Thanks all for your replies.

Rick...you have a good point about outsourcing aly jobs if demand isn't frequent but I think I'm prepared to go the extra expense and time with the build if it means i can keep as much possible in house once i'm finished. I have seen some of the parts people have produced here and have been absolutely blown away by the quality. I certainly might try my luck with the fine folk here for the occasional part when it comes to the build itself.

Jazz...you don't disappoint. I will work on frame first and then order rails and screws. I'm fixed on my cutting area (1m x 0.5m), just enough for what I have in mind. My first designs are still on the back of an envelope at the moment so some cad is definitely in order. Regarding rail mountings, is there any SOP for incorporating adjustment? I had a look into epoxy leveling too (i saw a guy building a dam on each side...could you build it all the way round so the two sides are level in relation to each other?) Thanks for clearing up gantry thing...it actually made me reconsider where my machine will eventually be sitting. I've also quadrupled my build time so I can spend a bit more too...just need to break it to the other half...i'm sure it will be fine

Adrian...i have a very sad commodore 64 somewhere...it regrets the day i ever saw that film, as did the antiquated wiring system we had at home.

I have a few more questions if anyone has any thoughts...

How does aly box section fare as a frame material? And something like durafix to hold it together (presumably less warping issues than welding steel as the temps are lower?)?

Y and Z axis conventions...forgive me if this is covered elsewhere and these questions seem silly...I need to break it all down before I can build it up in my head. Why always have the y axis rails one above each other with the z axis on the front? Could you not have the y rails at the same height with the z axis travelling between them? And then finally, the Z-axis itelf, similar thing with y, could you not mount so rails/bearings are opposite faces rather than both next to each other on same face?

Thanks again.

Happy CNCing!