Yea I was afraid even a very large stepper wouldn't be able to handle it. I saw a few youtube vids that got my hopes up though.
Im adverse to the servo method as they require a controller and thats expensive for one over 100W. I could use BLDC motor but once again a controller would be expensive for a powerfull enough motor. I tried to use a PMDC motor as I can control them very easily with some SCR's from work but finding a damn motor thats any good is hard and expensive. Just because it says 500W 500RPM doesn't mean its worth anything at delivering power...
Any ideas on how to run the spindle while its on the mill? For indexing a stepper is easy but I want to do some actual turning still and the 1/4HP AC marathon motor is as big as my axis travel.
The goal is to have a setup like
Hoss has but as he used the motor from his 7x lathe I still need to find one.
EDIT - Hmmm I wonder if you can buy a replacement motor for the 7x lathes... Their 110V DC and the perfect size for many projects. Anybody know a link?