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Author Topic: Model M - front legend black keys and case mod  (Read 3109 times)

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Offline XMIT

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Model M - front legend black keys and case mod
« on: Sun, 01 February 2015, 17:28:46 »
I've been working on this one for a while. I started with a regular old Model M 1391401 and vinyl dyed the top and bottom cases a satin black several years ago. (It took a really long time - weeks, maybe months - for the case to stop smelling like organic compounds, the vinyl dye had some solvents that took a really long time to settle.)

Maybe a year and a half ago I ordered black Unicomp keys for the board. At the time I did not realize that I would need new stabilizers (black ones) for the numeric keypad '+' and "Enter" keys. I tried to drill out an existing spare stabilizer. Instead I went through the membrane and destroyed a trace. The membrane is certainly repairable with some silver paste but this just delayed things further.

Well, I finally got a chance to do a full bolt mod to the keyboard and replace the membrane with a spare. The old, damaged membrane will go toward my homebrew Model M SSK project. I've seen another mod where someone just folded the existing membrane into the keyboard case. That just seems wrong to me so I'd like to use silver paste to make a "proper" membrane that I can then cut short.

Finally, I decided that I wanted front mounted legends on the keys. I don't have access to screen printing equipment or anything of the sort. So, I just purchased a set of key labels through Amazon, cut them to size, and painstakingly applied them to every single key. I wonder if Unicomp would ever sell front-printed keys, and/or if I could find another manufacturer to do front screen printing?

Anyway, here is the result. Forgive the low quality photos; it has been a long weekend.

89437-0
89439-1
89441-2
89443-3
89445-4
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Offline fohat.digs

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Re: Model M - front legend black keys and case mod
« Reply #1 on: Sun, 01 February 2015, 18:32:28 »
You can get the IBM with the trackpoint to provide pad-printed black keys.
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Offline TacticalCoder

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Re: Model M - front legend black keys and case mod
« Reply #2 on: Sun, 01 February 2015, 19:15:09 »
Quote from: fohat.digs on Sun, 01 February 2015, 18:32:28
You can get the IBM with the trackpoint to provide pad-printed black keys.

You're talking about the black M13... But sadly the white lettering on the black M13 wears out very quickly and OP said he wanted front-printed keys :(

The black M13 keys are nice on a keyboard you're not really using: I've got mine on an industrial Model M hooked to a secondary PC which I hardly ever use.

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HHKB Pro JP (daily driver) -- HHKB Pro 2 -- Industrial IBM Model M 1395240-- NIB Cherry MX 5000 - IBM Model M 1391412 (Swiss QWERTZ) -- IBM Model M 1391403 (German QWERTZ) * 2 -- IBM Model M Ambra -- Black IBM Model M M13 -- IBM Model M 1391401 -- IBM Model M 139? ? ? *2 -- Dell AT102W -- Ergo (split) SmartBoard (white ALPS apparently)

Offline XMIT

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Re: Model M - front legend black keys and case mod
« Reply #3 on: Sun, 01 February 2015, 19:34:03 »
Unicomp provided M13 style printed-on-black keys for a time about 13 years ago. They stopped providing them because the legends would wear away. These key sets had the advantage of not having modified keycaps for a Trackpoint in the G/B/H keys.

Though top mounted legends are my preference, front mounted legends are interesting too, and "good enough". Moreover front mounted legends by design just last longer. So, printed front legends for these keys would be fine with me, and they would last a very long time.

Sure, I can also buy a brand new Unicomp board with a black case and blank black keys. I prefer the older (1st-3rd generation, detachable cord) Model Ms. They seem to have thicker case plastics and/or a thicker base plate. They just seem more solidly built (really just heavier).

So, if anyone is curious to see what a black/black Model M with front side legends looks like - see above!
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Offline 0100010

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Re: Model M - front legend black keys and case mod
« Reply #4 on: Sun, 01 February 2015, 21:41:42 »
Nice - looks great!

Unicomp will dye sub front legends, but only on non black keys.
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Offline rowdy

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Re: Model M - front legend black keys and case mod
« Reply #5 on: Mon, 02 February 2015, 04:00:48 »
Looks great!

Any plans to invert the colours on the badge and the indicator light surround?
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Offline XMIT

  • formerly jsoltren
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Re: Model M - front legend black keys and case mod
« Reply #6 on: Mon, 02 February 2015, 06:02:43 »
Inverting the badge colors is an interesting idea. I'm not quite sure what printing process the original manufacturers used for them. It looks to be a dye screening process printed to the back of a piece of textured clear plastic. If I can figure out a way to print a convincing looking label then then perhaps.

I know Unicomp does offer a replacement indicator light panel. I just don't like the look of the icons they use.

One thing I wish I had done differently is to remove the labels and paint under them as opposed to masking them off as I did. Even with carefully cut masks some paint bled under the labels. Another is mask the back know sides of the indicator. That did get some paint and I had to scrape it away. As for the entire bolt mod next time I will try recessed head screws from the plate side without washers instead of pan head screws from the barrel side with washers. The screw heads interfered with the stabilizers on numeric keypad keys and without screws there the barrels were misaligned resulting in poor key action.

I do wonder if, instead of thick decals, I could obtain super thin model aircraft style glue-in-place decals. Those would look slightly better.
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