The Matador I had was not too long between centers. Maybe 24" and a smaller swing than 14". Either a 10"or a 12". I did not actually use the Weiler because it needed a phase converter. I was temporarily storing it in my shop at the museum.
One thing that was not the most pleasing thing to me was the Weiler nose took a special European fitting,not the more usual D4 or D5 which would have been commonly available over here. Plus,the fitting was not real quick to change chucks with. I can't recall the name of the fitting. You had to undo 3 or 4 bolts to change chucks. Maybe it is available where you are. No doubt the Weiler would have made as beautiful finishes as the Hardinge. And,It would cut many more threads. This was years ago,and I've forgotten many details by now.
It also had no gap. I have had a few profitable jobs where I needed the gap that my Taiwan made 16" lathe does have. I made $600.00 in 1 day with my 24" swing in the gap.
I'd have kept the Weiler if I'd had the knowledge that I'd soon be moving,and would have another shop. I'd have kept it because it was a very high quality lathe,and had special features I liked. I have 2 other lathes,the Hardinge HLVH,and my 16" x 40" lathe.
I do most of my work on the Hardinge,but when I need a bigger lathe,I have one.
If I had to only have 1 lathe,I'd have to go with the larger lathe because there is no substitute for a larger lathe when you need it. Therefore,I'd advise you to go with the 14" x 40" lathe if you will have only 1 machine,though the thought of losing a smaller,high quality lathe hurts my soul!!!
If you do get the Weiler,you can get a manual from Weiler,or from Tony Griffiths Engineering in England. I know because I traded him my Weiler manual. He makes great copies of hundreds of manuals. It will likely cost you at least $125.00. I had LOST my Matador manual,and had to order one from Weiler to give to the guy I sold my Matador to. The IDIOTS sent the blasted manual by COURIER,which I did not ask them to do. It cost me a bunch of money,too! I'd get the manual from Weiler,BUT,make sure you tell them to NOT send it by courier. Oh,yes,to finish my story,of course I FOUND the original manual a few weeks later. I came out o.k.,though,because Tony Griffiths did not have a Matador manual,and traded me a Deckel pantograph(which I STILL haven't put to use due to lack of tooling). He would have sold the Deckel manual for $125.00.
So,I am forced by practical concerns to say go with the larger lathe if you are making a living with it. You won't have to pass up jobs,or buy mega expensive tooling.
P.S.: Be careful how much you run the Taiwan made lathe at 2500 RPM. They almost always have oil just slung about in their geared heads,no forced oil feeding. We wore out the bearings in the slow speed range on a Taiwan made lathe we had at work. They weren't apparently getting much oil slung on them! We did a fair amount of larger work on that lathe,and ran it slow quite a lot of the time. I have thought about installing a small oil pump in my 16" lathe,with copper tubes to the bearings.
Hello GEORGE
This is just as important an alternate to what RAY had to say.
Divergent thoughts and opinions nourish and engender practical knowledge.
An errata in Your comments above, we already own a nice 14 x 40" Lathe.
The prospective one we are talking about is a 12 x 24" - so that changes Your line of suggestions a bit.
Will remember what U say on running at MAXIMUM SPEED.
Is there any way we could check and confirm how our GEARED HEAD's are fed OIL ???
Would be something worth learning about, when we do get our machine, IA.
Much appreciated and
LORD BLESS
aRM