Hello Magnia,
I think this was where I came in! The only geared set up I could find initially was an epicyclic drive using gears from a car auto transmission. Not having access to such gears, I chickened out. I most certainly would not want to make a similar set up for scratch!
A screw cutting clutch is on my list of to dos, but a long way down the list at the moment! I will try out my DC motor, I already have a variable electronic DC supply on the shelf, so I will try it out. Again I have a DC motor and variable DC PSU on the shelf and the lathe is peanuts, so I don't have much to lose.
If it goes pear shape, at least I can try a 3 phase motor and inverter. That solution will however cost considerably more. Not too sure if it is worth it for a cheap 9 x 20 lathe, but it is in reasonable nick and could with a few simple mods could become a reasonable lathe.
Thanks once again everyone,
Andrew.