An attempt is made to analyze strain and stress of different types of pins in more detail than the conventional consideration of the shear strength offers. The analysis reveals that there are cases in which the shear strength is not the criterion for the proper selection of size and type of pin. It depends upon the mutual interaction of the pin and the parts to be joined due to the fit as well as due to the lateral load which can be purely statical of dynamical. The theoretical analysis – even if it consisted sometimes of rough approximations – of the effects of fit and of lateral load and the trend of experimental results show very clearly that a spirally coiled pin can be selected instead of any other type of pin of the same size. It offers advantages when static loads as well as when fluctuating loads are involved.
