Model M spacebar repair

[In Stereo!]

I have a 1393669 IBM Model M made by Unicomp and the spacebar is kind of unprecise when it comes to registering the input. All the other keys are registered in the exact point/moment of the tactile feedback, but the spacebar must always be pressed to the very bottom and even in this case, it is not necessary that they key press will be registered; you must be quite decisive for it to do so.

Is there anything that can be done?

The keyboard is actually almost new -- got it NIB and after that it was used for just like a few months. And this problem was there from the very start.

[In Stereo!]

The behavior is the same with any other key. I actually tryed even to exchange the springs with another key, and it works fine over there. It must be some problem in the switches contact or something.

Edit: I was more interested in this being a know issue with this series of Model M keyboards.

[In Stereo!]

I did not. Will tomorrow.

[GenEric35]

like Ripster said, checking for rivets seems the next step, warped stabaliser is a good call too, for example my stabalisers on numpad have a natural curve in them, and if i remove the stabaliser and put it the other way around it curves in the wrong way

so you did remove the spacebar key and re-seat it right?
mine is a bit picky, once it's seated correctly it always works, if it's not seated correctly it dosent buckle at all, sometimes i have to re-seat it 7 or 8 times, then it starts working normally like all other keys and never fails, but it sounds like yours is just buckling just before it bottoms out, I seen this happen when rivets were missing near this this key but there was like 90% of the rivets missing in this case :pound:

[microsoft windows]

If I were you, I'd just take out the stablizers in the number pad. They're just a hassle to work with and don't really improve the keys' performance.

[ch_123]

I wouldn't try that on Ms that were designed to have stabilizers on the large keys. They were there for a reason.

[NewbieOneKenobi]

Incidentally, I don't like the spacebar in my M, even though it registers flawlessly. Basically, all the other keys work great, it's just the spacebar that's clumsy--I suppose it may have something to do with the different construction. Same reason why it won't be helped by soap bathing unlike other keys, which can be made to look like new. Plus, they all have a lovely click-clack sound but the sound of the spacebar is a total overkill. It does feel better without the stabiliser but it's just impractical this way. Maybe one could simply use a different stabiliser instead. Or a different spacebar. They should've used a third cylinder hole instead of the wretched metal brace.

EDIT: This thread make me think about the space bard for a while and I decided to dampen it with paper tape on the stabiliser. Not only is it quieter, it also feels more like a normal key now. Not the joy of tapping out your spaces with Scroll Lock cap but still better than before.