I would say that you have the skills to build a decent machine. You have the big advantage of having an electronics background. On the whole, it's easier to pick up "mechanical" skills as you go than to pick up electronics skills although you may be a skilled machinist/welder. Trying to explain to someone the how and why of, say, an NPN open-collector output or ground loops is harder than how to level rails with epoxy or even basic welding! Just go for it - there's plenty of advice available on this forum.