Thanks! I think the most difficult part will be the one I can't do myself, squaring and boring the aluminium block to take the spindle, and i'm not yet really clear on how to preload the bearings. The lower bearing is supposed to be a press fit and the upper one a slide fit. I'll have to go to a machine shop for the boring, and I dread to think how much they'll charge me. Anything out of their daily routine gets treated (and charged) like aircraft machining. Somebody quoted me "at least 400€" to skim the surface of the bed of the machine, which I find outrageous. Other than that, everything else doesn't seem that difficult to do, honestly. I'm also curious to see if I can turn toolholders from O1 or A2 steel on my mini-lathe.