I build all the things!

January 19, 2012 7:42 PM

Cool Science Construction Projects! After I've built my Dobsonian telescope, machined my Gingery workshop, and constructed my Farnsworth fusion reactor, what do I do next?

Double bonus points: what's a good progression of simple to more difficult projects, ideally involving the acquisition of additional skills along the way?

posted by leotrotsky to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (7 answers total)

A seismograph.
posted by benk at 7:58 PM on January 19, 2012

CNCify some of you're machine tools.

That or build your own 12 inch cyclotron.
posted by Kid Charlemagne at 8:07 PM on January 19, 2012

Radio telescope. It's full of high-nerd activities that will test even the hardiest, handiest science geek: antenna design, receiver electronics, software to run it and analyze the data, astrophysics so you'll know what to tune into, and astronomy so you'll know where to look for it. You won't discover much with the kind of antenna you can set up in the back yard, but it would be fun to =listen= to Saturn as you look at it through your telescope.
posted by Slap*Happy at 8:31 PM on January 19, 2012

You need a 3D printer!
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 9:26 PM on January 19, 2012

Home built electron microscope?
posted by Ookseer at 10:23 PM on January 19, 2012

Stirling engine?
Working scale combustion or steam engine? I know a guy who builds very precise small scale working steam engines, machining all the parts himself - it is amazing the things he's had to do to accomplish it.
posted by LobsterMitten at 11:31 PM on January 19, 2012

(Errr, won't discover much unknown to science... on a personal level, you'll discover shedloads.)
posted by Slap*Happy at 4:45 AM on January 20, 2012