I recently had a woodruff key shoot out of one of my skils while running a grit drum. It destroyed the key and the grit drum. Luckily, I have a spare drum and a couple spare knife heads, but I do not have the right size keys. Any tips on which size/type of key would be suitable for an original knife head and where I might find one? Cheers, Brock
Can you post a pic of the “woodruff key” and the grit barrel ? Would like to see what you are referring to as a “woodruff key” and what particular grit barrel you are using and the the damage to the grit barrel.
Having had Skil 100s apart numerous times it is beyond me how the woodruf key could have come out. Did the nut come off first? Was the nut or washers not put in on installation? Not tightened? Baffling.
Regarding a new woodruf key. Strange as this may sound, have you gone to your local hardware store? Poking around the boxes of parts and such at my local hardware store they had two boxes of all sorts of woodruf keys in all different sizes. No idea what the size is but if you take the drum and pully with you to the hardware store you may get lucky and find the right one. Just needs to fit the slot tightly and fit the slot in the pully.
The key bypassed the nut and cut a groove/path through the shaft of the grit drum. I’ll attached or PM you a photo. I was able to unscrew the nut as though nothing had happened. My father, Bruce Jones, added the drum years ago and the planer has decades of production shaping in his hands. Pete Casica (referred by Gene Cooper) had some great insight into why/how this may have happened, which I’d prefer to keep to PMs. He also forward a link to McMaster for the key. Pete’s a great resource.