To add to everything above...
My South Bend 14 1/2 lathe has 3 chucks, a 9 inch 3 jaw, a 10 inch 3 jaw, and a 12 inch 4 jaw. Because of the flats on the inside of the jaws, the smallest diameter I can hold is about 7/16 inch. I bought a 5C collet chuck for it and a set of collets... this allows me to hold pieces down to 1/16 inch easily.
My 12 inch Hendey lathe has a 10 inch 4 jaw chuck... I have the same problem with it. The jaws, when closed until they are all touching, leaves a hole in the center of about 7/16 inch. The Hendey has a very short bed... I think I may be able to get about 15 inches between centers. The 4 jaw chuck takes about 6 inches away from that. Because of this, I am considering an ER type collet chuck for it, which would only take 3 inches or so of my usable length.
-Bear