I started this build in January, working on it on and off. Now that we’re quarantined at home going to aim to finish this by the end of the summer. I have a programming background, and don’t have any experience nor the tools for building a robot so this is my build log to share my experience, challenges, and progress with you guys.
Thank you Chris for putting together such a detailed manual :)

I’m going to try to make a bit of progress every week. Just got the J3 encoder installed and motor cables routed. I ran into two problems:
I installed the J1 motor mount backwards, which makes the J1 joint hit the J1 encoder. I think it would be helpful if the instructions on page 64 had a note to making sure the motor mount is aligned like in the photo.
The J3 motor spindle is loose. I stripped the spindle retainer screw trying to tighten it, and it still has a ~1mm play. I’m worried the arm will be loose...
Also a note on the instructions, on page 117 it says:
”Secure the J3 motor/encoder wire bundle to the J3 encoder wires with small cable tie”
I think that‘s a small typo, it probably means “to the J3 limit switch wires”
Looking forward to soldering 30 more wires this week! Haha