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geekhack Community => Keyboards => Topic started by: vanic on Fri, 21 January 2011, 13:07:12

Title: New Member with a few questions.
Post by: vanic on Fri, 21 January 2011, 13:07:12

First of all greetings everyone!

I just came across these forums after a long time of searching for a Model M keyboard and just recently obtaining one and having a few questions.

I was a funny story actually,  I work as a network admin for a private school and I haven't used or seen a IBM Model M keyboard since back in high school.  Over the course of my college days I have tried to hunt down one locally with no luck and  purchasing a Das Keyboard or some other mechanical keyboard just seems to be too expensive of an option for me.  So time goes on and I find myself at work today.  A week ago I was ordered to clean up the server room, back room, and the schools labs and to mark / throw out anything the school doesn't need.
It's been a week of thowing out old p4's, crt monitors, and junk.  Finally get into the back closet of my storage room.  Here we have equipments i've never even seen since taken over position here.  Old NT servers,  Binders of Software from back in 95.  and finally a few boxes.

I start taking everything down from the shelfs and open the largest box I could find....  and there she was.

One lone, IBM Model M2 from 1984 (The year I was born actually).  It appears to be a Lexmark make and although not as solid as the first M models I have used she seems like a beauty.   So I have it home now.  Working 100%.   Now the question?

It seems to be a bit dirty, I mean it looks new (still ivory in color) but how should I go about cleaning it?

Title: New Member with a few questions.
Post by: bugfix on Fri, 21 January 2011, 13:15:39

Welcome to geekhack.

http://geekhack.org/showpost.php?p=212484&postcount=2
http://geekhack.org/showthread.php?t=6856

Title: New Member with a few questions.
Post by: keyboardlover on Fri, 21 January 2011, 13:16:04

Welcome to GeekHack! I know nothing about Model M's so I'll step aside now... :D

Title: Opps
Post by: vanic on Fri, 21 January 2011, 13:25:52

I was wrong on the Date, Was looking at the Copyright.  Actual date is 27-may-94.  Guess being newer I should get more time out of it :)

Title: New Member with a few questions.
Post by: calavera on Fri, 21 January 2011, 13:36:46

'84 Model M would be super rare and expensive :D

Title: New Member with a few questions.
Post by: theferenc on Fri, 21 January 2011, 14:27:25

Calavera, wouldn't an '84 almost have to have been a prototype?

@vanic,
I had a whole post typed out before I bothered to check the links bugfix sent you. Read those, and you'll be good. Just ignore the part about using a toothbrush. Just use denture tabs when you soak the keys, and it will be fine.

Title: New Member with a few questions.
Post by: Findecanor on Fri, 21 January 2011, 15:46:31

Congratulations on finding a working one!

Pull off the keys, soak them in denture tabs. Use a vacuum cleaner, then q-tips if necessary.

I would advice against opening a M2 unless you really have to. There may be people here who would call me a klutz.. but I have so far not managed to open one without breaking one of the a plastic tabs.