Howdy Gabriel....
The hidden irony of your suggestion is....
that's exactly what I did do!
It was early this year, when I contacted Brent, and offered an advance payment if he would build a Sweet 16 with a rotating headstock. He wasn't interested in taking me up on my offer at the time. I believe Brent would design a great sturdy rotating option for this lathe.....and, engineer it well. I am very impressed with the products he offers.
Seldom do most turners need to turn anything larger than 16", and the removable bed of the Sweet 16 would accommodate that need. (Besides, all my tooling would transfer right over to the new lathe without much modification, if any.)
I'm all for buying American made, if I can get what I want.....but, unfortunately, it seems that the foreign lathes are catering to this need, while the American market seems to be stuck on sliding headstocks.
-----odie-----