While I've not hit eBay hard in quite some time, a much-delayed key finally did arrive today.
A very nice looking 1957 Vibroplex Original DeLuxe was listed late one Sunday night many weeks ago with a very low “Buy It Now” price. For whatever reason, I'm a sucker for chrome, and the DeLuxe model Original is just one of the best looking pieces of classic hardware you can find.
The key was delayed by a fault of my own; the seller did not take PayPal, and my envelope with payment sat around buried in a stack of other mail — with me thinking it had been sent. The seller was kind enough to wait probably twice as long as he should have before raising cane about it. I realized my error and shipped payment immediately. He didn't ship it out to me very quickly, but after making he sweat payment I probably deserved the return treatment.
It was a nice surprise to get the key too, though it was more of a surprise than I expected. When I picked up the box, I heard parts rattling around inside the box — NOT a good sign for any parcel, unless you've ordered a box of peanut brittle.
Worse than the rattling was the major “ker-THUNK” from inside the box. Ouch! What the heck was going on?
The seller had double boxed the key — a nice touch. Unfortunately, the seller put the key in an original Vibroplex box — a very worn out box that had none of the interior packing that original protected the key in shipment. As a result, the key literally rattled around inside the box, beating itself to pieces, or nearly so.
I'm being overdramatic here because that was what I expected. I've gotten keys that have nearly self-destructed because of poor packing, so I've learned to hope for the best but prepare for the worst.
Inside the Vibroplex carton the key had no support, so it hammered the keying lever backward, popping it out of the jeweled pivots. The lower mount was a bit chipped but still functional. The weights were both loose in the box, making most of the rattling noise. The keying lever had been driven backwards each time it slammed to the front end of the box, hammering the dash lever spring screw, bending it forward at a 45 degree angle. It was bent as far as it could go. The weights didn't seem to do any damage to the rest of the key. This sort of damage isn't expensive, just an aggravation. You buy something and its not unreasonable to expect it to arrive intact.
I sent an e-mail to the seller, fussing at him about the damage. It's not the expense, which is minimal, its the aggravation.
The key is in pretty good shape considering its 50 years old. The damper arm needed lubrication, as did most of the other screws, some of which were nearly frozen. I'm not sure where this key lived, but it was an area of high humidity. There's rust on the mounting screws for the terminals and the contact posts (the screws that secure these parts to the base). These screws are rusty, so I've coated them with some PB Blaster, a very good penetrating oil. Fortunately these attachment screws are standard issue hardware store screws. I really don't think I'll need to replace them, just break them loose and clean them up. Right now, the “hot” terminal is not making electrical contact with the contact posts because the attachment screws are rusty.
The key base has some blemishes, but that's OK. The Original DeLuxe is still a fine looking key … but don't I say that about all the keys I own?
BRAZILIAN UPDATE.For the first time since I bought one of those Ukranian paddles I've been using an iambic key — the Brazilian key mentioned earlier in my blog.
I wrote the seller about the cracked base, and he's agreed to ship me a replacement. In the meantime I've Crazy Glued the old one, and its kinda sorta holding together. I've got to be ginger with it or the single attachment screw will pop through the enlarged hole in the base. Otherwise it seems to hang in there.
The key? Well it has a very light feel to it (that's probably because I've been manhandling my McElroy Mac Key DeLuxe as my usual key). The little hockey puck key is all shiny and works very, very well.
I was going over my earlier comments on the key, and while I like it, if you don't mind spending more, you can get a honey of a key with the Kent TP-2 paddles. These can be had for about $140, and while I haven't used one, I hear they're very, very nice. For me, at the moment, I really like the Brazilian key better than my Bencher and the Ukrainian keys.