Another issue comes to mind .... that is, how do you actually measure how long the lathe bed is .... between which two points ?
I would think there should be a standard way to measure ..... but I really don't know if the various companies all agree.
I haven't done an exhaustive survey, but all of the specifications that I have looked at in detail state the length of the bedways.
Which is all well and good, except for the fact that when you actually use the lathe, you are likely going to have a fixing of some sort on the headstock - eg, a mandrel, chuck or faceplate. And it isn't entirely clear that the specified bed length allows for the actual footprint of the tailstock and the length of a live center in the tailstock.
My experience is that as a practical matter, you can subtract 5-6" from the specified bedways length to arrive at the actual maximum spindle length that a lathe can handle.
Likewise, the specified throw of most lathes is twice the physical space between the centerline of the headstock and the top of the bedways. But again, that's subject to interpretation - if you move the banjo close to the headstock, you automatically subtract 1 - 1 1/2" from measured distance between spindle and bedways, so the actual working throw is likely to be 2-3" less than specified.
My lathe is nominally a 12x16", but as a practical matter, the longest spindle I can turn is more like 12-13", and the largest diameter is around 10".
But lathe manufacturers aren't the only ones to play this game. Back in the day, lawnmowers and snowblowers had horsepower ratings? The manufacturers figured out ways to finesse those ratings to the point where they no longer had any practical meaning, so today we only know the displacement - which doesn't help purchasers very much. And then there are the TV makers - who insist on measuring screens diagonally, and with no real standardization on aspect ratio, so the only option purchasers have is to take a tape measure into Best Buy to actually measure the size of one before buying. This is a fresh pet peeve since I just went through that hassle this past weekend.
But to Rick's original question - my concern is that I'm not sure that a Central Machinery lathe is precise enough to meet his objective of making
kitless pens. It's probably possible to turn and assemble pen kits on that lathe, but kitless pens require great precision when drilling and tapping, and that's something that mini- and mid- wood-turning lathes have a problem doing. I have a Turncrafter which I think is far superior to Central Machinery (and that costs much more). I know that some people have been able to do kitless pens on the same model I have, but after using mine for a few years, I think attempting that kind of precision work would be very frustrating.