Jim, Chuck Woodruff sells variable speed DC motors and controllers, and I
was very happy with the one I got from him. It needed no fiddling and has
performed well. Price was about $400. Craft Supplies (and probably others)
sell DC motor/controller packages too. I have the one from Craft Supplies
currently powering my Vicmarc, and have been very happy with it too.
Chuck may have a website, but I don't know it. His email is in the AAW
member directory under Washington State.

One (of many) source for treadmill motors is American Science and Surplus.
(www.sciplus.com) You can get a 3/4 hp motor for about $40, but the
fiddle-around factor might be really high. The archives on this group will
yield lots of advice on how to do that. I believe the archives are
somewhere on Google, and maybe deja.com? Anyone else know?

It's true what another poster said about how variable speed won't make you
a better turner....but if you have to install a motor anyway, you will be
happier in the long run with a modern variable speed machine because it
will allow you to do things that are more difficult with the standard cone
pulley fixed speed arrangement. The key is to balance the time spent
fiddling with your lathe against the time you could spend turning on it!

Have fun!

-CD-
boulder, co