IBM Model M SSK Boltmod issue, need advice.

[bmmcwhirt]

I did a boltmod on one of the SSK I have. Everything went fine but after putting things back together there are two places where the keys now are too close. switching around the key bases made little difference, but I want to know if this is a common issue that the tolerances were that far off? Do I just need to swap them around till I find a combination that works or did I do something wrong?

Thanks in advance.

[E TwentyNine]

Bolt modding does nothing to the layout of the barrel plate, just snugs it down better to the backplate.  Your keys should be exactly where they were.

Which keys and how bad?

[fohat.digs]

"Too close" to what?

If the internal assembly is shifted off-center a bit, perimeter keys can rub against the case opening. The internal assembly can be jiggled a bit as you put them back into the case.

And if key caps are rubbing against each other, the bottom edges of the skirts can be lightly sanded.

[bmmcwhirt]

There are keys that touch each other. The M/N is the worst as often pressing one presses moth keys down, that's how bad it is.

[E TwentyNine]

There's no instance where that should happen.  Have you tightened down the bolts unevenly, causing the barrel plate to warp?  Make back off a bolt or two and watch how the keys move?

Beyond that, fohat's idea to trim the bottoms slightly is the simplest approach.

[bmmcwhirt]

Two things, I think there are some lax tolerances there. The big problem was the metal plate had a slight bow. It wasn't visible and unless you put it on a table arc up and look closely at the edges you would never know. It was just slightly enough to make that difference. Between straightening the bow and swapping keys then getting a different M cap things seem to be just fine.