Giant Brass Cotter Pin

[bigcaddy]

It seems that the giant cotter pin i found this morning has generated some excitement among a number of GJ members. Here is the pin cleaned up and next to a UMD for your viewing pleasure.

Some Mothers with 0000 steel wool got of most of the tarnish but for those that are familiar with it, Happich is the way to go for the brightest possible shine on any metal.

 

[Olafur]

Very cool!

 

[oldldh]

I wonder what it "cottered"....???

 

[jakemac]

Does it have it's own twitter account yet ?

"My name is Pin, Cotter Pin. And yes, they're big and they're brass."

 

[jeepinerdeep]

Dang! That would be a sweet door stop for an office.

 

[Mr.Nutcase]

that is one huge cotter pin, what is it used for?

 

[bigcaddy]

that is one huge cotter pin, what is it used for?

No idea but it was suggested that it had a marine application. maybe it locked down castle nut on a large boat prop?

 

[Outlawmws]

I agree, most likely a marine app. Good Job BC!

 

[drivesitfar]

BC: nice job on the brass shining and now i know a good way to shine some of my brass. while my bride is watching her favorite shows she taped for he week i thought i'd google what a 6 inch brass cotter pin is used for.

so far i haven't been able to find where to buy one unless you sell me yours. so what is it used for is still a mystery, but she has another show to watch so maybe i'll find an answer.

anybody else that knows what it would be used for please post because now i'm more than a little curious.

 

[Junkyard_dog]

Super cool I've never seen one this big lol

Sent from my SGH-M919 using Tapatalk

 

[Outlawmws]

DIF, try Bronze instead of Brass. I found a 1/2" X 4" at Granger. So far nothing bigger, but I'm done for the night...

 

[Outlawmws]

And I'm thinking a large scale rigging clevis might need a big pin like this... Think Aircraft carrier stuff...

 

[colin39]

Its a spit pin a cotter pin is tipicly what holds ya pedals to the axle on a bike.

 

[orca8589]

I don't mean to hijack this thread, but I have an 8" mild steel cotter pin that I found in a flea-market toolbox last summer. It was covered with active rust, so I steel-wool'd some of it off, I need to work some more on it. I have a whole pegboard of antique tools, and this one lives on there most of the time. You should hear it ring when you tap it with a key or a coin - has a really nice, clean tone. I don't know if that means anything, but it sounds cool.

I live in Concord, CA, and we have a lot of ranch land around here. I've never been able to figure out what this big ol' cotter pin is for, but the ranchers around here are geniuses who'd put MacGuyver to shame. I'm sure they could have improvised some use for it.

You guys got me to thinkin' on this, and I might take it over to an older guy I know at the flea market tomorrow, and see if he has any ideas. Here's mine:


~Chris

 

[kams1973]

Its a spit pin a cotter pin is tipicly what holds ya pedals to the axle on a bike.

In the USA, that is a cotter pin.

 

[Bigplum]

It's both , actually a split cotter pin

Monster beast though , I really want to see how big the pliers are that you'd use to bend the ends over

 

[Fretters]

That's definitely one large and impressive split pin.

 

[Farmall450]

Does it have it's own twitter account yet ?

"My name is Pin, Cotter Pin. And yes, they're big and they're brass."

I think it should get its own sticky...so badass!

I need to find one!

It's both , actually a split cotter pin

Monster beast though , I really want to see how big the pliers are that you'd use to bend the ends over

Channellock Big Azz?

 

[Hemlock]

That's pretty cool. No idea what for, but I would buy it if I came across one!

 

[4xdog]

Its a spit pin a cotter pin is tipicly what holds ya pedals to the axle on a bike.

In what century? Even a hundred years or more ago cottered cranks used wedge-shaped pins with a threaded end. I've never seen a split pin on bicycle cranks.

 

[cowboy73]

That's a big cotter pin. Might have been used on some large machinery, agricultural or construction.

 

[Fretters]

In what century? Even a hundred years or more ago cottered cranks used wedge-shaped pins with a threaded end. I've never seen a split pin on bicycle cranks.

Which are what's generally referred to as a cotter pin over here. These things:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/like/400621077716

with split pins being the type in the original post.

 

[4xdog]

Ahh.. I get what you're saying now. Sorry for the confusion. I thought you were saying split pins held the cranks on a bicycle!

In American English, cotter pin = split pin. We call the bolted wedges cotter pins, too, but probably 99% of the time the term refers to split pins.

 

[drivesitfar]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Extra-Large...544?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2334376f38

so far in my googling and research i haven't found a specific use for the brass cotter pin, but did find an ad for one on Ebay that says it can be used for Steampunk (metal art i think is what Steampunk is).

anybody else see one being used or know of the specific use. i'm wondering if they might have been used on the big machines like a D9 dozer or bigger or a locomotive?

where on a boat? maybe the masts or rigging?

 

[Zeke]

Large nuts, bolts, screws and pins are sort of fascinating. Ever seen the con rod at the Smithsonian that is 2 floors tall and penetrates the middle floor? That's got some big pieces of hardware on it. Maybe it's not on display any more.

 

[Outlawmws]

Dif, I doubt BC's pin was for rigged ships/boats. Navy, tankers, etc. and may not even be listed as a regularly for sale item. Stocked, but special orders for the ship builders and maintenance crews...

 

[Mopar-Scooby-Doo]

I work at a lumber mill and some of the machines around there have stuff that big. I have seen some of the cotter pins and they are big. I found an old nut that I use to hold soda cans in. When I get home I'll take a picture if it.

 

[ZRX61]

Ya sure it's brass & not Cad #2?

 

[Lippyp]

I vote for something steam related, old traction engine or locomotive.

 

[tbaggz]

Super cool I've never seen one this big lol

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That's what she said. Lmao I couldn't resist.

 

[bigcaddy]

Large nuts, bolts, screws and pins are sort of fascinating. Ever seen the con rod at the Smithsonian that is 2 floors tall and penetrates the middle floor? That's got some big pieces of hardware on it. Maybe it's not on display any more.

I picked a scrap yard that was family owned and the old man kept all kinds of goodies locked away for many years. I was one of the first to be allowed into the "good stuff" Aside from a 5 gallon bucket of ratchets and half dozen vises, i found a stainless steel fine thread nut for a 4" DIAMETER bolt.

 

[bigcaddy]

Ya sure it's brass & not Cad #2?

Its brass. The oxidization was dark brown and its not magnetic.

 

[jeremy v]

Giant brass cotter pin.

 

[Bronson]

I have one like that. It is brass. Not sure where it is. Somewhere in My shop.
It came from a turbine in a coal fired power plant built around 1988 near Show Low Az.
I was working there and a friend, a Millwright, gave it to Me.
The Turbine was a Brown-Boveri (?) I think and the cotter pin was installed somewhere on the turbine.

 

[bigcaddy]

I have one like that. It is brass. Not sure where it is. Somewhere in My shop.
It came from a turbine in a coal fired power plant built around 1988 near Show Low Az.
I was working there and a friend, a Millwright, gave it to Me.
The Turbine was a Brown-Boveri (?) I think and the cotter pin was installed somewhere on the turbine.

Just the thing you want to have break inside a turbine

 

[Bronson]

turbine in the center of picture.

 

[drivesitfar]

Bronson: is everything giant size in Texas?? i suppose that machine might be big enough to use a 6 inch brass cotter pin.

probably not a big market for these big brass cotter pins so when company that made them went out of business or just cleaned up shop the scrap yard was their only option.

Again nice save BC and it might be rarer than those nearly 100 year old vises you seem to find daily.

 

[nine4gmc]

Looks great BC!

 

[Mopar-Scooby-Doo]

Here is the picture of the nut like I said.


So I'm not sure about brass but I have seen some that big and bigger at the Mill.

 

[tbaggz]

http://www.everytrail.com/view_picture.php?picture_id=1121664