Lawrence, The Rotary jig was tested by LHR. It will work with either sandpaper or rubber belts, and any of the Bit Chucks that you named. Dust collection is very much needed, and I would recommend the Ringneck.
Bayea, Take a look at some of the canes I have been making. Those pictures might help answer your question. They can be found here:
http://customcarved.web.officelive.com/default.aspx For these, I set up a board 6.728 long by 14 wide, and place my patterns in a carved region of .300 deep. You can only carve on 12 inches of the 14 inch stock. it requires one inch on each end to center and rotate the stock.
I hope this answers some of the questions..
Ed