Garry,
First, not using the compound like that...
Second, do you have an XL? I don't. If you have the standard 1220 like me, measure the distance from the front edge of the toolpost to the centerline of the lathe chuck. It's about two inches or so. Confirmed by a Smithy salesperson as being normal. The XL has a long slender cross slide with two T-slots running lengthwise (like a mill), but the standard has a much smaller version that's almost square and also has T-slots running across the slide. I haven't checked the overall travel as I don't want to work from the back of the workpiece so it hasn't come up yet.
If you do have the standard 1220 and I'm still not making sense, any pictures or advice would be more than welcome! I'll can't order the new cross slide until Tues, anyway.