Bill,
If you are going to be doing thread wrapping of guides with the unit, it is a better idea to have two separate machines.
One machine to do your handle lathe work that require a lot of power and constant speed, and one machine to do your thread work that require a foot pedal with low variable speed and an easy way to reverse the direction of rotation.
Over the years, I have built many different machines to do the jobs.
For doing grip work these days, I use a wood lathe in the "dirty shop" where I only do the lathe work with its ensuing dust, and sanding grit from the work. I also have a variable speed drill motor connected to a heavy duty power supply with a foot pedal to use for "touch up" of a grip when doing repair work on a completed rod in the thread wrapping shop. The variable speed cordless drill motor does an excellent job with respect to having adequate power to do lathe turning work.
A sewing machine motor typically does not have enough power to do grip work.
For the last several years, I have been using small 24 volt dc gear motors that have integrated gear trains at the end of the motor housing to eliminate reducing pulleys and extra shafts and bearings.
Then, I use a 24 volt power supply in conjunction with a dc motor speed controller and a foot pedal that integrates a potentiometer to control the speed controller.
Here is a DC motor with reverse capability, hand and foot pedal speed control connected to an Alps head stock and chuck:
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www.amazon.com]
