Saturday, Dec. 28, 2013 — I’m back in the shack tonight, working with some of my keys (so what else is new, eh? lol!).
I have had a key languishing in my desk for … well, a very long time. It is a 1913 Vibroplex Original that has been worked very hard during its lifetime. The took some time tonight to clean it up as it seemed to have been coated with something that created greenish corrosion that cleaned off pretty easily.
The nickel plating is just about worn from the entire key, including the main frame and damper. What you get mostly is the coppery brass, with some very thin nickel still clinging to a few parts.
The 1913 key holds serial number 50888, which is stamped on the damper. The paint on the base has been worn off the edges down to the metal. Note that they key uses screws for the travel limits. The key also uses small contact points, which probably means the key was used on landline telegraphy. I don’t have a good picture that shows it, but the little blade the closing switch makes contact with on this key was worn almost completely away. The circuit closer switch itself shows significant wear, another clear indicator this key saw lots of telegraphy service.
Check out the finger and thumb pieces … I don’t think they were originally setup like this, but probably were changed to fit the owners’ needs. The paddles have a wrap or two of electrical tape and also some cloth electrical tape, and over time that whole mass has rather melted into one fixture.
Horace Martin made small changes to the keys as they developed from 1905 onward. This key retains the “stop” pin for the circuit closer switch seen at right, and it also retains the regular slot-head screws for the lever stops — though at this time, Martin moved to circular, knurled stop nuts instead of small set screws to lock the adjustments in place. It is an ironic throwback in time that the mainframe of even today’s Vibroplex Originals still makes use of a slotted set screw to lock the lower pivot adjustment in place.
Like Vibroplex keys built prior to 1923, this key has the pinned lever “box” hinge. This one has considerable vertical play, more than any “bent lug” key I have, but then again, none of them saw as much service.
The damper on this key is the square kind, though it was apparently dropped and bent. It still works, it just looks a little less “square” than it should. Note too that the weight rod isn’t riveted to the keying lever, but is soldered. Field repairs to keep it running, I guess.
After cleaning the contacts and adjusting the key (after I reassembled it), it plays well — with the exception of the vertical play in the dash lever. I need to check that out, but I suspect its just evidence of the many dots and dashes this key has transmitted.
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