so I went browsing the web looking for a good solution for powering my spindle. found a few interesting things, but the stepper motor controlled spindle is what caught my eye. I gathered up supplies. here is a list: nema 23 unipolar stepper, 2 vcr drive heads and the timing belt pulley assembly from a old belt sander. and various misc. bits as well.

for the frame of the spindle I am using some fiberglass c channel, pretty sturdy material. I plan on laminating two pieces with jb weld & rivets, forming a I beam shape. should work pretty well I think. now the timing belt drive was I pretty good snag. popped open a old belt sander and it was right there in the outside of the body, had to press in brass tubing to shim the I.D of the pulleys to match the O.D of the motor & spindle shafts. the motor was easy, spindle tho, not so much. came up with a really neat trick tho that worked awesome. more to come