Build a better mousetrap!

Someone gave me a 240v spit motor which turned out to be a 24v windscreen wiper motor and reduction gear mounted in a box powered off a transformer and rectifiers.
Apparently its a popular arrangement for garage door controllers.
Apart from fitting a computer fan running off a mobile phone charger to stop it overheating and burning out the windings (happened to every bbq spit motor I purchased), the other major mod I made was to fit a light dimmer and switch to control the speed.
Being a mechanic this sort of electronics should not be beyond you. I've got the rpm down to about 7.5 rpm.(note: help line excerpt)
If the motor looks like stalling you have a couple of options.
Use counterweights on the spit, ie, offset your meat (if you have more than one item per shaft), or add weights to the bbq prongs to even out the highs and lows in rotation speed.
If you are handy with wire strippers and a screw driver and the spit motor is a universal brush type that runs on 12v, you have another option to overcome varying loads that cause the spit to stall at very low speed and burn everything in less time than it takes to say "Holy s##t! The spits on fire!!".
Fit a couple of electrolytic cap's to the 12v rotisserie motor (if you have this set up with a transformer powering a 12v universal type electric motor).
You'll know you need capacitors to smooth out the pulses to the dc motor when you set the light dimmer to min speed and the motor buzzes.
The amount of increased torque the spit delivers after fitting capacitors is such that your hand on the shaft cannot stop it turning - at minimum rpm! Truly amazing.
If you're brave enough to go down this road drop me a line and I'll clue you in as to how its done the easy way. It's as easy as pie and does not require any messy soldering.
The light dimmer speed control method does not work on bbq's with synchronous motors, which are miniature versions of what you find in pool pumps. Clock timers have this arrangement. Their speed is tied to the rpm of the alternator rpm at the power station. You'll have a synchronous motor on your drill press and bench grinder. These motors speed is fixed unless you can buy some very expensive kit that plugs into the mains that can change the mains frequency to the motor. So if you have a mini synchronous motor spit you're stuck with one speed.
Universal brush type motors that you can control the speed by varying input voltage are those used in 240v power drills and grinders and yes, car windscreen wipers.
I tried a clock motor powered spit once that was synchronous motor with geared reduction that was 240v but heat worked it's way through the gears and cooked it.
Wasn't running that computer fan at that stage but I have it wired now so fan runs even when spit is not rotating.
Haven't had a burn out since.