Supra Prop Shaft Coupler

[Mischief IV]

I'm going to make this a separate thread from my 1991 Supra Comp thread so it's not buried in General Chat, in case someone wants to see the process to cut a new key for a prop shaft coupler. We found this while replacing bad tranny which is documented in the thread on that restoration.

Due to excessive play with shaft, when we pulled the tranny, we noticed the woodruff key and slot had damage. This may be to age or most likely if the prop hit something back in the day. It is a soft material designed to give to minimize damage to tranny.

We immediately looked online to find another one like it and that failed. We then called SkiDim and they don't have those at all and told us you probably will not find one either. So, we called the smartest guy we knew and he answers the phone, "What do you want?" I said, Michael Hunter, please help us out. Because his IQ is higher than mine by 1 point, he said "just take it to a machine shop and have them put another slot in it for you." "Heck, you could do 2 slots if you wanted." "Stop calling me, and get off my lawn."

I called around to a few machine shops in the Atlanta area to no avail. No one interested in a one off part. I figured I may have more luck up in the small town around the lake house. Once up at the lake, I talked to a neighbor who led me to a metal shop. They used to do stuff like it, but said the guy you need is across town. So off I went and found his place and when I walked in, was in total amazement of the badassery his shop was. Owner came out and asked what I needed and proceeded to show him the coupler. He said, I can't do it right now, but if you give me a day or two, I'll knock it out.
Yeah, I wasn't in a rush for it but the local guys are so willing to help vs. customer no service shops in ATL.

Sure enough, 2 days later he tells me it is done and has documented the entire process with pics and commentary. I hadn't asked for pics but it was neat to see the process, just hoped it didn't cost too much. After looking at his work, he told me that would be $65.00 bucks. I smiled and gladly gave him a Ben Franklin while thanking him immensely. Nice to find someone still offering great service with fair pricing. I kinda hope I have more machine shop needs down the road just so I can see his shop again.

Before pics.

[Mischief IV]

Here are his notes he sent with pics:

This is the keyway plug for your hub. I machined it on the end of a 1-1/2" aluminum round bar, just to have a way to hold it since it has 1.38 degree taper (2.75 degree including angle), then sawed the plug off. Here, I have faced it in the lathe to true it up.

The broach is tapered so the chips get progressively larger as it is pushed through.

Here's the hub with the key you supplied, This is a 1" long key, the standard number for it is 808.

You might need a 806 key and to guide you, woodruff key numbers decode like this:

(8#) 1/32's thick
(6#) 1/8th thick or 1/4" x 3/4" long

The hub is 3/4" wide internally. Depends on how much room is on each side once re-installed. I will include another woodruff key just in case the shaft is damaged some and needs deeper engagement. This key will be 1/32 of an inch taller.

Anyways, it is ready to rock and roll.

[Mischief IV]

Pics Continued

[Mischief IV]

Final Result