The Home Machinist!

That's what I would do.

R8 has enough taper to hold itself while you tighten the draw bolt and more than the silly pin can provide when loaded. Do a search on this board and you will find lots of guys don't bother with the R8 key pin.

The collet key is there for a reason, although the machine can be used without one in place. The only real advantage in not having one is that the spindle won't develop an indented pattern that resembles the collet. With the key, collets always load in the same position, so the open portion of the collet leaves an identical pattern in the spindle over the long haul. Without the key, that doesn't happen because the collet locates randomly each time one is installed.

The key prevents the collet (or other tools, like a boring head) from rotating when the draw bar is tightened. Beyond that, it serves no real purpose. It is NOT intended to drive anything.

That being said, I have never made the decision to remove mine, and do not regret not doing so.

Harold

R-8 is perfect for these even though it's more a tractor axle than a jig borer. Yet, it was so powerful that the main issue was holding the head/column straight to the base.