Hi Creative,
I am a firm believer in the weakest link philosophy. I do not believe that the rods or bearings either one will be an issue as far as wear are concerned. The JGRO machine is not designed for long term durability, IMHO of course.
From my experience with MDF the joints will cause more problems with wear than the guide system ever will. Also for the difference in the cost of the drill rod vs the CRS you could replace the bearings or rods several times before you reach the cost of the drill rod.
All of this is my opinion but if it were me I would save the extra cash for the second, much more expensive version of the machine. Use this one as a learning experience.
I am planning on letting the first one pay for itself, then build a much more accurate and solid machine. I work in the sign business and have been around these machines and in most cases the worst built machine on this site is better engineered than most of the so-called budget commercial machines. So don't worry about minor issues such as rockwell hardness and so on.
Several of the guys using the JGRO machine are cutting aluminum with it, on gas pipe, so what we are discussing is overkill. (IMHO)
Thanks for letting me rant,
Jimmy Southern
ps I apoligize for my accent
I am just a country boy from North Georgia
one of the lines above should have said:
"the least well built" not "worst"