@swinks, thanks for posting all of this info. I've just recently started thinking about getting a CNC kit and your posts helped me narrow in more quickly on something that will be suitable for me.

What was the shipping costs like from Ooznest? I'm leaning towards their Workbee kit at the moment. I'm sure I could piece together something locally, but I do like to support companies that put a significant amount of time and effort into developing great documentation, videos, etc. Ooznest seems to do a fantastic job of that.

Thanks again @swinks. It's amazing how many options are out there, and comparing them can be quite the task! I'm looking at info on Ox CNC, Workbee, and Lead CNC now. Because I'm completely new to this, I will take your advice regarding getting a kit instead of sourcing everything myself.

Do you have any experience cutting parts larger than the work area? For example, cutting a pinball cabinet side panel in 2 separate operations via tiling on a 1000x1000 machine? Ideally, I'd just get a 1500x1500 machine, but I like the idea of the lead screw based machines, however 1000x1000mm seems to be the limit for those.

Are you aware of any nice guides that explains controller selection in more detail? Obviously full kits would include a controller suitable for the hardware supplied, but I don't yet understand how the controller affects what software can be used. Was your selection of the x-carve controller based on previous experience with the software, the community itself, or some other factors?