Sunday, April 8, 2012 — I’ve uploaded some more photos to the Photo Gallery under “Bugs, Rare, Unusual” to showcase a couple of new keys I picked up in recent days from eBay.
LADIES & GENTS, MEET ‘COPPER.’ This is a very well designed and constructed homebrew bug that is a diamond in the rough at present. The thick, metal base was copper plated; as you can see, it was very professionally built, and other than the contacts being dirty, the key plays extremely well. I was quite surprised!
The pivot frame is a very simple affair, and in some ways resembles the Vibroplex Model X in that regard. The keying lever is build like a standard “Original” model Vibroplex, right down to the “bent lug” design of the dash lever hinge. Vibroplex made that change about 1923, and I suspect this key was build in the 1930s. After WWII, surplus bugs were extremely cheap, though guys still built their own I suppose.
The damper on this key also resembles the “t-bar” design damper Vibroplex used for a short time in the 1920s.
The copper plating has worn off the sides of the base on both sides, apparently from the key’s being handled while in use. There’s some corrosion on the other plating, but not bad. Since I shot the photos I’ve clean up the base some, and it will shine like a new copper penny if polished. The key was quite a looker in its day!
HOMEBREW TWO. This homebrew bug isn’t quite as slick as the one above. It has some interesting design features that make it noteworthy. I’m fortunate that people seem to steer away from spending much money on homebrew bugs; I enjoy buying them because of their “character.”
Homebrew II has a brass base and pivot frame. The pivot frame is fashioned out of brass flat stock; as you can see in the photo above and in the detail photo, the vertical portion of the pivot frame is notched to accept the two horizontal “arms.” And believe it or not, the assembly — even though bolted together — is sturdy and quite sound.
The adjustment screws and nuts are just that — standard screws and nuts. The contact screws have some sort of contact that may simply be a blob of flattened silver solder. The keying lever’s mainspring (unlike Vibroplex keys, which are riveted) is bolted with a single bolt. The damper is a very simple screw the end of the weight rod is designed to strike.
It’s noisy, true, but the reason became apparent when playing with the key. There is no hinge to create a pivot for the dash lever; when you press the lever to the left, you wind up loading the lever by pushing it against the righthand stop. The tension added to the mainspring (with the end of the lever solidly against the damper screw) is what returns the keying lever to the neutral position. It sounds unorthodox, but it works really well!
The key needs a good cleaning; the photos are the key as it arrived here. I’m not sure I can make the key play without some serious refurbishment on the dot and dash contacts, they seem pretty worn. I’ll update more after I give they a closer look.
That’s all this trip! Have a great Easter Sunday!
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