"How do you plan to clear the Woodruff key? Mine does."
Good morning Jerry.
I would simply remove the woodruff key temporarily and make sure there are no burrs at the key slot to keep the guide sleeve from sliding on. Woodruff keys are easy to remove and install.
Being a geologist, not a mechanic, it's very rare for me to have to install a harmonic balancer. I installed the one on my '36 Chevy pickup in about 1973 and hasn't been off since.
It seems to me that the woodruff key only needs to be in place if the device that is going to be placed over the crank snout is going to be used to rotate the crankshaft. For example I have a hex shaped device from Summit Racing that slides onto a small block Chevy crank snout. It has a slot broached in it to receive the woodruff key and that allows the hex to be turned to rotate the crankshaft. I use that to degree camshafts. It seems that a tool that is intended to center a tap drill would be fully functional without a broached woodruff key slot. That eliminates a machining step (broaching), making the tap drill guide simpler to make.
Am I missing something?
