This key was a total disaster when originally found. All the pendulum parts were missing, the iron base was solid rust, none of the original laquer finish was evident, all the brass was badly corroded, and the bakelite finger pieces were missing.
The restoration of this piece was a real challenge. A new pendulum, weight and spring had to be fabricated. (I made the spring for this key to operate in the 13 to 25 WPM range so that it would be more operator-friendly for me.) The base was stripped and refinished in the tradition of the original with several coats of organic black lacquer which was heat-leveled after each coat. The pin striping was done by hand with gold leaf lacquer. It was a real thrill to put this bug back on the air (on 80 meters, naturally) and see the old fellow come back to life after more than 75 years!