On Sat, 10 Dec 2005 19:39:37 -0500, "Richard Holub"
wrote:

The reason I am going with 48 in. is because my cousin wants to work on a 4
ft. x 2 in. staff (martial arts).

Martial arts stuff is better done with a drawknife, not a lathe. Best of
all it's done with an axe and choosing the right tree to begin with.

The problem is short grain. You want the grain to be as straight as
possible, but given the usual constraints it's better to have a slight
wiggle in the surface than it is to have a smooth surface and weakness
from short grain. A lathe will happily make something that looks fine,
but snaps clean across when you use it.