Drilling out a Woodruff Key

The woodruff key in the driven spindle of the bandsaw was severely stuck.  I tried all the usual mechanical tricks to no avail.  This is the frustration as pictured still installed on the machine.

After damaging it with a pair of vice grips and dykes (none of which worked), I took the shaft out of the bearings and brought it to work.  There, I chucked it up in a collet and placed it in the vice of the mill.

Here's a little better picture of the stuck key.

 I indicated the centerline of the shaft (y axis), and approximated the center of the key (x axis) and center drilled.  It turns out keys are not hardened.

The key is 0.125 wide, so I used a 0.120 drill bit and kind of "felt" my way down.  I could feel it break through the key.  I was then able to bam out half at a time with a screwdriver and a hammer.

The other half came out just as easy.

The key seat was undamaged and is ready for a new woodruff key.  Yay!

I was able to get this stubborn key out in 5 minutes.  It's all about having the right tool.