On Mon, 06 Oct 2014 14:19:03 -0500, Tim Wescott
wrote:

I have a motor that has a keyed shaft, and I need to remove the key.

The shaft is about 15mm diameter, the key is about 6mm wide (it's a German
motor, so it's all in mm), with rounded ends. The keyway is only slightly
longer than the key. It looks like the keyway was milled with an end
mill, and the key either glued or pressed into the keyway.

The thing came from the factory with a rubber retainer* around the key,
which gives me hope that the key can be removed -- but I haven't been able
to do it just by grabbing it with a vice grip and pulling.

Any suggestions about how the key may be retained in there, and how to get
it out without damaging the shaft?

* Really it's a rubber band. But it's not a piece of office-supply crap
-- it's a rubber band sourced by German machinists who take pride in their
work, so it's black and thick and can probably be soaked in gasoline for a
day, be wiped off, and still be like new. So I can't quite call it a
rubber band.
To remove the key - which, from your description, is a "woodruff" key
bump it on the end with a drift - a brass one if you are really fussy
- and it will walk right out of the keyway.