On Tuesday, July 5, 2011 7:49:28 PM UTC-7, Bob La Londe wrote:
I need to thread some aluminum rod. The mini lathe is really not up to the
task. I threaded some with it the other day just to prove I could, but
anything I can do with a die will be a lot faster to just do by hand.

So, don't you want to chuck the rod in your battery drill/driver
and aim it at your die, with the die held in the vise?
A pin vise, or a three-jaw chuck, is intended to hold a cylinder,
might not need any softjaw construction on your part.