I am not sure that putting a 1/4" pin will increase safety as much as you imagine. If the main ratchet fails, the shock loading when the load transfers to the pin might break it. I do not think that I would modify the stands. Pay more and buy stands that you trust, I get mine from Snap-On. Maybe they are the same, but at least I know I did not cheap out on something as important as jack stands. I buy a lot of stuff from Harbor Freight, but stop short of anything where safety of life is involved.
When I read about the original HF recall, I got the impression that the handles were made in such a way that they hit the body of the stand before the pawl fully engaged in the ratchet teeth. Inspect the stands that you have and make sure the handles cannot ever touch the body. Inspect that the pawl nicely engages into the teeth. That will go a long way to increasing the probability that your stands will not slip.
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