Building the MK2s - My experience
First a little background. I'm a computer engineer specializing in business software. In an earlier lifetime I was an auto mechanic. This may or may not be relevant to my build experience.
Note that I received the new MK2s so my experience reflects this version.
My only prior experience in 3D printing was a Lulzbot mini I had for about a month.
Since I had about 8 weeks to prepare, I had spent some time going through the build manual and found the instructions to be well written and gave me a very good idea about what I'd be facing.
In preparation, I purchased a few tools I didn't have to make the build easier. I highly recommend a good set of hex drivers. Being a bit of a tool junkie, I bought a set from Amazon https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0006OBFCC/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Knowing what I know now, I could have been fairly happy with just a good 2.5mm. About 90% of the use was with this size. I really can't imagine building this with the included wrenches but maybe that's just me, I'm sure it can be done. You'll also benefit from a small wire cutter to trim the wire ties. It's much easier than trying to use the pliers supplied.
After viewing the Y-Axis build instructions, there's a video that shows the builder using a large caliper to measure the distance across the Y-Axis rods to make sure they're 178mm, I decided to buy a 300mm caliper. I suspect that this may be the last and only time I'll use it as I already had a decent 150mm caliper. I got this one from Amazon, it seems to work very well. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000EJUBBU/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
There are a number of 5.5 mm nuts to tighten on the linear bearing u-bolts and the belt pulleys. The manual shows using the pliers to do this (yuck). I didn't own a 5.5mm wrench but after doing a quick calculation, it turns out that an American 7/64th inch is virtually the same and worked perfectly.
The build was fairly uneventful. I got a bit frustrated when the instructions said to install the end stop switch and I couldn't find it. After 10 minutes of hunting around I found it, only to find that a couple of paragraphs down in the manual it said what box it was in. I think the manual should identify all required items in the beginning. Most items are in their step number labelled bags, this is an exception.
I used the wire tie method described in the manual to set the Pinda probe height. The initial calibration failed as it couldn't detect the sensors. For reference, the wire tie measures 1.12mm. I then tried lowering it to the thickness of a credit card I have that measures .76mm. After this change the calibrations worked.
I was extra careful in my measurements to ensure a square Y axis and am pleased to report that the XYZ calibration passed with the printer reporting that the X/Y axes are perpendicular.
The printer is much nicer (and less expensive) than the Lulzbot. It's also much quieter, even in high power mode. In the silent mode it's almost pleasant to be near. But this isn't a printer review, there are many much more qualified than I that have already done this multiple times.
All in all, the build was a very enjoyable experience.