Welcome, Mike.

Firstly - "you're new to forums in general" - there's a great bunch of guys here, but we can be a bit salty at times. Don't take anything too personally and understand that any advice offered (however it's presented) is likely to be founded on years of experience. Don't mistake unpalatable truths as an argument.

As I'm the first to reply, I'll offer the obvious reply - £500-£1000 isn't going to buy much. If you look at the Chinese machines on eBay and the like a 2ft x 3ft translates into a 6090 machine (the YYXX translates into YY axis size (cm), XX axis size (cm)). You can't find one of those new in your price range. To be honest, you wouldn't buy the bits new to build your own for your budget. I've used the word "new" twice, now, so I think you should be able to guess what's next - I'd keep an eye out for second hand machines. Even then you're going to struggle a bit within your budget.