I always find it's the third time of doing something that it becomes right.

As it happens, this will be the 2.5th or 3.5th attempt (depending on how it's counted).

I did two very small-scale mock-ups of the machine - the first was to prove the electrics (pretty trivial), and the second was as an exercise in working out which bits would be the tricky part (the Z-axis, as it happened).

Then, there was the full size machine itself, which started off with standard 10mm threaded bar (I was on a /very/ tight budget to start off with), which were replaced with R&P for speed.

Now I've proven to the workshop owner it's doable, the budget is significantly increased.

As to pictures, I'll post some in a few minutes (just need to check if this is any different to other phpBB systems in that respect).