First of all, the motor I am using is not the one that came with the lathe. The motor in the non-variable speed Minis is AC. It is not practical to make it run at a variable speed. The original motor, is still in place in the lathe, you can see it under the bed. The original pulley is still on the motor. The belt from that motor to the spindle has been removed. I can put it back in a few minutes and use the original motor again.
I bought a DC motor with VS controller from Vega Woodworking. they were selling them surplus about a year ago. Vega does not have any more of them. It was about $50 plus shipping for motor and controller. Such a bargain does not come up very frequently. The motor was advertised as 1 HP, but it is more like 1-1/2 HP with a LOT of torque!
If you look in my photo album, you will find pics of my lathe cabinet. My DC motor is mounted inside the cabinet, under the lathe head. The controller sits near the motor. I bought a new stepped pulley from Jet, and put it on the DC motor's shaft. Also got a longer PolyV belt to reach the spindle. The box you see in the pic has the potentiometer that controls the speed. The cabinet is on Woodcraft casters that can be locked both
ways. I seldom lock the casters to turn pens, it stays in place very well.
I think I got the best of two worlds with my setup, since I can take the lathe with me, and leave the DC motor behind, and still use it with the AC motor.
The best alternative for a variable speed DC motor is to get a surplus DC treadmill motor. These develop at least 1-1/2 HP and run very smoothly. Surplus prices vary, but you can get one for about $30 I think. A surplus controller for it goes for about $50. You will need a new pulley (it has to be drilled, and you want to keep the original on the AC motor) which is about $17 from Jet. Get two longer belts at about $6 ea plus shipping. Then you have to adapt the pulley to the motor, and wire the whole thing up.
I spent more on my setup than I can get a VS for. However, I am very happy with the power of my motor. It will run from a crawl to 4,000 RPM and it does not lose any torque at the lowest speed.
I will be glad to answer any further questions.
