kinda hoping it will be 3 phase…so I can try out a vfd.
Yeah I got a cheap used 2 hp 3ph motor and added a good quality vfd from KB. Big quality of life improvement to not have to change the belts so often. I still do the belt swap to get max torque for something that needs it, like running a large holesaw thru steel. Changing belts is enough of a PITA that I include it in planning my order of operations — try to do all the low-speed things together, and all the high-speed things together, not back and forth if I can avoid it. This is a hobby, so max efficiency isn't too important by itself, but everyone likes to "minimize the suck", right?
With a VFD it's nice to have a tach too. The cheap (like $10) hall-effect sensors are crap quality but good enough so far, and it's a function I can live without if the thing dies. I put mine right where that useless "Warning" plaque is on yours. (I had the exact same plaque)
VFDs on my lathe, drill press and belt grinder too — I'm a fan. I buy them used or "New-Open-Box" or whatever, usually on ebay, haven't been burned yet. I stay away from the cheap Chinese ones though, heard too many stories of them lasting less than a year. I shop for KB, Hitachi or Teco, which are all maybe 4x as expensive as the Chinese bottom dwellers. So maybe buy two if you buy Chinese, so you have a spare on hand, and still come out ahead in dollars? But I'd rather not support such business practices.
I've heard mixed reports of using treadmill motors, but never tried one. You'll want a good controller, which aren't cheap. I don't think the one from the treadmill is suitable, though some components from it may be, if you're an electronics whiz who can DIY. There are probably threads about that here if you want to go that way.