Cracked Barrel Plate FUUUUUUUUU...

[hawkwind]

Chiseled of the rivets on my SSK and when pulling off the key caps discovered...




Now what do I do?

[N8N]

maybe see if Unicomp can sell you a new one for a Customizer and cut it down?  (would that even work?)

Otherwise, MY fix would likely involve epoxy and fiberglass cloth, but I was once accused on another forum of being a "notorious fixer of broken stuff."  (I don't think it was intended as a compliment, but I took it that way anyway )

[mr626]

Cry :Cry:

Order one from Unicomp?

[DaemonRaccoon]

Unicomp doesn't have SSK barrel plates. OP would have to order one for a fullsize board and trim off the numpad area.

[hawkwind]

Otherwise, MY fix would likely involve epoxy and fiberglass cloth...

If I do that what are the chances of **** hitting the fan when I start drilling holes through it? Keep in mind the drilling will be between the holes and the plastic is thicker there because of ridges.

[N8N]

If I do that what are the chances of **** hitting the fan when I start drilling holes through it? Keep in mind the drilling will be between the holes and the plastic is thicker there because of ridges.

depends how impatient you are

I seriously would call Unicomp first though.  New stuff is good.  With something like this, you probably want the plate as uniform as possible so the keys all sound/feel the same when you hit them.

[hawkwind]

The plate does rest on the metal plate, so in terms of feel I should be okay? My dad just suggested super glue. I've already spent too much money on this to get a new plate sent from the US.

[N8N]

oh, you're not in the US, I didn't notice that.  That does make a difference.

Super glue is one of those things where it either works or it doesn't.  If it is a brand new crack it might work really well.  However I would probably try just epoxying the crack first, see how it goes.  Sometimes you might be surprised.  I have some Loctite brand high strength epoxy that I actually used to glue together a floor tile after I horked it up trying to cut it - for various reasons that tile didn't get used.  My roommate was trying to break it over his leg to make shims out of it, he actually ended up breaking it at a different spot from where I glued it!

[hawkwind]

Would THIS (Loctite E-20HP) be the stuff to get? How do I put it on the crack? Just over the top or do I somehow have to get it in between?

[DaemonRaccoon]

I think it would, but it'll look funny since that cures to an off-white colour.

[hawkwind]

Well I just used some epoxy from the shed that said it worked on most plastics. This won't end well I'm guessing...

[Findecanor]

Will there not be enough bolts that it would not matter?

What kind of plastic is the rivet plate? PS and ABS can be repaired with a goo of plastic dissolved in solvent, but you will never get full strength back. It might be best to make the repair when the barrel plate is bolted on.

[hawkwind]

Bummer.  Hope you followed the instructions in my sig on how to prevent that.  Also there IS a fix if you can cut up a full size Model M like this one.

Yes, I read your guide and propped the board onto some pieces of wood. I have no idea if I cracked it or it came cracked. Should have checked it first. I emailed Unicomp about a replacement plate.
 

Will there not be enough bolts that it would not matter?
What kind of plastic is the rivet plate? PS and ABS can be repaired with a goo of plastic dissolved in solvent, but you will never get full strength back. It might be best to make the repair when the barrel plate is bolted on.

Yeah, I'm hoping the ~40 bolts I've put into the plate will make the crack not matter. Don't what type of plastic it is, has a 2 printed on it though.

[Lanx]

i would use gorrilla glue, it's awesome. currently the plastic tray of my fridge split down the middle, i used gorilla glue and it held tight for 2 years (it recently resurfaced) note, this try holds up like 10-20lbs of food daily, i'm not saying it'll work for life, but it's been strong so far. actually i really should get back to gluing it back again.

[Daniel Beaver]

I think it's fine. There are enough bolts holding it together that a crack like that doesn't really matter.

[czarek]

Yeah similar happened to my 1390131 when I was replacing springs. I glued it up with super glue and put together with bolts and it works good.

[itlnstln]

Yeah similar happened to my 1390131 when I was replacing springs. I glued it up with supper glue and put together with bolts and it works good.

Supper glue - it's sticks-to-your-ribs good.

[czarek]

Supper glue - it's sticks-to-your-ribs good.

Lol I'm not using 131 any more since I got my NIB Model M Space Saving. Feels so much better than the old clunker. Even if the old one has brand new Unicomp Springs.

[jpc]

I had a cracked mini barrel plate, and tried to reassemble it as-is. The result was a board that PINGed loudly, before that was cool. Some keys would ring the whole metal plate like a bell.

2nd try, I added glue to the crack. This had no effect on the sound.

Cutting down the barrel plate from a full size M fixed it. You can literally chop off the numpad with a hacksaw :biggrin:

The bolt pattern is the same for minis and full size boards, and hasn't changed from oooold IBMs to modern Unicomps.

[hawkwind]

Plate has multiple cracks now since I started tightening the screws and one screw didn't have a whole to go through! It would have held not for that stupid mistake. But it's all together now with new springs from Unicomp. The F row pings like hell but the rest seems pretty good. Now to stare at it and wonder why I bought it...