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Author Topic: IBM 122 F-to-M Case Transplant  (Read 8390 times)

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Offline wcass

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IBM 122 F-to-M Case Transplant
« on: Sun, 23 June 2013, 16:17:47 »
A few months back, I picked up a "Vintage IBM Model F keyboard" for just $56 shipped. I think I got it so cheap because it had a small crack on the bottom right corner of the case. This is a very common crack on IBM 122 key Model F that can be glued back with little effort.

When the keyboard arrived, I was disappointed at how poorly the keyboard was packaged; a single layer of the thin bubble wrap was around the board in a USPS “game box” mailer. The keyboard slid freely left and right, up and down, and side to side; and it rattled. I should have complained, but the value of the parts for me was still > $56, so I didn’t bother.

Fohat.digs suggested that a case swap with a Model M might work; I thought so too, so I looked for a cheap “donor” keyboard and found one for $25 shipped. The packaging was very good with this one; a huge box with a lot of styrofoam peanuts. Below are some pictures. As I take more pictures, I will add them to this original post.

First, this is how they look before i clean them up.
26229-0 26231-1

Here is a close-up of the damage. The missing pieces have broken up into small pieces. It was bounced hard enough to bend the thick metal bottom plate.
26233-2 26235-3

The bottom and sides.
26239-4 26243-5
26241-6 26237-7

The insides - top needs a trim (use wire cutters) for many of the stand-offs here:
26245-8 26320-9

The insides - bottom need to remove raised area here:
26247-10

And one last trim on the F base plate on both sides:
26322-11

Test the fit and bolt back together.
« Last Edit: Mon, 24 June 2013, 15:52:13 by wcass »
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Offline The_Beast

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Re: IBM 122 F-to-M Case Transplant
« Reply #1 on: Sun, 23 June 2013, 16:22:54 »
Can't wait to see how this turns out!
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Offline sleepy916

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Re: IBM 122 F-to-M Case Transplant
« Reply #2 on: Sun, 23 June 2013, 17:08:55 »
Yes, I'm wondering if this will work too.
« Last Edit: Sun, 23 June 2013, 18:37:30 by sleepy916 »
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Offline AKIMbO

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Re: IBM 122 F-to-M Case Transplant
« Reply #3 on: Sun, 23 June 2013, 18:09:57 »
Quote from: sleepy916 on Sun, 23 June 2013, 17:08:55
Yes, I wondering if this will work too.

+1
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Offline fohat.digs

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Re: IBM 122 F-to-M Case Transplant
« Reply #4 on: Sun, 23 June 2013, 19:31:35 »
I had been thinking all along about the very rare very early M-122s with F-122-style case with double stage feet and large side buttons.

If the common standard M-122 cases will work, then wow! I may have a couple of those laying around already.
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Cognitive distortions are patterns of thought, typically automatic and unconscious, that cause an inaccurate, negative view of situations, people, and/or events. These include things like jumping to conclusions; black-and-white thinking; negative mental filtering; overgeneralizing; mindreading (incorrectly believing we know what others are thinking, what their motives are); and emotional reasoning (believing that if we are feeling something, or if what we are thinking is associated with a strong emotion, it must be true).
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Offline Hak Foo

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Re: IBM 122 F-to-M Case Transplant
« Reply #5 on: Sun, 23 June 2013, 22:22:56 »
There are also M-122s with a case that looks like a F-122 top, but the bottom is single-stage built in feet.  This is discrete from the latest case, which has a smaller area raised for the function keys.
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Offline wcass

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Re: IBM 122 F-to-M Case Transplant
« Reply #6 on: Mon, 24 June 2013, 16:02:46 »
The case swap is done and works; I updated the original post.

I just need to do a restore on the key assembly now. Many keys do not spring back when pressed. The space bar is seriously damaged with deep scrapes on the top and missing the wire stabilizer. The M space bar is in good condition, but the F uses a thinner wire so the M stabilizer does not fit in the F's retention slots. I'll have to get creative again.
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Offline fohat.digs

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Re: IBM 122 F-to-M Case Transplant
« Reply #7 on: Mon, 24 June 2013, 16:14:43 »
Quote from: wcass on Mon, 24 June 2013, 16:02:46
The M space bar is in good condition, but the F uses a thinner wire so the M stabilizer does not fit in the F's retention slots. I'll have to get creative again.

Somebody was working on soldering thin centers to "C-shaped" thick ends, but the wcass method of sleeving a thin wire to create thicker spacebar ends is far more elegant.

I have had good success making bigger hold-down tabs with bent sheet metal in a "Z" shape, epoxied in place so that the larger M spacebar wire could just slip in.

It ain't pretty, but works well. An advantage of the sheet metal is that you can bend it slightly, up and down, to tune the tightness of sliding.


« Last Edit: Wed, 25 June 2014, 11:02:47 by fohat.digs »
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Cognitive distortions are patterns of thought, typically automatic and unconscious, that cause an inaccurate, negative view of situations, people, and/or events. These include things like jumping to conclusions; black-and-white thinking; negative mental filtering; overgeneralizing; mindreading (incorrectly believing we know what others are thinking, what their motives are); and emotional reasoning (believing that if we are feeling something, or if what we are thinking is associated with a strong emotion, it must be true).
- Scott Jansenn 2024-04-07

Offline wcass

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Re: IBM 122 F-to-M Case Transplant
« Reply #8 on: Mon, 24 June 2013, 17:01:24 »
Quote from: fohat.digs on Mon, 24 June 2013, 16:14:43
I was thinking about making a bigger hold-down with something like bent wire, and epoxying it in place so that M spacebars could just drop in.
I did exactly that when i added "Alt" keys and M space bar to an IBM AT keyboard. i used bent strips of sheet metal (about .25" wide) and JB Weld to set them. I will likely try that again.
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Offline fohat.digs

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Re: IBM 122 F-to-M Case Transplant
« Reply #9 on: Mon, 24 June 2013, 17:11:53 »
Quote from: wcass on Mon, 24 June 2013, 17:01:24
JB Weld to set them.

Even Car Talk's Tom & Ray know that JB Weld is second only to Duct Tape for solving the world's problems.
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Cognitive distortions are patterns of thought, typically automatic and unconscious, that cause an inaccurate, negative view of situations, people, and/or events. These include things like jumping to conclusions; black-and-white thinking; negative mental filtering; overgeneralizing; mindreading (incorrectly believing we know what others are thinking, what their motives are); and emotional reasoning (believing that if we are feeling something, or if what we are thinking is associated with a strong emotion, it must be true).
- Scott Jansenn 2024-04-07

Offline Pacifist

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Re: IBM 122 F-to-M Case Transplant
« Reply #10 on: Tue, 24 June 2014, 21:08:23 »
Has anybody tried to do this but with the original metal pan and connector piece? Only downsides is that there will be holes where the legs used to be, but the screw position seems to be the same and you don't need to trim as much
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Offline fohat.digs

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Re: IBM 122 F-to-M Case Transplant
« Reply #11 on: Sat, 31 January 2015, 13:28:07 »
Bump to move this up where people can find it again.
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Cognitive distortions are patterns of thought, typically automatic and unconscious, that cause an inaccurate, negative view of situations, people, and/or events. These include things like jumping to conclusions; black-and-white thinking; negative mental filtering; overgeneralizing; mindreading (incorrectly believing we know what others are thinking, what their motives are); and emotional reasoning (believing that if we are feeling something, or if what we are thinking is associated with a strong emotion, it must be true).
- Scott Jansenn 2024-04-07

Offline alh84001

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Re: IBM 122 F-to-M Case Transplant
« Reply #12 on: Wed, 06 July 2016, 02:51:55 »
Adding some comparison pictures of F122 and old style M122 cases (M on top, F on bottom)


Some more pics at http://imgur.com/a/j46wV
« Last Edit: Wed, 06 July 2016, 02:54:13 by alh84001 »
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