pic: Ultimate chain tool project

[Steven Smith]

Are you saying that this design would not work as intended, or would not be an improvement? I guess I'm not sure why people think pressing the pin part way out is a better solution, when it requires a certain width of chain, and that the pin does not accidentally fall out.

It was less a comment on your design and more a comment on my experience with the DarkSoul tool. The pin is a press fit in the outerlink, so if it is still fully in the outer link, it is not going to fall out very easily while you are handling it.

As it is a press fit, even under perfect alignment, it is having to generate some force before it slips back into the hole. That force can force things out of alignment if everything is not perfectly restrained. Perfect restraint can lead to some tolerance stack-up issues in an actual part/tool. It is my opinion that leaving the pin in the outer link is the simpler solution, but I'm also interested to see you try it your way and validate/invalidate our observations.