My telephone order from Vibroplex arrived today. It included the 100th year anniversary history book on the company, along with some parts: 3 finger pieces, 2 old-style bakelite thumb pieces and screws, and 2 sets of feet with screws.
My 1930 Vibroplex Original needed feet to replace the deformed and dry-rotten suction cup feet it had when it arrived here. I put them on this evening, and the key looks complete!
My 1916 Vibroplex Original needed new feet too, so I also put those on. These feet aren't original in style, but they sure work well. Betsy at Vibroplex is wonderful to talk to, and she told me some interesting tidbits.
For starters, the screws on old Vibroplexes on the feet need to be shorter. The bases weren't drilled as deep. I was surprised to find they still had the old-style triangular bakelite thumb pieces. They must be NOS, but they could be reproductions by the company. I plan to make some copies out of some lexan I bought.
On my 1916 bug, I had planned to replace the double-paddle setup (one paddle broken, and neither paddle was original) with the factory style setup, but I found that the keying lever holes had been altered.
The finger piece would not thread into the keying lever; apparently the threads had been removed. The original paddle would fit, but the small screw used to secure the rear of the paddle wouldn't work because the hole was enlarged. The double paddles had been set up to use the left side paddle as threads to secure both to the lever. I'm not sure this will work again, but It's worth a shot.
I'm going to make two repro paddles using the black plastic stock I have, then I'll see if I can screw them together after threading one of the paddles with the appropriate threads. This lexan I have is pretty damned thin, I don't know if I'll be able to use it. I might need some thicker stuff, something on the order of 1/4-inch.
I really wanted to use the original style finger and thumb pieces. The keying lever holes have no threads, so that complicates things. It's going to be hard to put threads in the lever without making the threads diameter larger — and that's going to mean not using the standard finger piece. ARGH!
WHEN IS A VIBROPLEX NOT A VIBROPLEX?
When it is an “Improved Vibroplex” by the A TO Z Company!
I had purchased a tag-less Vibroplex Original a couple months ago … it appeared to be an early one, but it had some differences. The price was right, so I bought it.
On closer inspection, there were some differences that indicated it may not be a Vibroplex at all.
For starters, the base was not a standard Vibroplex casting. The corners were rounded on the vertical edges, and the top corners weren't chamfered as genuine Vibroplex bases are.
The damper was slightly different in how the damper arm itself was hinged. The pivot frame looked like a Vibroplex piece, but the ends of the frame that held the adjustments and dot return spring were rounded in a way not seen on any of my other Vibroplex keys, and unlike any other Vibroplexes I had seen online.
The key to this key came today, in the Vibroplex history book.
It showed the “Improved Vibroplex” and the photo clearly showed all the variations that mine does.
Mine shows hints of the original pinstriping, though it is only barely visible. Otherwise, the bug's variations make it nearly identical — hence the attention the ATOZ Novelty Co. attracted from Vibroplex's attorneys.
The key apparently was manufactured from about 1913-16, making this key one of the older ones in my collection. It's one of the better examples of an ATOZ that I've seen, too, judging from photos on the Web. I hope to publish photos of my Improved Vibroplex when I setup my online key museum.
That's about all for now, I've been working 6-meter E-skip this evening — Wichita, Kansas at midnight! Strange conditions, too — he was 40 over S9 one moment, then down into the noise level. I waited for him to come back up and worked him before he faded.
Good nite and 73!
dit dit