wmgeorge
Silver Member
Anybody know what Grade of steel they use on those pins? I really hated to drill out to 1/2 inch if those pins are Grade 5 or better. Working on the final details on my Thumb and need to attach to the dipper boom.
3RRL said:I don't know the grade of small pins like that, but I wouldn't hesitate to go to 1/2" or even larger.
I presume the pins you refer too will take some kind of force and not just used for "parking" the thumb? It's not so much the shear strength of the small pins, but because of the small surface area touching vs force, hole elongation over time in the jaws or the pins bending will be a bigger problem, IMHO. It's easy to overlook or underestimate the torsional forces applied. Most of the smaller diameter pins are used for retaining purposes.