I've tried to find work arounds to the thread issue since I absolutely hate the little buggers. Once I accidentally cut a top while trying to cut threads. What works for me is to use liberal amounts of starch before cutting, and handling the pieces/blocks as little as possible. I assemble tops in sections so only a few blocks are off my design wall at a time. After they're complete, they go back on the wall until it's time to put the whole thing together. It seems to really work for me.