Franken-
i personally chose the elevated stage design. it can get kind of annoying going back and forth on the threaded rods, but it makes it easier to align the beam heights.
http://photonlexicon.com/gallery/v/u...ottaluvlasers/ look there under RGB build. youll see some pics of how i layed it out on stages.
some other people here did shims and different types of stages. there really is no right or wrong way. i personally like the stage way.
your pics look like its gonna be small. GOOD CHOICE!
just watch your cooling. smaller the area, the greater the heat.
oh, by the way...WELCOME!!!
-Marc