On Mon, 06 Oct 2014 16:10:08 -0500, Tim Wescott
wrote:

On Mon, 06 Oct 2014 13:21:59 -0700, etpm wrote:

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.
Greetings Tim,
When I need to get a stubborn key out, and can hold the shaft in my
hands, I clamp the key in the Kurt Anglock vise. Then I lift the other
end of the shaft so that the key comes out at an angle. The vise grabs
better than vise grips. If I can't get the shfat to the vise I use
visegrips, grabbing as hard as possible at one end of the key, and
pulling it out that way. This method takes less force that trying to
pull the whole length of the key at once.
Eric

Thanks. I don't have a Kurt vice, but it worked great with a bench vice,
and didn't mar the key significantly at all (I can't see it -- just feel a
bit of a ridge on the side that was pulled away).
Glad I could help.
Eric