Originally Posted by
Turbo_Jim
The measurements of the BB certainly looks like an Italian thread (from memory 70mm across and 36mm diameter), but I just don't understand why on both sides I get about 1 and bit turns before it become so stiff that a wrench would be required to continue screwing it in, I've done a couple of BB's in the past and these have screwed in almost all the way under finger power.
The first step before any cutting or chasing should be to
confirm that it is indeed Italian - 36x24 - threaded. One solid clue is whether both sides are RH thread. You can do that by eyeball, or by tracing a thread with a pointed stylus and seeing which way it advances. If both are RH, and an Italian cup seeps to fit, the next step would be to properly clean or retap the thread.