Couple of bits of news:
The manufacturer of the cassette deck is Braemar Inc., obviously in the USA. I contacted them through an engine friend in the States, and they were most helpful, in sharp contrast to the UK makers of the original controller.
They would be happy to repair the unit, estimates of between $200 - $300 based on the photo's I supplied. Inspection only and return post would be $50.
Then last week I had a call on the mobile as I was on my way down south west, the caller had seen my advert on Chris heapy's pages and actually had a complete deck out of a Triac machine which he was happy to sell for a very reasonable amount of beer tokens.
I sent him a cheque and the deck turned up here today. Looks nearly identical and nothing broken :-))
He also has two of the motor controller boards for sale, which I believe are different to the engraver, so if anyone needs them, please contact me. I'll double-check the engraver first, but I believe that the motor controllers are part of a larger PCB inside the box.
Peter
-- Peter A Forbes Prepair Ltd, Luton, UK snipped-for-privacy@easynet.co.uk