In one of our videos, the amount I spread the legs of a cotter pin was brought into question. I spread the legs 15 degrees because that is what I learned when I was reading about rigging.
The rationale behind it is the cotter pin legs need to be spread enough to hold the pin in place. The more you spread the legs, the more the legs will be able to hold the pin in place; but the more strained the metal will be and that could lead to the leg breaking and failing to retain the cotter pin!
The two schools of thought are: 15 degrees or wrap the legs around so they come back and touch the head.
Which is better? Which is stronger? How much is the metal stressed in the process of bending?
I set out and tested this very question and will be making a video about it shortly, I just wanted to let you guys know about this project Iām working on!
Some quick results:
Test 1: 15* 487 cycles, 90* 44 cycles
Test 2: 15* 545 cycles, 90* 85 cycles
There is a bit of spread between the two tests, but the results are pretty consistent that spreading the legs 15* hardly strains the metal while bending the legs 90* is 10 times more stressful to the cotter pin!
