Cutting a blind keyway

[Pete O]

Well the working week is done and I have had time to read through these replies properly and follow the links, thank you all and as always the more I learn, the more I realise that I don't know. With a bit if reading, it seems there are a whole lot of forces interacting to make a cutter do things that you don't want it to do. Probably the most confusing thing is the terminology relating to cutters, I have no idea whether what I have been using is a slot drill or an end mill, will have to give it a close inspection when I get a chance to get back to it. Seemed to plunge cut without any difficulty, but then without a quill on my machine it is impossible to get a feel for how much force I am applying in the Z axis, cranking the knee up with the hand feed is heavy whether there's a cut happening or not.
I have a heap of garden and lawn work to do before I get back to the shed and figure out what cutters I actually have.