You shorten the torque tube and remove the drive shaft and do the same. I am trying to remember but it seems like some of them had a solid drive shaft like an axle that could be cut off and re-splined and others were tubular that had to be cut and welded like a normal drive shaft.
I disagree If you are a competent welder, pay attention to detail, and have a dial indicator. It can be easily done. It's not magic. If someone doesn't have the confidence, ability, or needs the peace of mind by all means take it to a pro. We're talking about shortening one end of a known good driveshaft for a driver not building one for a purpose built race car far different things I would however recommend balancing to anyone doing it themselves.
LOL when I was still working I had access to a lathe with a 10 foot bed ( I don't remember what the throw was). Pretty easy to do a 7' drive shaft although I don't remember ever needing one that long (short stroke, short wheelbase LOL). before the world became all scientific we used to cut 'em on the driveway. Tubing cutter made a pretty straight cut and the yolk plugged back into the tube. I don't recommend it but it worked for us.
Disregard o/t HD ..Only pic I have. I bought an old Leblond to do converters on . It happened to have a long bed on it, which I didn't see as a problem. Think I paid $1000 for it .I put a 220 motor on it for home use. Only thing I couldn't do is reverse it to make threads. No problem. Bought an import centering chuck, and had to adapt a tool post. It came with a nice steady rest. Only problem with doing drive shafts was lifting the the tail stock off if I was alone. Used to use the engine hoist. Had to sell the thing when I sold my house last year.I sold it to a buddy at a hot rod shop. I made a ton of money with that ol' thing. If you've got room, I'd recommend a long bed. You never know. Makes cleaning up a long piece a lot easier too.
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