Originally Posted by
ebgbz
How unusual...?
Perhaps I should be careful with the parts. one side of the cottered crank will not come apart and it has suffered some "impact damage" on the key.
If by "key" you mean the cotter pin, don't worry about trashing that if you have to, you can still get replacements. If you're having trouble getting it apart, Sheldon explains
here and in more detail
here if you're having trouble.