I'm a bus starter. Twisted bus starter

 

Apparently, this is the starter button from a Leyland bus. I don't know which one, but the seller assured me that this was the case. Since I was so surprised at the price - a fiver - I didn't argue. Well, that and it was chucking it down with rain and my jacket was at the limit of its waterproofness. 

I suspect the rain helped me bag this item, most peopel were sheltering inside. That, and there wasn't a price on it on the stand and I'd expected a price of £20 or more, four times the value to me. To be honest, I only asked out of curiosity.

What do I want a bus starter for? Do I plan to restore a bus? 

No. But I fancy it for a future project. As a simple on-off push switch, I'm sure it can be incorporated into something in the future. That, and I love switches of all sorts. 

Of course, I couldn't resist poking at the insides. 

The components are simple, and robust. A heafty copper contact links the two contacts in the baseplate when you press the button. The amount of metal suggests that these can handle more current than I'm likely to throw at it. 

Tha sprung action is lovely. The sort of lovely you only find on old, chunky and over-engineered electrical items. Never mind all these fidget spinners and stuff da kidz play with, I'll sit and push this abesent mindedly while on video calls for work. Satisfying.