Front view of the lathe pointing out the spindle and accessory control box, treadmill motor box and the carriage lead screw.

This is a little closer view of the lead screw. More detail photos are under the section describing the split-nut.When I first got the lathe I mounted it on an aluminum base plate. This gives me something to mount the carriage drive and other accessories. I also raised the lathe up off the base plate by about an inch. In my opinion it makes

A close up of the the coupler I use to engage and disengage the stepper motor to the lead screw.

This controller box consolidates a lot of different electronics in one place including:

• Motor motor on/off
• Motor speed control
• Solid state relay for motor on/off under computer control
• Solid state relay for an accessory on/off under computer control
• Tachometer display
• Switches to go from manual to computer control

One of the first changes I made to the lathe was to adapt a surplus variable speed treadmill motor to drive it. I also replaced the stock pulleys and belt with an XL timing belt and pulleys.

I built a mount for the motor and an adjustable tensioning system with parts from an old decollator. A crank which sticks out the back of the box is attached to a lead screw. and is turned to move the motor forward or back on rails which tensions the belt. Since the XL belt is "toothed", tension isn't really critical in terms of "slippage". However the ability to match belt tension to speed and load helps to eliminate vibration and keeps things running quietly and smoothly.

The treadmill motor is "open frame" with exposed fan blades. I wanted to keep the motor clean and protect the fan so I put the whole thing (mount, motor, tensioning rack and motor interface) in a box with a clear acrylic top.

An off-the-shelf replaceable furnace filter slides in and out of slots on the side. The motor enclosure also gave me somewhere to mount the controller box (see above). And I can pile stuff on top of it.

An exploded view diagram of the Taig lathe.