A crank "D"-sprocket keyway cutter.

[fatmobile]

 Inspired by Libbybapa's homemade keyway cutter;
 I had a local shop machine one for me:




 I haven't tried it yet, but have a friend with a froze-up block that he might let me experiment on.

 Any suggestions on how it can be improved?
 I didn't ask him to put the little 5/16" piece in to grab the old keyway, but it was a nice touch and might come in handy.
... and the center of the cover plate might touch the seal holder.

[Quantum TD]

Can they make more? Or do you want to rent it?

[fatmobile]

 He drew it all up on the computer with plans to make more if they work.
 I'd rent it,.. but I'm not sure how much it cost to build yet.
 I'll bolt it up to the engine I'm rebuilding (D-sprocket keyway was done at the shop while crank was out)
 and see how the clearance is.
 
 Couldn't wait, went out to the "garage" and tried it out,.. there are definately clearance issues with the seal carrier.
 Not much left to remove.

[ToddA1]

I've been curious how the broaching part is done, since I saw it last year.  Are you supposed to rough cut the crank first then let the tool do the work?  That's a lot of material being removed...

I'm guessing this part was made after your crank was cut.  Rough cost of what the shop charged you to cut your crank?

-Todd

[fatmobile]

 It has a clearance issue, with the mound where the center oil pan bolt threads into the seal carrier:

 Maybe I should have flipped that pic,.. it's on an engine stand.
 For now I think this is the best position to install it when using it,
 at other angles the oil pan or intermediate shaft get in the way.
 Especially if the engine is still in the car, the broach should travel parallel to the oil pan, below the crank, nice and low, easy to get to with a hammer.
 
 Here is the area where it hits:

 
 The cover is clearanced for the seal carrier, area around the seal.
 The little keyway thing he did had to be ground down some,.. not sure why he did it, I didn't ask him to and I'd rather have a set screw I can tighten.
 I told him not to do the cover plate, because I have a drill press/taps and I knew there would be clearance issues with that and the seal carrier.

 I guess I'm a little pissed because I got the bill for it today.
 I gave him instructions to bore a hole, a counter sunk area around it and a slot for the broach.
 How much do you think this should cost?

[theman53]

250.00   It all depends on how long and what his shop rate is. My guy every project starts at 100.00 dollars if it is 4 minutes or 1 hour.

[fatmobile]

Yeah, $250 sounded about right, it's what I expected.

 Drilling the hole wouldn't take an hour,
 I don't think the countersunk area should take an hour,
 and the slot might have taken an hour but it shouldn't.
 3 hours labor max,.. I showed him a pic of the plate so he would know why the surface needed to be flush with the broach but told him I have a drill press and tap.
 Not sure where he got the idea of putting that little piece in there,.. wasn't in my drawings or instructions.

 They charged me $450.
 I'm going to find out what it would cost to have another one made,.. with and without the extras.
 Then I'll pay him $450 minus the cost of the extra work he did to jack up the bill.
 They only charge me $40 to cut a flat spot on the crank.

 I'm thinking of making a "divit" in the plate to fit around the hump in the seal carrier, where it hits.
 That would help to hold the tool from rotating when the broach is hit with a hammer.

[fatmobile]

On much of the rotation;
 the broach will hit the oil pan.
 On several degrees, the intermediate shaft is in the way.
 
 I will mess with it some more to see if there is another angle that will work while it's in the car.
 
  I talked to them on the phone,.. was just going to ask what they would want for another one, with and without the extras.
 He said the guy added something, "because he didn't think it would work without it".
 I suspect that was the keyway lock.
 Some people fix it before there is a problem but much of the time the keyway is messed-up. His keyway locker doesn't fit tight in the slot when it's good.
 I'd rather have a set screw that can tighten against the old key slot.

[rabbitman]

If they didn't follow your instuctions and added features that you didn't want then I don't think you should have to pay for their experiments.

[burn_your_money]

If they didn't follow your instuctions and added features that you didn't want then I don't think you should have to pay for their experiments.

I agree with that and hopefully they will too

[fatmobile]

 I talked to them today.
 They took 1.5 hours off it,.. so it cost $327.
 I'd still like to get them down to $250 if they make another one.