Thread: Key way into motor shaft difficult

Jim,

Check the pin carefully. The ones I have seen are not actually flat but are slightly tapered and they can only be inserted one way.

I would take the pulley & belt off...refit the key & pulley then fit the belt.

I agree with slot.
If the key is sloppy in the keyway you might need a new one or drill and tap a thread in the bottom of the Pulley V fully that allows you to insert a grub screw that will hold the key in the keyway.

I am puzzled to how the key can come out of the shaft with the pulley in the correct place, something amiss there I think and more investigation is needed.

I had it happen on a bandsaw. When I realised there was a problem I could find no trace of key or grub screw. I guess when the grub screw loosens off then the pulley slides along the shaft and the key falls out.
A properly fitted grub screw should have a lead slug punched into the hole on top to stop the screw working loose.
Regards
John

What is this motor driving? If it had a load on it when the key fell out the pulley may have spun on the shaft and damaged the edges of the keyway and that why it won't just slide back in. A pulley will normally have a grubscrew over the key to lock it in position. If it doesn't have one then there is nothing to stop it falling out again unless it is meant to have an endcap screwed to the end of the shaft which is meant to hold everything in place and it is missing.