VKB-SIM

Recently received my GF4 base and something caught my ear during the set up video I watched from the VKB YouTube channel. During calibration the video said to move each axis through its full range but without pressing against the edges of the gimbal. So when calibrating, are we supposed to stop just short of the edges? On my GF3 when calibrating i would move the axis through the full range and until i hit the limit, gently. Will I damage something in the base if I go up against the edge? I never do it aggressively, just gently to know I’ve reached full range of motion

It is fine to gently touch the edges of the range. Just do not push the limits with all your might hoping for a tiny bit of extra range.

Also if you push hard against the edges during calibration, that is where the maximum/minimum logical value for the axis will be set. Any time you want to reach this logical limit you will have to press equally hard against the edges. This is unnecessary stress on the material and unnecessary application of force on your part.
Instead brush lightly against the edges during calibration and you wont have to put all your forces into it to reach the logical limits.

In fact, when calibrating, you need to move the grip in the range that is supposedly convenient for you. And this does not mean "to the physical limits of mechanics". Moreover, when calibrating, you can set uneven strokes for the pitch axis (away from you, toward you), but the entire range from 0 to 65535 will be used.