A Siamese Paddle

Recently my local ham radio club asked for members to show off homebrew CW keys. I decided to build something that would fit in with the club show-and-tell and, even better, be usable in my shack.

 

The July 1952 issue of QST describes "The Siamese Paddle". It is two J-38 straight keys mounted on edge and bottom to bottom to form a set of dual lever paddles, great! I didn't have two J-38s but I did find two EF Johnson Speed-X straight keys on my shelf. I could use these for my paddles and still have two original Speed-X keys if I ever decide to disassemble my Siamese Paddles. I also found a couple pieces of aluminum to form the new base and vertical support. 

 

After drilling four mounting holes and creating new finger pieces I now have a new set of paddles.

These paddles aren't a Begali but they are certainly cheaper and my typical CW speed is only around 16 WPM. They work fine for me and fit in well with the rest of my vintage gear.

 

73,

Niel - W0VLZ