You may find that as the workpiece gets longer, it becomes less stable, flexing and vibrating while being cut.I was wondering if there is a reason for that? My interest would be in using one to make wooden rifle stocks and possibly some aluminum chassis systems. This would mean work pieces that are 20" - 30" long by 6" tall and 1.5" thick. Is there any reason you can't buy a cheap 4th axis and just mount the head and tail stock 30" apart on the long axis? Or do you need to invest more in something capable of holding longer work pieces?