Larry Kraus wrote:

A simple pitch gauge takes up much less space and is a lot cheaper.

See
https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_n...ds=pitch+gauge


I ordered one of those tonight. I'll keep my eyes open for the
right tap and die set. "Hanson" apparently was a recommended
brand. Looks like "Irwin" may have bought it up. Handmade tap
and die wrenches might make satisfying projects...though that's
probably the sort of project that may be most successful when you
have a working example (and/or specifications) in front of you.

Another project I have, and have had for a number of years,
involves bending 1/2"x1/8"cold steel bar into a circular shape
about 12" in diameter, and then a 2nd piece of the same material
which wraps snugly around the first piece. Since I only need
these 2 pieces I don't intend to buy new tooling for it. I hope
that a homemade "wooden anvil" of the right curvature may work.
I actually already bought a small tap and tap wrench for this
project. The 2nd piece shows up very well in the following
picture (if you click on it, it will play a video).

http://bell.20m.com/banjosrelicpage.html