Just finished re-wiring the main motor on my Adcock & Shipley 1ES milling machine. I kept the original 3 phase motor (but wired it delta instead of the original star) and powered it using an inverter from Clive (advertises on homeworkshop). Three wires from motor to inverter, mains in to inverter and a foward/reverse switch (I managed to use the original one on the machine -looks better than "bodged in" switches). It was as easy as connecting a single phase motor to a start/stop switch. To anyone else considering doing this -stop thinking about it and do it! If you're competent enought to connect a single phase motor up, this will be a doddle.
Regards
Kevin