Not having a lathe my Harbor Freight $50 bench top drill press has been used for everything needed to "spin" to bore out. The chuck 1/2" has been replaced with a 5/8" chuck so I have been making my dies with 5/8" bolts. The bolts screw into adapters made from old 7/8-14 dies to use in a standard press. I have been using this set up for about 3 years, always wanted a lathe or at least something that could chuck and spin a 7/8" bolt so I wouldn't have to make the smaller dies and use adapters. One project was to center bore a piece of 1" round bar and tap the inside to 7/8-14. The other end was bored and tapped to 5/8-18. This enabled me to screw a 5/8 bolt in one end that fits the drill press chuck, while the other end contained a 7/8" bolt to cut into a die. It works BUT it is too long and sticks out to far to be practical.
It ended up being a good test to see if a 7/8-14 bolt could be centered this way. Since the bolt centered well enough that way, I know that I can now build a machine (lathe) that does not need a chuck. Instead it will just have a centered hole tapped to 7/8-14. I will be able to just screw a bolt in and start machining.
So here is my idea for a dedicated 7/8-14 die making machine:
Since all I really need is a centered and tapped 7/8-14 hole that spins, I thought of using a knuckle for a automobile drive wheel assembly. I will secure the knuckle with the disk brake rotor mounted backwards. The shaft would be bored and tapped to 7/8-14 .Turning the whole assembly around backwards with the disk rotor in the back, I could use the rotor itself for a v-belt pulley to spin the rig. This would be the "headstock" of a lathe type machine. The only thing I think I would need machined is the spline of the driveshaft that fits into the bearing hub. Just the stub of the spline would have to be bored and tapped to 7/8-14.
I know this is not going to be easy to picture. I am not good at drawing but can try to come up with some pictures at your advise. Thanks Feel free to ridicule me about this. I know many will be itching to do so. lol