Cotter Pin Fasteners for Beginners
Ensure safety and accuracy for cotter pin fasteners
Cotter pin fasteners come in a many sizes and types. Cotter pins, also called split pins, have two legs, or tines, that split or spread to keep them from moving out of position. Engineers, designers, and mechanics use cotter pins to hold other fasteners in place. The pins are easy to install and remove, facilitating repairs and maintenance. Cotter pins are relatively inexpensive and provide safety when holding a pin, nut, or other fastener in place is essential.Many types of cotter pins are available, as are suppliers of cotter pins. Information about cotter pin fasteners for beginners is readily accessible from a manufacturer of cotter pin fasteners or from government pamphlets, such as those published by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Information about cotter pin fasteners will include answers to the following questions:
1. For what can you use cotter pins?
2. How and why do cotter pin types differ?
3. Where can you find cotter pins, and what are the prices?
Discover the many uses of cotter pins
Manufacturers make cotter pins from many different materials, such as steel, stainless steel, copper, and brass. Cotter pins are used in machinery of all kinds, but particularly in aviation and marine applications for ensuring safety. A cotter pin's main job is to ensure that other components of a machine stay in place.
Try: You can find a good basic discussion of the many uses for cotter pins on Sizes, along with a table of sizes and other helpful information, but you must register to have access to everything. Jamestown Distributors, a supplier of cotter pin fasteners, displays a good list of American standard sizes for marine use, with prices per box.
Learn how to select the correct cotter pin fasteners
Selecting the correct cotter pin involves getting the right size and the right material. Manufacturers of cotter pins size by fractions of an inch. Keep in mind that some applications call for metric cotter pins. Where corrosion is a problem, you may be required to use stainless steel or brass cotter pins.
Try: Northeast Fastener Co. provides a short video on how to correctly measure a cotter pin and gives information on how to buy cotter pin fasteners. Zycon Global Services shows a good assortment of pins with different shapes and materials and lists metric sizes. The illustrations include pins designed to meet military standards.
Find the correct methods of installing cotter pin fasteners
Correctly installing a cotter pin to hold another pin in place involves inserting the pin and spreading the two tines. However, if you use the cotter pin to hold a nut or other retainer in position to maintain correct tolerance, the installation becomes a bit more complex. Aviation manuals provide some of the best instruction on proper methods of installation.
Try: Integrated Publishing shows the proper method of bending a cotter pin fastener so that it will safely secure a nut or a pin to meet aviation standards. Sport Truck provides pictures of cotter pins during installation on an engine.
Copyright © 2011 Business.com, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
