A tapered pin is a fastener used in mechanical engineering. They are steel rods with one end having a slightly larger diameter than the other. Standard inch-sized tapered pins have a taper on diameter of 1:48 while metric ones have a taper of 1:50. A 1:48 taper means that one end of a 4-foot-long bar (48 inches) will be 1 inch smaller in diameter than the other end, or a 1/4-inch taper over a 1-foot length.
Some tapered pins have a male screw thread on the small end that holds the pin in place with a washer and a nut. Other pins are threaded on both ends, on the thick end to pull the pin out with the same nut that holds the pin in place.
Famous quotes containing the word pin:
“Suddenly we have a baby who poops and cries, and we are trying to calm, clean up, and pin things together all at once. Then as fast as we learn to cope—so soon—it is hard to recall why diapers ever seemed so important. The frontiers change, and now perhaps we have a teenager we can’t reach.”
—Polly Berrien Berends (20th century)