Projects,
Engineering,
and Travel Log.
Kia ora — I'm Rob Couper, a mechanical engineer who builds things, breaks things, and occasionally fixes them. This site catalogs my projects and the lessons learned along the way. Plus a travel log for friends and family. Welcome to my digital shed.
Learning by Doing
The Iteration Log
Every workshop has its share of half-finished projects, broken tools, and scribbled notes. This is no different - just digital. Here, you’ll find engineering projects in various states of completion: some polished, some abandoned, all documented. The philosophy? If you’re not breaking things, you’re not learning. So pull up a stool, poke around, and don’t mind the sawdust.
What next?
Back home, building things
Back in New Zealand and now working at the Christchurch Engine Centre, spending weekends and evenings on home projects with Te Atawhai. This site is partly a public portfolio, mostly a personal logbook — a place to reflect on what's been built, learnt and explored.
Latest from the workshop & the road
Featured
Projects, engineering write-ups and trip reports — all driven from simple Markdown files.
Home NAS Build
TrueNAS + Tailscale: centralised storage, media hosting and a platform for everything else.
Papua New Guinea, November 2019
Eleven days in the Highlands repairing a village water supply system in Koinambe.
Fiji, June 2025
The most relaxing layover ever!
Japan Mart, February 2026
10 days of skiing and exploring Japan with Te Atawhai and Seth Hewie.