Newbie stepper kit

[Neale]

The quadrature outputs *should* suit a direct coupling with the stepper driver, connect either A/B to Step, and the other to Dir - you use one of the two quad outputs as a clock and, depending on direction of travel, the alternate phase will either be 0 or 1 (and so provide the direction control).

Good point - I hadn't visualised the pulse timings in my mind, but even though the pulse train for the Direction signal will be changing, it will always be in the correct state when a Step pulse happens to give correct direction. As long as the Dir-Step pulse edge interval meets the stepper driver minimum timings, anyway. It's actually easier than I thought!

All this will give you is an ability to rotate a stepper in response to the rotation of the MPG wheel. That's going to get awfully boring to use on a mill.

Actually, I think that this is exactly what the OP wants. He finds it difficult to wind the Z handle, and wants to motorise it. With a DRO already in place, this doesn't sound like a silly thing to do. Mind you, it might well lead on to a desire for full CNC control!