Monday, Jan. 2, 2012 — I finally got around to taking some photos of a key I acquired several months ago. It’s been sitting safely on my computer desk since I received it, in its 
custom-built and professionally finished wooden case.
The key is made of brass and wood, and is a homebrew replica of a Vibroplex Lightning Bug. As the photos show, the key’s proportions are just about perfect in copying the Lightning Bug design. Let’s take a tour of this little beauty, shall we?
THE CASE. The case is well made and very nicely finished; in fact, I am surprised the 
case has held up so well over the decades. I had been thinking of trying to make a wooden case for my keys on my own, and I think I just found the template to copy. The case as a slot at one end for the paddle to rest. It also has a block on the bottom of the case to hold the key base in place firmly while the key is in the case.
The case also features two wood blocks that firmly hold the key down in two places — on the damper, and on the pivot area. The case is well designed, and the key is secure; there’s no need for padding with the case because the key stays locked in 
place. Now over time, the latches for the lid are no longer under tension; I suspect the wood has shrunken over time, or the latches moved or lost some of their curvature over time.
THE KEY. The base of the key measures 4 x 7 inches, making it slightly wider and longer than a Vibroplex. The base is a 1/4-inch brass, attached with countersunk brass wood screws to a nicely finished wooden base about a 1/2-inch thick. While the key has terminals on the top of the base, you wonder why the operator didn’t run them out the rear of the base and do away with the top terminals. The construction under the base is as well done as the rest of the 
key.
Check out the detail shots of the key (click to enlarge them), and you can see the workmanship and attention to detail that went into it. Note the machine tooling on the top of the pivot, and how well the dash lever is nicely hinged; it looks better than the key it copies!
The maker also made a direct copy of the Vibroplex dot contact used on the Lightning Bug/Champion/Zephyr keys; the flat vibrating rod meant that the Original-style dot 
contact would not work. The maker — whose identity is unknown — copied the dot contact perfectly.
The brass parts apparently received coats of varnish, and the original varnish remains on most of the key. You can see some spots on the base where it is missing, and you can see wear on some of the adjustments.
Some curious notes about the key … check out the finger and thumb pieces … they are backwards to how you find them traditionally on a right-hand key. Did the operator use the key left handed? Or just prefer this arrangement? The finger and thumb pieces also appear to be handmade — and very well made at that — shaped and tapered perfectly.
If you look at the top shots of the key, it looks like the weight has a silver washer on the adjustment screw. The photo above reveals that’s no washer, that’s a 1941 Fiji half-penny! I don’t know if the key was built prior to the war, or if they coin has any relation to the user or if it was just a curiousity he added to his key weight. It certainly adds to the mystery and mystique about the key, eh?
DOES IT PLAY? I have no idea how long this key has been sitting idle; all I know is that it was an estate find. I attached my leads to my rig’s CW input, and after adjusting the key a bit, away we went — and never missed a dit or dah! The contacts were in good shape, no scratchiness to be heard, which was surprising.
It’s a really interesting key, and one of the better homebrewed keys in my collection. If anyone asks, “no, its not for sale” … yet!
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