That too looks a decent machine. I toyed with building my own and got in touch with a few suppliers of CNC threaded drive rods. Some of the prices of these unit

That too looks a decent machine. I toyed with building my own and got in touch with a few suppliers of CNC threaded drive rods. Some of the prices of these units seem pretty reasonable and probably a better bet in terms of price that going completely DIY. As for the G-code, that is going to be the hardest part for me too I think. I was wondering if Google Sketchup with https://sites.google.com/site/sketchuptogcode/ https://sites.google.com/site/sketchuptogcode/ might be an easy route in to the scene?