[Ended] Model F122 at not a bad price:

[jacethesaltsculptor]

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-IBM-Model-F-Clicky-Key-Mechanical-Keyboard-6110345-1985-AS-IS/293422821927?hash=item44515cf227:g:1goAAOSwaZdeHNmc

It's not tested, but this cheaper than what I paid for mine, not a bad deal for what they seem to be going for on Ebay right now.

[fohat.digs]

Yes, that was a very good deal by today's standards. Case not broken and a complete set of function keys!

[jacethesaltsculptor]

you made me realize it was already gone, didn't last a day. I'd have sprung if I didn't already have one.

I'll be moving my keyboards around with care when moving houses, I'd be heartbroken if I ever broke mine.

[Maledicted]

you made me realize it was already gone, didn't last a day. I'd have sprung if I didn't already have one.

I'll be moving my keyboards around with care when moving houses, I'd be heartbroken if I ever broke mine.

I would be more worried about breaking the house.

[jacethesaltsculptor]

you made me realize it was already gone, didn't last a day. I'd have sprung if I didn't already have one.

I'll be moving my keyboards around with care when moving houses, I'd be heartbroken if I ever broke mine.

I would be more worried about breaking the house.

 )

You know, joke aside, I can see what they mean about the M13 being fragile, I don't know what they did to the top plate, but it feels even weaker than my Unicomp, and it has a fair amount of give. I think it's the placement of the mouse buttons that really weakens it. It's strange being careful with a Model M. My F122 could probably be used in construction as a hammer if needed. (It may already have been!)

[Maledicted]

)

You know, joke aside, I can see what they mean about the M13 being fragile, I don't know what they did to the top plate, but it feels even weaker than my Unicomp, and it has a fair amount of give. I think it's the placement of the mouse buttons that really weakens it. It's strange being careful with a Model M. My F122 could probably be used in construction as a hammer if needed. (It may already have been!)

I'm sure that was some bureaucratic bean counter thing.

"My god, that trackpoint and the mouse buttons have added 25 cents to production costs per board. How can we compensate?"

"Let's compromise the plate!"

[fohat.digs]

I would be more worried about breaking the house.

My F122 could probably be used in construction as a hammer if needed.

These quips always amuse me. If somebody asked me, out of the blue, my first thought about the case of the 122-key Model F, what would immediately pop into my mind is how brittle the plastic is (at least 1/4 to 1/3 of the ones I have gotten have had one of the bottom corners broken), and also how the textured, colored top (skin) layer spalls exposing the slick white core underneath.

But if you weren't worried about ruining the plastic top, then yes, the nearly 9-pound keyboard would make quite a dent in a person or object.

[Maledicted]

These quips always amuse me. If somebody asked me, out of the blue, my first thought about the case of the 122-key Model F, what would immediately pop into my mind is how brittle the plastic is (at least 1/4 to 1/3 of the ones I have gotten have had one of the bottom corners broken), and also how the textured, colored top (skin) layer spalls exposing the slick white core underneath.

But if you weren't worried about ruining the plastic top, then yes, the nearly 9-pound keyboard would make quite a dent in a person or object.

I didn't mean the F122 in particular, he's got a lot of beefy keyboards. Do you think that the F122's case is brittle by design, or due to age? I have always read that plastics usually become brittle as the oils seep out of them over time. I have had good luck with soaking dried-out rubbers and plastics in some ATF to soften them up again.

[fohat.digs]

What is ATF?

And, by any chance, do you know what to do with "rubberized" grips and handles on things like tools and umbrellas that have gotten sticky and nasty with age?

About the IBM cases, they switched to PVC for the Model M, the one thing that they did that was an actual significant improvement. I have adapted 1st-generation M-122 top shells (it takes just a bit of Dremel work) for replacement F tops and they work out well.

[Maledicted]

What is ATF?

And, by any chance, do you know what to do with "rubberized" grips and handles on things like tools and umbrellas that have gotten sticky and nasty with age?

About the IBM cases, they switched to PVC for the Model M, the one thing that they did that was an actual significant improvement. I have adapted 1st-generation M-122 top shells (it takes just a bit of Dremel work) for replacement F tops and they work out well.

ATF is automatic transmission fluid. A good, cheap, synthetic oil. I use it to oil my firearms, and those are often accompanied by some very old/dried out rubber or plastic, so I slather some on that too and let it soak.

By rubberized do you mean like those plastics with the rubberized coating over top? I can't say I have encountered any sticky tools or umbrellas myself.

[fohat.digs]

ATF is automatic transmission fluid. A good, cheap, synthetic oil.

Duh. Thanks, that hadn't occurred to me. Are you suggesting that it has rust-inhibiting properties, too?

Whatever the rubbery coating that is put on objects to keep them from slipping in the hand - I don't know what it is - but I have seen it on tools, mice, the outside of my ThinkPad is "rubbery" and lots of other things. It works great for a while, but after some number of months or years it breaks down into a horrible sticky goo.

I have had success scrubbing it off with alcohol, but that only prepares it to happen again.

[Maledicted]

Duh. Thanks, that hadn't occurred to me. Are you suggesting that it has rust-inhibiting properties, too?

Whatever the rubbery coating that is put on objects to keep them from slipping in the hand - I don't know what it is - but I have seen it on tools, mice, the outside of my ThinkPad is "rubbery" and lots of other things. It works great for a while, but after some number of months or years it breaks down into a horrible sticky goo.

I have had success scrubbing it off with alcohol, but that only prepares it to happen again.

I don't know that it is the very best rust inhibitor, but ATF is pretty good at it, especially for its price. It is designed to sit inside of a transmission for years at a time afterall. The viscosity, and the fact that (being synthetic) it should never really gum up, has made it very useful for my purposes.

Yeah, I hate that stuff. I avoid it entirely, if possible. Maybe oil would help prevent it from degrading? Something makes me think it has more to do with how it bonds to the surface though. Oil can actually also be used to clean things, almost like a solvent.

I have an old Compaq laptop that has that garbage on it. Maybe some day I'll play around with it.

[jacethesaltsculptor]

What is ATF?

And, by any chance, do you know what to do with "rubberized" grips and handles on things like tools and umbrellas that have gotten sticky and nasty with age?

About the IBM cases, they switched to PVC for the Model M, the one thing that they did that was an actual significant improvement. I have adapted 1st-generation M-122 top shells (it takes just a bit of Dremel work) for replacement F tops and they work out well.

For those rubberized grips, if you mean the kind of grips you'd see on a Razer keyboard, I've actually had a lot of luck cleaning them with Blu Tack, it sounds really dumb, and it will leave a tiny bit of itself behind, but it'll bring rubber like that back from the dead. I've done it on some REALLY gross razer mice, and it worked a miracle.

That sort of "rubberization" just refuses to clean with anything else I've tried.