I've been lurking on this site for ages now and got a lot out of it so it's time to give something back.
Last year, I discovered the plans for the JGRO machine here on CNC Zone and just had to start building it. Now, I don't get a lot of spare time, my 1 year old son tends to take it all up but after a couple of months I managed to get the machine working. It's not the best or sturdiest JGRO but it does the job.
The plan was to then use the JGRO to cut a few parts for itself, replacing the bits that I didn't cut too accurately by hand. The problem is that when I built the JGRO, the only pipes I found for the bearings were 25mm outside diameter and it turns out that these flexed much more than I thought possible. I tried adding some sides to the JGRO to support the pipes from the outside with some success, particularly if I tighten a big clamp to pull the sides together but Joe's CNC with it's supported pipes was looking more and more attractive!
So that's how I got started with Joe's CNC. I downloaded the DXF files and converted them to metric, scaling them slightly smaller along the way as I don't have room for a full size model in my garage. My model will be 90% the original size. Of course this meant adjusting all holes for motor mounts, spacing for aluminium angle, etc. The JGRO is doing an excellent job of cutting the parts out.
I'm a bit late starting this log as I've already cut out most of the parts and assembled the main components of the base, gantry and Z axis carriage but there's still a fair bit to go.
I'd like to say thanks to everyone on this site for providing so much useful information and free plans without which I wouldn't have got started on this new hobby.