So, after years of wanting to build a CNC machine but not actually doing it for one reason or another the wife has convinced me I should get on and actually do it.

My plan is to try and avoid as many of the new builders mistakes as possible so please point out anything that looks like it won't work - I promise to listen and not take offence (I've read enough to know that I know almost nothing).

In the spirit of trying to avoid mistakes how does this sound as a target for my first build:
  • Budget: £1500 (possible to go a little higher if really necessary)
  • Size: X=1000 to 1500mm, Y=700mm, Z=100mm
  • Use: mainly hardwood (oak) but ideally also aluminium if possible. I see myself mostly working on flat items hence only 100mm travel in Z, if necessary that could probably be reduced slightly.
  • Base Frame: steel box section, bolted together.
  • Basic Design: gantry style
  • Runners: fully supported rails - I think


My current building skills lie mainly in woodwork although I have a little experience with metal work and electronics and I'm always ready to learn. My day job is software engineering so I'm happy I can wrap my head around the computer side of things. I can't currently weld but I plan on learning, the frame will currently be bolted together as I'll need to move it in the future (it's complicated). My tooling is, for the most part, woodwork based. I'm planning on buying a bench drill in the near future so I'll be looking to get one that is good enough for light metal work.

Does this sounds like a reasonable target?

Given that I will do all that I reasonably can to produce a quality machine what sort of accuracy could I expect to achieve?

Finally, for now, can anyone recommend components and suppliers for this sort of budget? I've seen linearmotionbearings2008 on eBay and I'm tempted with one of the kits for my first foray into CNC to keep things simple. I'm a bit wary of this option though given the quality of a lot of the stuff that comes from that area of the world.

Thanks in advance for any help.