power z-axis for RF-45 mill

[ptxman]

I’m wondering about the feasibility & cost of ‘powering’ my King RF-45 Z-axis. My crank handle is on the left hand side, kind of high up on the column. My mill sits in a corner environment where its not the easiest access this handle for cranking, which I seem to do often. Im including a pic of a Grizzly 45 for a rough idea. Its handle is down lower & on the right side of column, but I think it sa similar rack & pinion system?

I can measure the require cranking torque with a fish scale or similar. Then what? Do you size a motor at X over% of that & desired rpm? Im not into cnc so was hoping I could find a standard 110v-in, obviously some sort of gear drive, some sort of mounting bolt arrangement to adapt… Any ideas welcome.

Related: I saw a picture of a guy who used gas struts (like from a car back-hatch?) mounted between the column & mill head to assist the weight of the gear head. I think he did this to reduce the load for a the Z-axis (cnc) motor. Should I explore this option? Seems to me when I replaced the one on my Honda, it costs more than the motors I see on ebay!

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[jalessi]

Hoss is working on a power feed for the RF-45.

He is using a drill until he works out the details.

http://www.youtube.com/hossmachine#p/u/4/B4iCXkeOgyw

Jeff...