It’s a good candidate since it sounds like there’s no precision mechanical components like there would be in a hard drive. Does anyone have ideas for how I’d go about this? Is there a barrier I’m not considering?
I know how to make basic semiconductors already, so that’s not an issue.
Edit: I’ve got an answer written down in the comments now. TL;DR you’d still need lithography to do it the OG way, because of the patterned magnetic material that directed bubbles around the medium, but material requirements are actually pretty flexible.
A lot of things that we assume can only be made by giant complexes of high-tech equipment were first prototyped by hand on a workbench. This sounds like a great project.
(I don't know anything about the details of bubble memory. It's entirely possible this is impossible. Certainly worth looking into though.)