Thanks DK,
I was thinking of buying some used servos off ebay. What I have at the moment is a range of servos, which will most likely be too big or too small. I have some electrocraft e543s which are about 7 inches long and two inches diameter 48 volt. I also have a couple of SEM servos, they're about a foot long and 4 inches in diameter 200 volt if I recall correctly. I also have some steppers which might be ok but for motion capture encoders would need to be fitted which is achievable but probably cheaper and easier to buy used dc servos.
The mechanical side is easy for me, I have a tool room style lathe and a Bridgeport type mill, I'm nearing completion of a cnc router and have plans of doing metal casting.
I was thinking of a robot arm which could move along a track, with around 1000mm length from shoulder to elbow and the same for elbow to wrist. By the time it's done it could cost a couple of thousand dollars.
The main issue for me is the software to program/run the thing, I've searched around and there seems to be very little available in that area once you get beyond toys and research/experimental work.
Cheers
Splint