I've been trolling the forum for a couple weeks reading up on the jgro and decided that its totally within my skill level and would do everything that I want it to including making parts for a larger machine eventually. So with the complete set of plans downloaded, printed and nearly memorized (I've really been into this...) I just went to Lowes for my 1/2" and 3/4" mdf, cut all the straight cuts on the table saw last night and started predrilling holes for the support assemblies.
Everything I've read on others' build threads has been really informative and I'll be keeping a running total of what I've spent on materials. Thanks everyone for the info you've all provided, I look forward to comments as my build thread continues.
Total spent so far on just mdf is $58