SK - can you take some pics during reassembly. This alignment thing sounded confusing.
Here you go rip. Here is a unit that I recently took apart. It's actually VERY easy if you know what you're doing.
First of all, if you look at the assembly, you'll see that the only thing that really holds everything intact is this metal clip on the upper right. I recommend using a prying tool (didn't have my Atwood Prybaby with me at the time, so I used a dental tool) to bend this tab, but just enough to separate it slightly from the frame. Like so:
A simple tip is to mark where the tabs seat prior to taking it apart. I used a Sharpie which will wipe clean with a little alchohol:
Now ideally you're supporting this assembly on the left and the right so that the hammers/spring and cylinders stay intact. So just ignore the fact that I took everything apart here.
Once the metal tab on the top right is bent back, you can see the assembly slides and comes apart. If you're lucky, simply using your hands will allow the the two parts to slide and come apart. If not, seat the assembly left side down (as you read the label) and rap the black metal frame with a rubber mallet to move the notches to the left. It will simply drop down about 4mm and come apart.
Then just lift the metal back plate away from the rest of the assembly.
You'll be left with this:
At this point, fix the backspace. It's really easy. Move the spring/hammer diagonally for the |\ key and that's it.
On the space bar (can't find the spring, so ignore that), simply loop a piece of floss around the spring/hammer and through the cylinder like so:
After doing this, replace the space bar and the spring as directed by Jbert. I used Glide branded PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene) aka Teflon for this purpose because it is thin and very slippery. Do NOT use Superfloss for this purpose as you will never get it past the barrel/Space Bar key. IMPORTANT step here with reassembly. I didn't do this at first and trying to squish the plates together without moving the spring/hammer is VERY difficult. Doing it this way is idiot proof.
Now just do everything in reverse. Line the plate and frame together carefully. Make certain that all of the springs/hammers are centered properly.
Seat the sliding groove/latch bottom section first:
Now gently lower the other side down and slide till the latches lock:
You know you're there when the markings line up. And you'll see how the upper right can be bent back to lock everything in place. I used rubber tipped dental forceps. But a small amount of electrical tap will protect the tab from getting scratched if you use pliers. Bend the upper right tab till it locks into the notch and that's it. DONE. Eezy peezy.
Hope this helps. Let me know if there any other questions and I'll do my best to help.
skc
