You can read about the whole process at my blog, but I wanted to come here to specifically commiserate about that and the little things - like how I spent hours just placing and picking up tiny, little nuts I had to use to weigh down the paper, lest it blow all over the machine.
At first I used these little, geode-y cement paper weights I had made. At one point, the laser arm grabbed one and scrrrrrraped it all the way across the tray (ripping all the paper) and I nearly had a heart attack. Fun times, guys. Watch the height of your paper weights!
So sorry to hear about your troubles, but it looks like your efforts paid off. I can positively state that this is the coolest 5’ egg I’ve ever laid eyes on!