Homebuilt machines: Difference between revisions

[[Image:livesteam.jpg|thumb|A hand-crafted, coal-fired, 1:8 scale [[2-10-0]] 'live steam' locomotive in {{Track gauge|7.25in|lk=on}} gauge, built in 14,000 hours over a period of 15 years.]]

'''Homebuilt machines''' are machines built outside of specialised workshops or factories. This can include different things such as [[kit car]]s or [[homebuilt computer]]s, but normally it pertains to [[homebuilt aircraft]], also known as amateur-built aircraft or kit planes. Homebuilt aircraft or kit cars are constructed by amateurs. Homebuilt computers have been built at home for a long time, starting with the [[Victorian era]] pioneer [[Charles Babbage]] in the 1820s. A century later, [[Konrad Zuse]] built his own machine when [[electromechanical]] [[relay]] technology was widely available. The hobby took off with the early development of [[microprocessors]] and, since then, many enthusiasts have constructed their own computers.

These machines may be constructed "from scratch", from plans, or from assembly kits. Outside of the United States (for example in [[Russia]]) people wishing to build such complex machinery often have no professional networks to rely on for spare parts, plans, or advice in the matter and therefore have to rely on their ingenuity and intuition in order to build a machine that works.