Glad to hear it worked out. For us there was always a tap and die set at the house for general DIY repairs and thread chasing. Up at the farm the #10 string bean can held the “set” that complemented the ubiquitous can if screws and bolts. If a hole stripped out it just meant that it was time to go bigger or break out the braising rod. Nowadays that’s updated to include both a simple SAE and Metric set.
The shaft was likely shouldered to bottom out when it hit the ladle portion to act as a stop to tighten against.