Cotter pin repair single speed hack

After breaking a few cotter pins trying to remove them I have had a few ideas to repair them. First is to re-tap the cotter pin or to find a cheap hack.

Re-tapping

Often when hitting the cotter pin out of the crank the top becomes worn and damaged and the nut is unable to be retreaded. To re tap this I used a 6mm tap. 

Before tapping I had to carefully grind the top so that is was small enough to fit the tap over the top. 

Cheap hack.

To repair the cotter pin I drilled a 6mm hole and inserted a 6mm bolt. 

Make sure that you use a punch to ensure the hole is in the centre.

I then drilled 2 1.5mm holes so that I could insert a nail and then cut the tip and hit with a hammer to create a rivet.

Make sure you file off the ends so they are smooth. All you then need to do is cut the end of the bolt off. 

As you can see it looks good and I have used it on a bicycle for a number of months with no problems

Finished pin.

If you have any other hack for cotter pins please comment