Threading set up

[RichR]

The base is a Starrett No. 392
The fishtail is a Starrett No. C391

[Old Hat]

Thanks!!
Yup, three of em' on Ebay as I type.
Pricey thO' maybe that's why mine is home-made.

[dp]

I also use the chuck face to align the cutter. I first set my compound to 29.5؛. I use this angle rather than 30؛ because I don't believe my compound's protractor and I'd rather fail on the side of caution. I align to the cutter and not the holder and this sometimes requires using a parallel or HSS blank to reach into the slot in the tool holder.

Update: Some interesting factoids about the center gauge from Starrett.

The numbers on the gauge provide the plunge depth of the cross slide to turn a sharp thread. If you don't want a sharp thread, and you shouldn't, you can zero your dial with a feeler gauge between the cutter and the work then use the number on the gauge for advancing your cross slide to depth.

If you use your compound set to 30؛ then the advance of the compound for a sharp thread is 1/TPI inches. A TPI of 16 then would require advancing the compound 0.062" for a sharp thread. Use the feeler gauge to back off as needed to achieve a non-sharp thread.