I agree with the other posters about chamfering the end, to about 45
degrees, down to the root diameter of the thread or even a little less.
I do have a lathe, so I chuck the stock to be threaded, lock the
chuck, apply the die/ die stock to the work and use the tailstock ram to
gently push and align the die with the stock. If you have enough hands,
you can crank the tailstock ram gently as you begin threading. If you
can't do both, turn a little, bring tailstock ram up, turn a little
more, etc.. I keep the "pressure" on for about 2 turns. This has worked
well for me for many years, even up to 3/4-10. Without a lathe, maybe
you can use this general idea to make a simple fixture to do the same
thing. Clamping the stock vertically, pointing up through your drill
press table comes to mind.


Needless to say , you need a sharp die and not one of those
rethreading dies that are just used for cleaning up an existing thread.

Pete Stanaitis


0_Qed wrote:
Readership ,

How do you hand-cut 1/2" NC( 13tpi ) with a plain vanila tap & die set
???

Whats the 'secret' to geting the 'die' started properly ???

cold rolled rnd stock.

Ed