Hank,

Either of those lathes are the ones to go for (i'd go for the larger motor). They're a different manufacturer that the Axminster, Chester, Clarke, etc.

Differences (improvements) over the Chester, etc include:
Heat treated ways (if you believe the sticker)
Rectangular saddle (Chester etc has rough-cast "H" shaped saddle)
Way oilers in saddle
Way wipers
More powerful motor

I have a 4yr old Chester, and would buy the one you've linked to next time.

I've never cut stainless, but it work hardens so you need to take as big a bite as you can each time. I've turned 5inch diameter alu before (bolted directly to the spindle face), so they're pretty flexible. Motor power would be a problem if you tried steel in the same diameter.

It almost certainly won't cut stainless "out of the box". I was very disappointed with my lathe to begin with. I even struggled with (small diameter) steel until I'd done a fair bit of adjustment. With a sharp bit now though I can take 2mm off a steel diameter without too much bother (I changed the spindle bearings to taper rollers before doing this). They're great lathes as long as you treat them as kits for finishing, rather than production-ready.

Enjoy!