Yes - done all the time. Actually in this application the nail doesn't need to be all that good a fit. The torque is all one-way and it comes on gradually under normal use. Shock loads only come into play when the blades hit something with more substance than snow - like that forgotten shovel or the neighbour's obnoxious yap-dog. Of course - the dog really isn't the problem. It will dissolve nicely. It is the collar tends to snag on things. (G).
Most are iron, or mild steel.
I dont see why not. Just use the lowest crappiest grade you can find.
Political Correctness
A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical liberal minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a turd by the clean end.
Actually AYP/Husquvarna/Electrolux makes the Craftsman blowers and tractors.
As for the shear pins most are case hardened cheap steel. A grade 2 bolt will work BUT will usually not shear clean, instead it will bend and cause problems before it finally breaks. The way around that is to make the pins weaker at each shear line. If you look at MTD or most AYP "shear" bolts you will find they are a 5/16 bolt with two slight square cut notches at the shear line. I make my own now using using two high tech devices. A drill press and a hacksaw. Chuck up a bolt that you marked with the shear lines, turn on the press and use the saw teeth to score the bolt to the depth of the teeth. Then heat them red hot and drop them in an oil bath to quench. Never have had a problem with them bending prior to shearing. Plus I can make up extras out of the bolt bin real quick. I also make up the lock nuts out of standard nuts and a punch because I can't see using a nylock or similar for a one time item.
Seems like low carbon steel. The important part tends to be that there is a under cut at the shear points so it will break at what ever amount of torque the designers consider rational to protect the auger drive assemblly.
Years ago my brother thought he was doing a good deed when grampa's snowblower sheared its pins. He had rummaged through my bolt cans and found some aluminum bolts and figured that they would be okay to try. Well they were not aluminum, they were titanium and w/o the undercuts must have been a bit stouter than the original steel pins. Probably not by much but the gearbox went out while he was using it so he got the blame.
Wes S
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