I've decided to assemble the kit at the Syracuse Innovator's Guild. It's nice to have heat, light, electricity, tables, Internet and most important, expertise in case I run into a problem! It's in Downtown Syracuse so I find it's easily reachable by car or bus. They have a monthly membership fee of $50 which, even in spite of needing to pay for parking during weekdays, is a very good value.
As for the kit itself, quite a few parts are made from laser cut plywood. At first, I was a little skeptical of this material. However, other makerbot users seem to not mind and now I can see why. The wood parts have surprising precision to them!Before arriving at the assembly site, I decided to pre-coat the wood parts with a clear enamel spray paint. Clear, due to wanting to see the markings on the parts. Enamel due to needing a coating method that was quick, easy and not too messy. Plus, I happened to have a can from a previous project so that made my plan especially attractive from a cost standpoint. It is winter. Due to temperature being in the 20's outside, I decided to paint inside my basement. Big mistake, although I didn't know it at the time! So, I hang the parts. Then put on a thin coat. The first respirator I had did almost no good. Fortunately, I had a second 3M paint respirator that had some fresh cartridges. Ok, I didn't count on needing to use another set of expensive cartridges but at least painting goes quickly. Then, I go upstairs and discover the paint fumes made their way into the living area! Fortunately, nobody is there. So, I quickly opened up every window in the basement and set up a temporary fan to blow air out of the space. For the next two hours, I wait, reading a book, with my respirator on, occasionally taking it off to test if the fumes are gone.
Anyway, once painted, smaller wooden parts are punched out and sanded. For the excellent punching and sanding job, I thank Mike Smith, who stopped by during the day to help.
