The term homebuilt is used to describe machines built outside of specialised workshops or factories. It can mean different things such as kit car

Kit car

A kit car, also known as a "component car", is an automobile that is available as a set of parts that a manufacturer sells and the buyer then either assembles into a car themselves, or retains a third party to do part or all of the work on their behalf...

s or homebuilt computer

Homebuilt computer

A homebuilt computer is a computer assembled from available components, usually commercial off-the-shelf components, rather than purchased as a complete system from a computer system supplier.- History :...

s, but normally it pertains to homebuilt aircraft

Homebuilt aircraft

Also known as amateur-built aircraft or kit planes, homebuilt aircraft are constructed by persons for whom this is not a professional activity. These aircraft may be constructed from "scratch," from plans, or from assembly kits.-Overview:...

, also known as amateur-built aircraft or kit planes. Homebuilt aircraft or kit cars are constructed by persons for whom this is not a professional activity. Homebuilt computers have been built at home for a long time, starting with the Victorian era

Victorian era

The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...

 pioneer Charles Babbage

Charles Babbage

Charles Babbage, FRS was an English mathematician, philosopher, inventor and mechanical engineer who originated the concept of a programmable computer...

 in the 1820s. A century later, Konrad Zuse

Konrad Zuse

Konrad Zuse was a German civil engineer and computer pioneer. His greatest achievement was the world's first functional program-controlled Turing-complete computer, the Z3, which became operational in May 1941....

 built his own machine when electromechanical relay

Relay

A relay is an electrically operated switch. Many relays use an electromagnet to operate a switching mechanism mechanically, but other operating principles are also used. Relays are used where it is necessary to control a circuit by a low-power signal , or where several circuits must be controlled...

 technology was widely available. The hobby really took off with the early development of microprocessors, and since then, many enthusiasts have constructed their own computers.
A homebuilt vehicle is a wider concept than a kit car. Homebuilt vehicle is a motor vehicle (car, truck or motorcycle) that is built by an individual instead of a manufacturer.
These machines may be constructed "from scratch", from plans, or from assembly kits. Outside of USA (for example in Russia) persons wishing to build such complex machinery often have no professional networks to rely on for spare parts, plans or advise in the matter and therefore have to rely on their ingenuity and intuition in order to build a machine that works.

Examples of home-built machinery

• Amateur radio homebrew
  Amateur radio homebrew
  -History:In the early years of amateur radio, long before factory-built gear was easily available, most hams built their own transmitting and receiving equipment, a process that came to be known as "homebrewing." In the 1930s, 40s, and 50s, hams handcrafted reasonable-quality vacuum tube-based...
  
   -Homebrew is an Amateur radio
  Amateur radio
  Amateur radio is the use of designated radio frequency spectrum for purposes of private recreation, non-commercial exchange of messages, wireless experimentation, self-training, and emergency communication...
  
   slang term for home-built, noncommercial radio equipment.
• Amateur telescope making
  Amateur telescope making
  Amateur telescope making is the activity of building telescopes as a hobby, as opposed to being a paid professional. Amateur telescope makers build their instruments for personal enjoyment of a technical challenge, as a way to obtain an inexpensive or personally customized telescope, or as a...
  
  - The field of amateur telescope making is considered an offshoot of the amateur astronomy
  Amateur astronomy
  Amateur astronomy, also called backyard astronomy and stargazing, is a hobby whose participants enjoy watching the night sky , and the plethora of objects found in it, mainly with portable telescopes and binoculars...
  
   community. Amateur telescope
  Telescope
  A telescope is an instrument that aids in the observation of remote objects by collecting electromagnetic radiation . The first known practical telescopes were invented in the Netherlands at the beginning of the 1600s , using glass lenses...
  
   makers (sometimes called ATMs), as their name implies, are not paid professionals. They build their telescopes for the enjoyment of the hobby
  Hobby
  A hobby is a regular activity or interest that is undertaken for pleasure, typically done during one's leisure time.- Etymology :A hobby horse is a wooden or wickerwork toy made to be ridden just like a real horse...
  
  , or so they can make a personal contribution to the field of astronomy
  Astronomy
  Astronomy is a natural science that deals with the study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of Earth...
  
  .
• 
  Dune buggy
  Dune buggy
  A dune buggy is a recreational vehicle with large wheels, and wide tires, designed for use on sand dunes or beaches. The design is usually a modified vehicle and engine mounted on an open chassis. The modifications usually attempt to increase the power-to-weight ratio by either lightening the...
  
  - popular method of building a dune buggy involves construction of a vehicle frame from steel tubing formed and welded together. The advantage of this method is that the fabricator can change fundamental parts of the vehicle (usually the suspension and addition of a built-in roll cage). Buggies of this type are called sandrail
  Sandrail
  A sandrail, or sand rail, or sandcar, or "rail" is a lightweight motor vehicle specifically built for traveling across a wide variety of off-road terrain. Sandrails are popularly operated on actual sand dunes, such as Glamis, Pismo and Rasor in California, St...
  
  s because of the rail frame. Sandrails, as with the VW Bug, often have the engine located behind the driver. Sizes can vary from a small engined one seat size to 4 seat, 8+ cylinder vehicles. Sandrails can have panels or custom shaped body coverings over the rails and tubing that comprise the vehicle, though many are left bare.
• Amateur rocketry
  Amateur rocketry
  Amateur rocketry, sometimes known as amateur experimental rocketry or experimental rocketry is a hobby in which participants experiment with fuels and make their own rocket motors, launching a wide variety of types and sizes of rockets...
  
   sometimes known as amateur experimental rocketry or experimental rocketry is a hobby in which participants experiment with fuels and make their own rocket
  Rocket
  A rocket is a missile, spacecraft, aircraft or other vehicle which obtains thrust from a rocket engine. In all rockets, the exhaust is formed entirely from propellants carried within the rocket before use. Rocket engines work by action and reaction...
  
   motors, launching a wide variety of types and sizes of rockets. Amateur rocketeers have been responsible for significant research into hybrid rocket
  Hybrid rocket
  A hybrid rocket is a rocket with a rocket motor which uses propellants in two different states of matter - one solid and the other either gas or liquid. The Hybrid rocket concept can be traced back at least 75 years....
  
   motors, and have built and flown a variety of solid, liquid, and hybrid propellant motors. On May 17, 2004 Civilian Space eXploration Team
  Civilian Space eXploration Team
  The Civilian Space eXploration Team, known as CSXT, is a team of around 30 civilians interested in private spaceflight. The team was created by Ky Michaelson. It has conducted multiple rocket launches in an attempt to establish altitude records...
  
   (CSXT) successfully launched the first amateur high-power rocket into space, achieving an altitude of 72 miles (115 km). Prior to that the Reaction Research Society
  Reaction Research Society
  The Reaction Research Society is the oldest continuously operating amateur experimental rocket group in the United States. Founded by George James on 6 January 1943, originally as the Southern California Rocket Society, the organization's name was changed to the Glendale Rocket Society two months...
  
   on November 23, 1996 launched a solid fueled rocket, designed by longtime member George Garboden, to an altitude of 50 miles (80 km) from the Black Rock Desert
  Black Rock Desert
  The Black Rock Desert is an arid region in the northern Nevada section of the Great Basin with a lakebed that is a dry remnant of Pleistocene Lake Lahontan...
  
   in Nevada.
• Stitch and glue
  Stitch and glue
  Stitch and glue is a simple boat building method which uses plywood, epoxy glue, and "stitches" and eliminates the need for stems and chines. Plywood panels are cut to detailed profiles and stitched together to form an accurate hull shape, without the need for forms or special tools...
  
  -is a simple boat building method which uses plywood, epoxy glue, and "stitches" and eliminates the need for stems and chines. Plywood panels are cut to detailed profiles and stitched together to form an accurate hull shape, without the need for forms or special tools. This technique is also called "tack and tape", and "stitch and tape".