What kind of limit/home switches so you guys use?

The magnetic ones or the standard mechanical ones? I've seen the small ones on ebay at $16 for 20 of them. Any of you guys have pictures of how you mounted them? I'm planning on using the standard configuration that is in the documentation for EMC2 on wiki which uses a separate pin on the parrallel port for each axis.

If you need safety, you need to use normally closed switches. That way if the wire breaks, it fails to a safe mode rather than allowing a dangerous crash.

Having said that, I've used both kinds. Recently I got some cheap SMC reed switches with LED's in them. They are normally open, but for the Sherline lathe I am not concerned.

Optical switches are great in a clean environment--I wired one up a couple months ago. If the lighting is not consistent or if dirt or machining chips can get on it, you may have inconsistent results.