[Tom '74 911]

Hello,
I've been slow at work (architect), so I've been helping out a friend in his metal fabrication shop. One of the things he's tasked me to do is thread around 250 pieces of 1/4" rod - about 1" on both ends, so 500 ends need threading. That's a crapload of threading to do! I've gone through two 1/4-20 dies doing it by hand and I've only done maybe 40 rods total so far. . . But I keep thinking, "there HAS to be a better way!" Doing them all by hand is incredibly time consuming, is there a better, more automated process?

The rods vary in length from 30" to 42" and no, we can't just use all-thread! This is for a sculptural project, so the aesthetic of the rod is required.

Is there an automated option that doesn't require a 50K investment in machinery and tooling? My desk jockey hands are killing me!

Thanks,
Tom