” …. we have the technology … and the spare parts!”
I'm referring of course to my 1927 Vibroplex Original. I've spent some time tonight with the key. I removed the four-foot heavy duty two-conductor cable and PL-55 plug. I removed the carpet padding that was glued to the bottom of the key as well.
The bottom of the key shows a very good, original jappaned base. I wish I could remove the ugly tan paint. I can see all the carriage striping on the base, and there's hardly a chip in the key's original surface. I've considered other strategies for removing the paint without ruining the original. It's going to be tedious work. I may try to wet sand it off. Even if I damage the original finish — and wet sanding would likely remove the gold striping on the basee — the black jappaned finish should buff out well. I bought a nasty looking Vibroplex Lightning Bug once and the base cleaned up to shine like new money. It was pretty amazing.
Tonight I found another stash of rubber feet — they're 3/4 inch wide and about a half-inch tall with a slight taper. I don't have a clue what they're intended for, but they're perfect for Vibroplex keys. Vibroplex charges an arm and a leg for feet (pun intended), so I was happy to find my stash of about two dozen still unopened. I found someone selling 50 rubber feet about the same dimensions for a good price, so I thought I better stock up. If I went through my collection and replaced all the crappy rubber feet I would probably need 50 more.
I also replaced the 1927 bug's homebrewed acrylic paddles. A year or so ago I bought a large stash of old telegraph parts, and came up with a bunch of telegraph buttons that are identical to those used on early Vibroplex keys (the round “finger piece” as Vibroplex calls it). I used my last one tonight for the '27 bug. I also used my last triangular bakelite paddle. I can order more of the “thumb pieces” but the finger pieces will be more difficult to find. The ones that Vibroplex sells are the modern style, which work OK on early keys, but look very out of place.