Saving Old Seagulls

I'm stripping down two 40+ engines to the bare bones. Can someone or some people tell me the safest way to remove the Woodruff Key so I can give the flywheel workings a refurb with the baseplate off.

Gerard

They can get a bit stuck, on one of my engines I had to drill into the key and implode it very carefully until it came out. I would suggest some gentle heat, followed by cooling. Repeat a few times. Then carefully tap one end with a small flat screwdriver to see it it moves. If you are careful it will eventually give up

Cheers! Sounds a bit tricky, even dangers lurking, using heat so near to the wiring. I would normally say at this point it's best to leave well alone but I need to see if the crankshaft on one has bent.

I forgot to mention I filed the key down to remove the backplate first, then tried gentle hot and cold cycles a few times before trying to tap the key. Once it moves a little you can prise it out.

My baseplate comes off without having to remove the key. Only need to remove it when splitting the crankcase.

I use a cheap flat bladed jewelers screwdriver like a chisel underneath the key next to the crank.

I managed it by fixing (tightly, as I was putting in a new one anyway) mole grips on it then putting a small steel sheet underneath to give a surface for the mole grip head to lever on without damaging the crankshaft - rather like a claw hammer removing a nail has something put under the claw to stop damaging the work
Donald

Always good to hear of success!