brass thumb screws

chevell69

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I was wondering if i got some one the stock and the the plans if they can make me some brass thumb screws and some other screws looking to build my own morise code straight key and i am not setup to hold the screws in my lathe yet
 
You can do it! It's not that hard... Screws and small parts can easily be made in the lathe. I used a mill to carve out
the base on mine. It can be as crude or elegant as your imagination allows so give it a go! I have made a dozen or so Morse
code keys and have given several away to my friends. I plan to make an all brass Morse key eventually by casting the frame out
of brass bullet casings. I use silver for the contact points.
P1020565.JPG

The base on this one is steel and all the small parts are brass. I had no plans but just made up what looked to be what I wanted in a key.
I have made huge ones"Paul Bunyan type" and a tiny one too just for fun. This one works great and I use it on 40 meter CW.
 
Look up lantern chuck for holding screws to turn on the lathe. Not too hard to do. Would be good practice. That how we all have learned. That and a few mistakes along the way.
 
A slightly different version of thumbscrews here:

Paul's videos are a bit tedious, but the man has some significant model-making achievements.
 
You can do it! It's not that hard... Screws and small parts can easily be made in the lathe. I used a mill to carve out
the base on mine. It can be as crude or elegant as your imagination allows so give it a go! I have made a dozen or so Morse
code keys and have given several away to my friends. I plan to make an all brass Morse key eventually by casting the frame out
of brass bullet casings. I use silver for the contact points.
View attachment 303441
The base on this one is steel and all the small parts are brass. I had no plans but just made up what looked to be what I wanted in a key.
I have made huge ones"Paul Bunyan type" and a tiny one too just for fun. This one works great and I use it on 40 meter CW.

i know that i can do that but leathe is down and it was my ownly way of to do it
 
You really don't need or want thumb screws on a telegraph key. The knurled bolt and nut affairs on a key are more correctly
called adjustment screws and nuts I would think. A thumb screw generally is used where something needs to be tightened
by hand without looking for a wrench or screwdriver. The adjustment screws on a key are adjusted just tight enough
so that there is no play in the key bar and just loose enough so there is no binding. The knurled nuts are used to hold
the screws to their adjusted precision. Also, the knurled bolts that hold the electrical wires have plenty of purchase
for a good contact to hold them, no need to reef them down...

As far as the brass stock for making key bolts and nuts, 3/8 inch diameter is large enough to make a satisfactory key. I would admit
that a little 1/2 inch stock for the tensioning nuts would make a more elegant key but with added expense.

Once you get the key made and functional, it is all about iambic pentameter. Morse code is an art and good code operators
are not easy to find these days. Timing and spacing is very important. The length of the "dah" and "dit" are critical to generate
letter or number characters. Code sent with a hand key has the particular flavor of the operator so a careful listener can
identify the operator without waiting to hear his call sign. With the advent of computer generated Morse code, all the spacing
and timing is perfect and you can tell that too. Also, a careful operator can tell what kind of key someone is using as to if it
might be a straight key or a sideswiper or a bug. Good operators tend to gravitate to other good operators. I have more
respect for quality code than something machine sent or sloppy or at high speed.

As a final comment, code sent with a straight key allows you so accentuate your characters especially at the end of
a transmission so a listening station knows the other station is using a straight key. This us commonly done with the letter "K"
at the end of a transmission. Pride yourself in sending good code as it is what others are going to hear.
 
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