I retired 5 years ago and was looking for a hobby to get absorbed in. My initial interest was in 3D printing which stemmed from a presentation at our Probus club by a 3D specialist who was very helpful in getting me enthused over the next 2 years with my trusty Ender3 which I have modified extensively to meet my needs as I enjoy designing parts as required. Around 3 years ago I bought a 3018 CNC and although I enjoyed it doing extensive modifications, I came to the conclusion that I really needed a much better machine to do the hobby justice and yet I did not have space to achieve this. In the meantime, I bought a diode laser for it and made a lot of progress over the last couple of years, engraving on many materials and creating an extensive library. The problem was its limited ability to cut. Although I had looked at the K40 perhaps a year ago, I had not appreciated until around 6 months ago that cooling is achieved by an enclosed aquarium type cooling system and not from a mains supply which made this a possibility and after 6 months of research I decided to purchase a used machine on the basis that I would probably have to replace much of the kit anyway. Having had my K40 around 2 months, I have realised through this group that I can get a lot out of my current machine which has been confirmed through the excellent support of this group. My intentions are to enhance it and the processes around it as much as I can hence the current posts and to both learn and contribute to the group.