My one handed bolt mod is complete, and I want to thank you all for your assistance and suppport. Drilling 50 tiny holes in the plastic plate and reassembling went smoother than I expected. I ended up using my cordless drill to complete that drilling, the dremmel to slightly hollow out the rivet heads to keep the drill bit from wandering, and my power screwdriver to insert the bolts. (It worked for me.) All in all it took about two and a half hours to complete. I am very happy with the results. The only thing I did differently is that I put some locktite on the bolts to keep them from working lose later. I didn't have any trouble with crossthreading either. It all went rather well. I was a bit aprehensive about taking all of the layers apart, but I'm so glad I did. There was something spilled on it some time ago and left a stain on the plastic membrane with the circuit board. After cleaning gently, it all looks like new inside and out. In fact, I'm using my M to type this.
As I stated before, I wonder why IBM didn't plan that part of the keyboard's construction better so that these modifications don't need to be done. Does Unicomp still manufacture their boards using that system of plastic rivets?
I am still considering the purchase of a Unicomp keyboard, but I am concerned about that phase of assembly.
Just out of curiosity; what keyboard would you all recomend that would have close to the same feel as the M? I especially like the weight of my model M because it doesn't move around as much on my desk as I type, so the heavier the better. I have read threads regarding different switch typs and feel, but after a while it just get's confusing to me. Is there something that will have the weight of my vintage M and still have the tactile and audio quality? Remember too, that I am not a touch typist. I use my hands like a touch typist does, but I still have to kind of watch what I'm doing on the keyboard.
Thanks again. You all R O C K ! ! !
