geekhack
geekhack Community => Keyboards => Topic started by: ime1729 on Wed, 28 May 2014, 22:08:13
-
I'm having the situation that when I put force down on the shift button in the wrong position, the key doesn't want to go down unless if I put even more force, in which case it sounds like something is scraping against something but goes down with a dull thunk.
Does anyone have a fix for that?
-
Pulled the key to make sure the spring is not bent, and the insert is in the correct position?
-
Sounds like the stabilizer guide is binding. is this the right-shift key? Pop the key out and have a look. If the key warped at all? A *very* light coating of silicone grease on the guide pin can sometimes smooth-out the friction. Unicomps are just not as smooth out of the box as Ms are, but they usually improve a bit with time.
-
M keys definitely have a tendency to bind in stabilizer inserts. it's just tolerance stacking. i generally deal with this with dry lubes. for whatever reason, they tend to work really well in this application. the inexpensive blaster PTFE aerosol dry lube is something i've used before to good effect, and i've also used tri-flow dry (a bike lube). the blaster stuff can be hard to get targeted application of, so the tri-flow is probably preferable, as you just put a drop on either the stabilizer insert or the key stem, give it a minute for the light hydrocarbon to evaporate, and then work the key a bit to spread the ptfe particles. this has resolved pretty much every M stabilizer problem i've encountered.
the reason i prefer dry lube is basically because of the vinyl membrane underneath the barrel plate. you really don't want lube sitting on the vinyl and potentially getting between the two membranes.
the only other lube i would use on M stems is possibly very thick krytox (which, to remind folks is basically ptfe particles in filler), applied _extremely lightly_ to the key stems. note that i've never tried this before, and it could turn out to be a total disaster. you have been warned.
-
M keys definitely have a tendency to bind in stabilizer inserts. it's just tolerance stacking. i generally deal with this with dry lubes. for whatever reason, they tend to work really well in this application. the inexpensive blaster PTFE aerosol dry lube is something i've used before to good effect, and i've also used tri-flow dry (a bike lube). the blaster stuff can be hard to get targeted application of, so the tri-flow is probably preferable, as you just put a drop on either the stabilizer insert or the key stem, give it a minute for the light hydrocarbon to evaporate, and then work the key a bit to spread the ptfe particles. this has resolved pretty much every M stabilizer problem i've encountered.
Would you recommend a PTFE lube over a PTFE spray? Because at my local store for such things there are plenty sprays but only one lube.
-
the blaster stuff can be hard to get targeted application
Would you recommend a PTFE lube over a PTFE spray?
You don't want to make a mess.
I have sprayed into a tiny bowl and used the liquid from there with a tiny brush.
-
Had this issue with a few Model Ms, I just lubed the slider part of the stabilizer and it worked better after that.
Also, at a quick glance this topic title can be misread as "Unicorn Problems".