I’m looking at a precision matthew’s PM-1022V and it lists a 10” swing over ways, 5.5” swing over cross slide, 5” cross slide travel. This will be perfect for 99% of what I want to make.
However, one of the larger things I’ll need to turn are 7” driving wheels for a steam loco. I think I could get away with using a boring bar type of tool to reach the outside diameter without having the workpiece over the cross slide, but I’m trying to figure out now if the cross slide travel will be a limiting factor. Theoretically, 5” travel gives me ability to turn 10” diameter but this will be my first lathe and so I don’t know where the travel starts. To put another way, will a cross slide with 5” travel have that travel on equal parts of center, or is that adjustable?