rip the drive mechanism and motor out of an inkjet printer and use it as-is, using an Arduino to replace the part of the printer that controlled it.
I like that idea; thanks. I've also considered using the worm gear from a mechanical sewing machine, and also checking out the mechanism from a typewriter, either of the sort in which the entire carriage moves, or the sort in which the type head moves back and forth. The question I have about the typewriters is that they are designed to operate in one direction, from left to right. That's solved with the printer, though, since it operates in both directions, and I think I still have one around here somewhere.