Thursday, Sept. 29, 2011 — What a pleasant surprise I received by mail recently when the 1938 McElroy Mac Key arrived in the mail earlier this week. This key was advertised as “nice but not perfect,” and after looking it over, I thought it looked pretty nice.
It had a Buy It Now price under $100, but I wasn’t willing to go that price; not that the key probably wasn’t worth it, but it had some issues. For starters, it is the “standard” key, which isn’t nearly as sexy as the deluxe version. Secondly, the key had the wrong thumb piece (the thumb piece is one that originally shipped with the popular “Cedar Rapids bug.” Not a bad fit, but it isn’t shaped to resemble the original.
Another issue is the original weights, which are missing. The key has a homebrew weight that works just fine. It just isn’t original — and depending on your level of collector-tude, that can be a damn-near fatal flaw.
But the key didn’t look bad; hell, it deserves to an honorable place somewhere in history for surviving 73 years! Cast iron and steel is tough stuff; even bakelite holds up well over time.
I bid on the key, entering a very low bid, which knocked off the Buy It Now option. Next it became a waiting game to see what sort of interest the key garnered from collectors and the curious.
The bidding didn’t get far; my winning last-second bid was less that $10 higher than my opening bid.
The black crackle is in decent condition; I haven’t even taken time to clean the key, this is how it looked (save for the paddle change) when I got it out of the box. What’s not to like about this key??
I replaced the replacement paddle that accompanied the key with my own homebrewed replacement — a modified Vibroplex triangular paddle. I don’t buy them from Vibroplex, but from an eBay vendor from Arizona. He sells both styles, the oval paddles and the triangular ones that are perfect replacements for Vibroplex keys. I usually buy 3 or 4 at a time, and most of the triangular ones I buy go on McElroy keys.
The screw holes must be modified on the Vibroplex paddle; the original mounting screw is larger. The spacing between the holes is correct for the Mac Key; simply make enlarge the rear screw hole. With that done, you must countersink the holes to fit the flathead screws. You don’t have to do this, but it sure looks better if they’re close to flush (like the original). I’ve tried to countersink paddles with a drill, and that’s too much trouble; I find a sharp exacto or utility knife can carve a pretty good bevel around the holes. Check out the photo of the one that I replaced to get an idea of what I’m talking about.
I’ve had my new Mac Key on the air, and it works well; I’ve not even cleaned the contacts. Not a bad key at all! I don’t have a 1930s Mac Key at the operating position right now (though I have 3 Speed-X Model 500s, LOL!), so maybe its time to give this key some air time. I think I’ll keep ‘er!