getting started building first cnc project

[RP Designs]

Reading all of these threads on homemade CNC machines (routers etc) has made me think about playing around with these small scale just to learn. I really must admit though that electronics are not my strong suit. So I ask the experienced masses how did you start your first CNC build? Where did you find the resources? Aside from the mechanical components what is involved in the electronics side? I assume you need motors (stepper or servo), a motor controller and a software program to run it all. Am I missing anything?

What I would like to do is build something very small scale using scavenged parts just to learn how to do it. I think something along the lines of scavenging a few printers to achive 3 axis cnc and try to get it to work. What I need is some help pointing me towards a starting point. TIA

[acondit]

Reading here on the zone and scouring ebay.

Software depends on your preferences. I use linux and emc2, both free. However, a lot of people seem to prefer to spend money and use Windows and Mach or something else.

Alan