Cotter Pin Guide

[alexiskai]

What is a Hammer-lock style of cotter pin? I never even heard this term, let alone seen one. Photo?

A hammerlock pin is designed for assembly-line use. The pin is inserted in the hole and then the head is struck with a hammer. The blow pushes the short leg further into the hole, but not the long leg, because of the bend on the long leg which catches on the hole. As the short leg is driven further, the end of it deflects the curved end of the long leg, forcing the ends apart. This makes the ends wider than the hole and secures the pin. Much faster than conventional cotter pin installation.

 

[Vic in E-TN]

There have been great responses to my original question. Now I need to find some of these plastic boxes for a new one or my lost one. Has anyone ever seen one of these Hammer-lock pins on an original unmolested Model A?


Vic

 

[BRENT in 10-uh-C]

There have been great responses to my original question. Now I need to find some of these plastic boxes for a new one or my lost one. Has anyone ever seen one of these Hammer-lock pins on an original unmolested Model A?


Vic

Vic, you can find those boxes at Harbor Freight or on Amazon.

Yes, and why I even brought this up is on one trip after a week at the Archive I went to Bill Sturms shop, and then on to Doc's house where I showed him pics that I had just taken earlier in the week at the Archives of some Cotters prints. Doc had printed an article in the magazine where he said something like "Ford never used Hammer-lock cotters on a Model-A..." and I showed him what I had found earlier that week that counters that statement. We discussed it some and his consensus was that more research needed to be done to check subsequent EIs to see if the Engineer had incorrectly drawn the image or whether there was a short time when Ford Engineers specified it. Until recently, the Archives has been closed, so researching this further was not an option, ...and in all likelihood, this will be low on my priority list when I get to revisit the Benson Library in the future. Most people here are not interested in that level of authenticity and only need a cotter that is the approximate size & length. I totally get that. For me, it is a little different.

 

[Fullraceflathead]

Thanks for that picture I never realized the variations in cotter pins now I'm gonna pay a little more attention just out of curiosity to see what I'm working with.

 

[alexiskai]

We discussed it some and his consensus was that more research needed to be done to check subsequent EIs to see if the Engineer had incorrectly drawn the image or whether there was a short time when Ford Engineers specified it.

I bet someone got it in their head that this would save two seconds on the pin installation step, got corporate to mandate it, and then when they tried it out there was some kind of problem, like the pins didn’t always lock properly, and they reverted the change.

 

[nkaminar]

Here is a company that sells hammerlock cotter pins. The head is designed so that the side that is bent at the end says put while the other side slides when hit by a hammer.

You can try these but I would still suggest bending at least one side over with a set of pliers.

https://www.huyett.com/all-products...ckfUI0e-KtRRG_UVtaYDquo7nSOjcthZMJFqz6fTnSVNI

 

[Big hammer]

I like all of this talk about using a hammer ;-) use a big hammer and tap lightly !

 

[atch]

As a side note on cotter pin (not hammerlock) usage/installation; probably not the way most of us have traditionally installed them:

 

[Brentwood Bob]

Need to look under Marco’s high point roadster.

 

[Jim Mason]

Low mileage 29 fordoor