Stepper Motors

The CNC Torch Table and another CNC devices in the GVCS will all need stepper motors. The current plans call for using off-the-shelf motors, but eventually we will want to fabricate our how. I have started to collect information in http://openfarmtech.org/wiki/Open_Source_Stepper_Motor, but more work is needed. I have no experience with lathing or milling - which will be needed to fabricate a motor from scratch. I'd like to invite anyone reading this to contribute to the effort in terms of information gathered, personal experience, or other sources of knowledge (books, videos, etc.).

There are several kinds of stepper motors. It is not clear to me which type would be the best trade-off between fabrication simplicity and useful characteristics. What kind of stepper motor would you recommend for our first prototype?

- Mark J Norton