Improbable Ventures Blog

Improbable Ventures Posts

Sport Rocketry / Tools / Work Spaces

How to build a rocket workshop (part 1: the purging) (2020-02-01)

As I’ve mentioned before, I have an uninspiring simple garden shed in the back yard, and one of my goals for 2020 is to convert it into a workshop, primarily for rocket construction and related ... [Read More]

How to build a rocket workshop (part 2: the defenestration) (2020-02-05)

Defenestration (n). The act of throwing someone or something out of a window. In particular, the Defenestration of Prague in 1618 involved some angry folks tossing several government officials out of ... [Read More]

How to build a rocket workshop (part 3: the emergency exit) (2020-02-08)

You know what they say: when god closes one door, he opens another. Right? I was googling to find the exact phrase (and its original source) and apparently one of the most popular google searches ... [Read More]

How to build a rocket workshop (part 4: painting) (2020-02-20)

I added a new step to my project that wasn’t in the original plan: painting. Gotta improvise sometimes. With the old plywood doors removed and the new door and frame installed, the shed was ... [Read More]

How to build a rocket workshop (part 5: the butchering) (2020-02-24)

This shed-to-workshop project is coming along well. So far, I’ve cleaned it out, added two new windows, replaced the old plywood doors with a nice new door (with a glass panel for even more ... [Read More]

How to build a rocket workshop (part 6: the electrocution) (2020-03-18)

It’s taken a while to provide an update on the workshop because… this step was a significant amount of work. I enlisted some serious help from my friend Darrin, who has a background in ... [Read More]

How to build a rocket workshop (part 7: the burial) (2020-03-21)

Step #2,352: dig a trench. In order to run electrical wire and conduit from the main electrical panel in the house out to the shed, the electrical code requires (more on this later) that the conduit ... [Read More]

How to build a rocket workshop (part 8: judgment day) (2020-03-26)

I alluded to the fact in the last two posts that there are some laws and regulations applicable to electrical work. Among other things, your city or state will require you to obtain a permit (and pay ... [Read More]

How to build a rocket workshop (part 9: tropical storm) (2020-04-06)

Since we had already done all the work involved in running copper wire and conduit outside to bring electricity to the shed, we figured we might as well run some cat 5 (ethernet) cable out there, ... [Read More]

How to build a rocket workshop (part 10: the resurrection) (2020-05-09)

The much-anticipated finale to the workshop saga! The last few posts covered the electrical work, from digging a trench to installing a sub-panel in the shed and running conduit out from the main ... [Read More]