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geekhack Community => Keyboards => Topic started by: ch_123 on Mon, 02 November 2009, 12:07:40

Title: How do you remove the top plate on a Model M?
Post by: ch_123 on Mon, 02 November 2009, 12:07:40

Title says it all. By plate, I mean that of the keyboard assembly itself - so basically the black plastic part that has all the barrels for the keys on it. Do I need to break off plastic rivets or what?

Title: How do you remove the top plate on a Model M?
Post by: itlnstln on Mon, 02 November 2009, 12:13:33

I don't know for sure, but IIRC, I do think you have to break the rivets.

Title: How do you remove the top plate on a Model M?
Post by: ch_123 on Mon, 02 November 2009, 12:25:45

Unfortunate. Fortunately I have a defunct Unicomp which I might use for guinea pig practice.

Title: How do you remove the top plate on a Model M?
Post by: itlnstln on Mon, 02 November 2009, 16:26:21

Of all the cost-cutting measures they could have taken, I wonder why they went the plastic rivet route.  They could have used metal rivets and still saved money.  That said, if metal rivets broke, they would be a lot harder to fix.

Title: How do you remove the top plate on a Model M?
Post by: ch_123 on Mon, 02 November 2009, 17:30:01

The best route would have been to replace the membrane with a hard PCB mounted on the back plate, and have the two sides of the plate slide together using metal tabs.

Oh wait... that's the Model F... =P

Title: How do you remove the top plate on a Model M?
Post by: JBert on Tue, 03 November 2009, 12:43:20

Hey, my model F AT still has its foam intact. Also, it doesn't do that much although it might dampen some sounds.

Title: How do you remove the top plate on a Model M?
Post by: ch_123 on Tue, 03 November 2009, 12:50:48

Besides, it's not as if Foam is a scarce and rare material if it needed to be replaced.