I've got a CNC lathe manufactured by the Light Machine Corp which looks to be a slightly modified Sherline. It currently is mounted in a case with the motor control working fine and all the stepper motors look to be ok from a visual inspection. I have the controller and cables that went along with the unit, but no software or computer.

At the very least I could strip the machine down and have a nice Sherline manual lathe out of the deal; however, if it wasn't going to cost a fortune it would be kind of nice to get the machine working again as a cnc lathe. If a person was going to go this route would you work with what was their and simply try to find the software and a suitable computer and than cross your fingers and hope everything worked as it should? Or, would you replace the stepper motors and get a new controller? Would there be much of a savings going this latter route over buying a new Sherline CNC lathe? Any information would be appreciated.