Mini-Lathes (Good Investment???????)

[Drew_CarreyAB]

Would it be possible to use a mini lathe to thread the end of a rifle to accept a muzzle break? I guess you could even make breaks of your own design, but my other question directly related to the first would be, do you fit the barrel through the chuck or would you just use a tap and die set? I ask, because I own a T/C Encore and would like to have integral muzzlebreaks on them but at the cost of over $300USD to ship them, get the work done, and ship them back, I'm looking at well over a thousand dollars(A mini-lathe runs about $500)to get the work done, where as I could spend some time and learn a new craft. I dunno, any help or comments would be greatly apreciated. Thanks.