

How about hollowing out an extremely dense and sturdy material until it's the right weight (the barn-parsec joke comes to mind)? Then you can do all sorts of funky things like put a wheel in it to give it gyroscopic effect, or an extremely off-center center-of-mass to give it a hopping effect, or an off-center butterfly weight, to give it a wobble, etc. Modular!

[kevin gilmore]

yep, some of the usual suspects have added their twist to the thing.
It will be a sphere, of about .35 inch thickness. It will come apart.
The finger holes will be removable. Then i can put a small robot into the
thing. Perfect 300 game every time. Trouble is that it is going to dent
quick, and the halves will probably not unscrew too many times.

May need to change from screw threads to an inner ring with flat screws.

[Dusty Chalk]

I have a stupid question about Damascus steel -- real Damascus steel is the way it is because it's folded and refolded during the curing process -- which means that unlike most black knives, the portions that are black are actually black, rather than painted black.

So here's the (extremely hypothetical) question -- could there be a way to get black metal? Truly black metal?

[aerius]

Originally Posted by Dusty Chalk

I have a stupid question about Damascus steel -- real Damascus steel is the way it is because it's folded and refolded during the curing process -- which means that unlike most black knives, it is actually black, rather than painted black.

So here's the (extremely hypothetical) question -- could there be a way to get black metal? Truly black metal?

Actually it isn't black until it's dunked in a tank of ferric chloride to bring out the contrast in the layers. Which is why stainless Damascus only goes to grey and not fully black.

You just need to find the right steel alloy and dunk it into the right type of etchant and it'll go black.

[Chekhonte]

Originally Posted by kevin gilmore

6 of these would be way more than enough i think
http://www.unitednuclear.com/magnetfull1.jpg

one little mounting mistake and broken fingers for sure.

12500 gauss...

I keep being tempted by this magnet on ebay--but at 500 dollars there's just no way I'm going to do it any time soon. It has over a 1/2 ton pull force.

1 Neodymium Magnet 6 x 2 inch Disc N48 HUGE STRONG - eBay (item 360091771729 end time Nov-22-08 11:26:28 PST)

[Duggeh]

How do these magnets get posted? Do they arrive in a crate 3 foot cubed lined with lead?

[n_maher]

Originally Posted by Duggeh

How do these magnets get posted? Do they arrive in a crate 3 foot cubed lined with lead?

No kidding, I don't like anything that can generate that much force that doesn't have a on-off switch.

[diebenkorn]

"They are far more powerful than those old horseshoe magnets most of us grew up with."

[Sherwood]

Originally Posted by Duggeh

How do these magnets get posted? Do they arrive in a crate 3 foot cubed lined with lead?

Depends. If you buy two they deliver the first as described, and the second is simply dropped from altitude and expected to find its own way.

[aardvark baguette]

[cclragnarok]

If you only bought 2, they would have 3 left, so I don't think this is gonna work.

Somebody should make a compass out of these. Or maybe DIY speakers.

[Chekhonte]

I ordered several large ones earlier this week, 3 inch diameter by 2 inches depth. I'll tell you when they arrive how they're packaged.

[EdipisReks]

i hope the box is covered with random nails and forks and rusty birdcages.

[Duggeh]

Originally Posted by n_maher

No kidding, I don't like anything that can generate that much force that doesn't have a on-off switch.

This is of course, the biggest factor, nay ultimately, the only factor, which induces the fear in such a material. It is the knowledge that control over its forces lies beyond the users power. It's like stting on a grenade thats had the pin pulled.

Originally Posted by Sherwood

Depends. If you buy two they deliver the first as described, and the second is simply dropped from altitude and expected to find its own way.

*wile-E-coyote cliff noise*

Originally Posted by EdipisReks

i hope the box is covered with random nails and forks and rusty birdcages.

My vision is of the postman ringing the doorbell to get help prying the parcel off the inside of the van wall.

[kevin gilmore]

Originally Posted by n_maher

No kidding, I don't like anything that can generate that much force that doesn't have a on-off switch.

You have no idea. My biggest superconducting magnet is about 12 times more
powerful than that thing. And its gap is 3 feet long.

if you want an isolation system that really works, you really need to go with a
pneumatic system, or pneumatics and active piezoelectrics.

TMC Technical Background

like this
TMC TableTop PZTª

actually this is perfect for audio use and not that expensive
TMC TableTopª Platforms

Of my 8 superconducting magnets, 7 are on TMC gimbal air legs. The difference
in isolation is really measureable at about 20db.

[aerius]

Originally Posted by Duggeh

How do these magnets get posted? Do they arrive in a crate 3 foot cubed lined with lead?

I have a couple that are about the size of a hockey puck. The magnets were wrapped with foam then stuck to the inside of a steel box, which is wrapped with more foam & bubblewrap and put into yet another steel box. Which then gets stuffed into cardboard box for shipping. The cardboard box was around an 8" to 10" cube.

[Chekhonte]

wow that's pretty amazing. I'm interesting in seeing if mine are shipped the same way.

by the way aerius, may I ask what you are using the magnets for?