Our fleet covers shafts from 3/4 inch through to 24 inch outside diameter across two machines. Both are electrically driven and supplied with the tooling and equipment required to set up and operate.

KM3000 Keyway Milling Machine. For small and mid-sized shafts. Clamps directly to the shaft.

The standard clamp covers 1.5″ to 4.5″ (38.1mm to 114.3mm). An optional chain clamp extends this up to 10.5″ (266.7mm), and an optional shim kit takes it down to 3/4″ (19.05mm). Download the KM3000 data sheet (PDF)

KM4000 Keyway Milling Machine. For large shafts and longer keyways. Carries a side-shift (traversal) slide, so wider keyways can be cut in multiple passes without resetting the machine.

Download the KM4000 data sheet (PDF)

Where a shaft sits near the edge of a range, or the keyway is wider than a single pass, our technicians will confirm the machine and clamping arrangement before mobilising so the right equipment arrives the first time.

• Cutting a new keyway in a replacement or repurposed shaft
• Recutting a keyway that has worn, spread or rolled over under load
• Machining a second keyway at 90 or 180 degrees to redistribute drive load
• Repairing keyway damage after a key has sheared or spun
• Cutting keyways in pump, fan, gearbox, crusher and conveyor shafts in place
• Machining keyways on shafts that cannot be removed without a major strip-down

Keyway milling is often carried out alongside other in-situ shaft work. Where a shaft journal is also worn, it can be turned back to specification with our journal turning lathe in the same visit.

A portable keyway milling machine earns its keep when the shaft is difficult or expensive to remove. Clamping the machine to the shaft in place avoids the crane time, the strip-down, the freight and the reassembly, and it usually turns a multi-day outage into a much shorter one.

Where the component is already out, or where a batch of shafts needs the same work, sending them to our Brisbane or Gladstone workshop is often the more economical route. We will tell you honestly which way suits the job.

You can hire a keyway milling machine from our fleet and run it with your own people, or we can supply the machine with a BLJ technician who carries out the work.

What is included with a hire: the machine, the clamping hardware and the standard tooling required to set up and operate it, all maintained and tested before it leaves our workshop.

What you need to provide: a 240v supply, safe access to the shaft, and confirmation that the equipment is isolated and the shaft is clear for work. Our team will talk this through before delivery so nothing holds the job up on the day.