So I want to put some mpg's into my console to move the mill around manually. We have these [of a type] on our lathe at work and they work fairly well. However, that being said I don't care for the teeny little handles that are on the ones [that I can find] for sale. What I'd really like is to be able to add a larger [4-5"] w/ a 'dog' or 'knob' on them. Anyone done this to a 'over the counter' mpg? Or should I be looking at using an encoder for this?

How difficult is it to wire up and encoder in place of an mpg [same connections?] I plan to use Mod-io and Mach3.

Jerry [it's all coming together..slowly.. ]