[CW] Care & Cleaning: was help needed

[Rich Dailey, N8UX.]

>OK Rich, now that you've brought up "Care and Cleaning" of telegraph keys, 
>what do you do to make yours look loved and cared for?
>I used to poo-poo dust covers, but now I see that they do something very 
>important for these "new" type of rigs with very little voltage on the 
>keyline:  they keep the contacts from being covered with dust which will 
>make the keyer false!

Every key I have (except any key that is in use on the operating table) is 
stored
in a 5 shelf curio cabinet.  It's not a high dollar unit - I think my xyl 
paid $99 for it -
but it's very presentable,  looks very nice at the end of the hallway.  I 
"upgraded" it
for my needs - replaced the thin glass shelves with much thicker plates to 
hold the
weight of the keys.  I also adjusted the door to create a tighter seal 
against dust, replaced
the aquarium bulb with a GE Reveal brand bulb for more natural light, and
added an external cord switch so I wouldn't have to open the door to turn 
on/off the light.
It's xyl approved,  and is much better than having bugs lined up in a 
closet shelf covered
with dish rags!  No sense having a collection of anything if you can't 
display it.  When I
get one out to drive however,  it remains uncovered.

So far as cleaning is concerned - I will disassemble to a certain point if 
needed,  then use
just warm water and a soft wash cloth,  then dry.  For the contact points, 
if they are black with tarnish,
I use a q-tip dipped lightly in Brasso.  I swab until the black is removed, 
then I remove the
remaining residue with clean q-tips.  After that, I usually only need to 
touch them
up occasionally by burnishing with a clean business card.

I use a needle oiler and apply only the *smallest* amount of oil to bearing 
surfaces.  I then
adjust for tolerences that are close, but not too tight.

 >I learned that I can smooth a rough button on a hand key by finding a 
flat piece of glass (like on a window!) and moving the button >knob in a 
circle and it will polish very black and smooth.

Great idea!

 >I learned that on a bug there is a little sweet spot where the dot U 
shaped spring, and the dot lever swing all work together to form >clear 
dots and that it isn't as simple as I once thought to get MANY CLEAR dots 
with paddle movement that isn't too much or too >little.  But I learned 
that once I had that spot to tighten up on the adjustments, and if needed 
only change them slightly.

I found that a strategically place foam packing peanut tucked into the U of
the contact spring  makes the sweet spot a lil larger,  and reduces that
scratchy contact bounce.

Mind you that none of my bugs/keys are super rare - the rarest I have
is an old model 4 that is a real DOG - painted over,  all the chrome was
removed at some point in the past in some sort of horrific wire wheel
incident,  and the contacts are about 1/3 their original thickness.
But nonetheless I try to treat them all with a certain amount of care.

tu Happy Holidays, de Rich