Sorry to be a bit overpowering, but seeing as I am unable to carry out any largish machining operations at this time, I am trying to assist people by showing items that I have already done and might be of help, or things from my personal archives that are related to the topic in question.
I am not saying that my way is the correct way, but it has worked for me, and it just might do so for you. Or it just might light a spark on a way for you to do something. There is always another way to do things if one way doesn't suit yourself.
I tried to give up buying specific metal stock years ago, and even now I only buy the odd bit of stuff that pops up on ebay, and only if I have a specific job for it to do.
For use in our little shops, where most of us are not into major production, if the metal to be used looks to be plenty strong enough, then I personally would use it.
The reason I went for a few of the mods mentioned below was that I had some wierdo bits of metal come into my possession from the scrap yard, hydraulic cylinder rams to name just one. A bit tough to cut, but doable, and if it can take the strain of the work it was originally used on, it will definitely take whatever I can throw at it in my shop. It costs only pennies.
Here are a few links that just might help you in your quest to achieve what I have done over the last year or so.
Spindle nose fitting -
http://madmodder.net/index.php?topic=1993.0
Rotary table mount -
http://madmodder.net/index.php?topic=2002.0
ER 32 collet fitting -
http://madmodder.net/index.php?topic=2249.0
Chuck fitting -
http://madmodder.net/index.php?topic=2304.0
And the last one here, which seems to be making the model engineering world hold it's breath.
Swingup threading toolpost -
http://madmodder.net/index.php?topic=2323.0
This little thing, in a much easier and simpler to make guise, has been shown, since I made the prototype, to make single point threading so much easier, especially for the new ones amongst us.
There is only one known problem, if your lathe can't do a chuck reverse, you can't use the system as shown.
I hope that by reading one or two of these articles, it might give you a few ideas on what you want to achieve or ways to achieve it.
Blogs
That's why I wanted to know if they both had the same threads, cause I just got the transfer screw kit form LMS. I figured for the $13 I wasn't going to "Richard" around making them. I don't have a torch yet to do the heat treat like you did. Being I was getting the back plates there anyway the shipping wasn't a issue. 
