This is the bench at the end of an evening in late September. Good progress, but lots left in this build. The kit parts are laid out, with the instructions up on the laptop.

And the frame, partly assembled, surrounded by bags of hardware.

A regular socket wouldn't fit into one tight spot, so I ground down the outside wall of a 7 mm deep socket. Having a grinder means never having to say you're sorry.

By October 2 it was probably about two thirds done: you can see the frame, the table, the ballscrews and linear rails, and a stepper motor on top of the Z axis. Yes, it has ballscrews. Fancy, but necessary.

On October 3 the mechanical assembly was complete, so next up was electrical. That's the finished machine at the top of the page.

I chipped away at the electrical work when I had time. Here's the back of the machine with the electronics bay open, showing the controller boards and wiring, with the coolant reservoir on the side. The power-on smoke test didn't reveal any immediate glaring issues.

Next up was installing the software and making it move. The machine also needs a home: I'm planning to use the big CNC at the makerspace to make a rolling cart for it to sit on, with room for the power cables, coolant lines and so on.

On October 10, finally, all three axes working.

I also had to build a coolant basin for it to sit in.

Assuming I didn't screw anything up, the enclosure end of things was done. The odds of a screwup are high, of course; I have yet to do this and not have a loose connection or a wrong wire somewhere. This is the variable frequency drive, a Hitachi WJ200, with its terminal blocks, breaker and wiring.

A quick lunch-break pair of upgrades: I replaced the belt with a poly link belt, and the socket head cap screw with a quick-release handled screw. The new belt is slightly longer, which makes belt changes easier and puts the motor closer to the center of travel in the adjustment bracket.

And the DRO is done, with scales on both axes. I am soooo glad that's a one-time activity.

Here are the panel pieces coming off the printer: the front panel with the speed dial, the forward/stop/back rocker switch, and the four-digit LED display, plus a few blank panels.

I was down to my last roll of PETG when I printed this, which was a relief, because I will never use it again. It gave me stringing, voids, and blobbing. (2026 update: PETG is now my preferred material. The problems were likely due to not drying it. Having a better printer now helps, too.)

Holding the finished control box next to the mill and its DRO.

On New Year's Day I cut the steel tubing for the frame. On the right are the pieces I needed; on the left is what was left over from what I started with.

And this is what they were getting welded into: an octagonal frame.

A few days later the kiln's controller was plugged in and reading. Working!

By early February the kiln was sitting on its finished base, with the controller on its stand next to it. It works, and now I can get it out of the way.

This is an earlier version of the control box, before I decided that a metal enclosure would be a good idea with 25 amps running through it.