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Author Topic: Completed one of my Model M projects today  (Read 3307 times)

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Offline fohat.digs

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Completed one of my Model M projects today
« on: Sun, 15 January 2012, 18:44:46 »
Having bolt-modded a few of these classics, I have gotten a pretty good feel for the "tricks of the trade" and where the pitfalls lie.

My goal is to end up with 2 Model Ms for myself: a super-heavyweight and a super-lightweight. Today I completed my "Super Heavy Weight" contender.

A few months ago I bought a very nice 1390131 on ebay. It was not badly used, and seemed to be in good condition throughout. The square aluminum badge was in perfect condition. It has been sitting in the garage waiting for me.

When I took it apart, I saw that the black "barrel plate assembly" or whatever you call the large plastic tray that holds the keys, was cracked slightly, longitudinally, in the numpad area. I had been planning to fix that with some sort of reinforced glue/epoxy repair, but a few weeks ago I happened upon an early-90s M, with missing stuff, at a cheap price. Opening it up, I found a beautiful solid beige barrel plate and decided to substitute that one for my project.

Fellow Geekhacker "demik" sold me some Unicomp keycaps and springs, so now I had all the optimal pieces for my project: case, plate, and electrics from the 1986 original, plus a clean solid barrel plate (I took great care in the shaving and drilling process) with my preferred bolting pattern, and a set of almost-new Unicomp spring/hammers.

After assembly and testing (always a couple of kinks to work out), I got out my roll of rubber padded drawer liner (from Target) and carefully lined the interior of the case, plus rolls and stuffing where I could fit it in (and, it took some hand pressure to make the case all fit together!).

I had tightened the plate modifying nuts by holding the socket itself in my fingers and twisting until just the first bit of resistance was overcome. I don't have a torque wrench, but I would guess that I was not applying more than a few ounces (100 grams?) of torque, just enough to nicely "snug up" the nuts, and no more.

I knew that I had done the "non-destructive" sound deadening as well as I could, and I had decided not to "floss" this specimen.

The sound is quite tolerable, even without flossing, even I am surprised at its solid, but low-key projection. This a "clicky" keyboard < BUT NOT > a loud keyboard.

Using US nickels for a quick and dirty Rip-O-Meter test, it seems that I am in the 75-80 g range for most of the keys I tested. I am surprised that it is not lower, and perhaps a little disappointed, but this keyboard is so absolutely "BAD-ASS" that I will not complain. If my fingers get tired I will get out my Leopold Cherry blue.

If I were not so utterly spoiled by my Model F 122-key terminal conversions, I might be tempted to rhapsodize as to this being the "ultimate" buckling spring keyboard experience. Otherwise, I am extremely happy with this board, and satisfied that it was worth the effort.

Special thanks to Ripster and Sandy for their clear and coherent instructions, that set me on this path nearly a year ago.
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"Starting in 2011, the deficits again started to shrink. During Obama’s term  the deficit was reduced by $900 Billion  before finally in 2015 the GOP managed to wrangle a “reconciliation” bill out of Obama where he again cut corporate taxes, as well as made permanent some of George W. Bush’s original tax cuts. This is the year everything reversed. Before this, under Clinton, Bush and Obama the deficit in almost every year was gradually decreasing. The balance we had of taxes and the economy was bringing the deficit down, the money coming in was slowly catching up with the money going out until 2015. Trump’s subsequent tax cut has continued the new trend even after the rest of Bush’s cuts have since expired. Obama had an average GDP of 2.3%, with 11.6 million jobs created and unemployment peaking at 10% in 2009, then falling to 4.3% in 2016. If we had continued on that downward deficit track, we would have again reached balance and another surplus in 2017-2018.
– Frank V Walton 2025-07-01

Offline SmallFry

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Completed one of my Model M projects today
« Reply #1 on: Sun, 15 January 2012, 20:13:54 »
Pictures please! This sounds right up my alley for eventually for my 122 M.
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Offline fohat.digs

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Completed one of my Model M projects today
« Reply #2 on: Sun, 15 January 2012, 20:54:18 »
I did not take pictures of the inside, and the exterior is dead stock.

OK, soon I will open it back up and show the dirty inner secrets.

I intended that this be a simple post, I don't know how it ended up so grand.

Never have figured out how to change titles and types.
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"Starting in 2011, the deficits again started to shrink. During Obama’s term  the deficit was reduced by $900 Billion  before finally in 2015 the GOP managed to wrangle a “reconciliation” bill out of Obama where he again cut corporate taxes, as well as made permanent some of George W. Bush’s original tax cuts. This is the year everything reversed. Before this, under Clinton, Bush and Obama the deficit in almost every year was gradually decreasing. The balance we had of taxes and the economy was bringing the deficit down, the money coming in was slowly catching up with the money going out until 2015. Trump’s subsequent tax cut has continued the new trend even after the rest of Bush’s cuts have since expired. Obama had an average GDP of 2.3%, with 11.6 million jobs created and unemployment peaking at 10% in 2009, then falling to 4.3% in 2016. If we had continued on that downward deficit track, we would have again reached balance and another surplus in 2017-2018.
– Frank V Walton 2025-07-01

Offline fohat.digs

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  • Posts: 6535
  • Location: 35°55'N, 83°53'W
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Completed one of my Model M projects today
« Reply #3 on: Tue, 17 January 2012, 19:18:39 »
I think I over-did it with my drawer liner padding inside the case.

Although I got quite a bit of sound deadening, the keys seemed a little stiff. I had packed the case to the point that I had to squeeze it in order to make it close and bolt it shut. I think that I was putting undue pressure on the curved metal plate, and possibly making the hammers bind a bit.

I took out the drawer liner and replaced it with a single layer of felt, and I trimmed it short of the tabs at the front, so that the internal assembly slid into place without force.

The whole thing seems a little more relaxed now, and my crude approximation of the Rip-O-Meter indicates that my force has declined from a solid 80 g to somewhere between 70-75 g. It feels lighter, and the sound has not changed much.

So, be prepared to adjust your internal padding to get it just the way you like it.
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"Starting in 2011, the deficits again started to shrink. During Obama’s term  the deficit was reduced by $900 Billion  before finally in 2015 the GOP managed to wrangle a “reconciliation” bill out of Obama where he again cut corporate taxes, as well as made permanent some of George W. Bush’s original tax cuts. This is the year everything reversed. Before this, under Clinton, Bush and Obama the deficit in almost every year was gradually decreasing. The balance we had of taxes and the economy was bringing the deficit down, the money coming in was slowly catching up with the money going out until 2015. Trump’s subsequent tax cut has continued the new trend even after the rest of Bush’s cuts have since expired. Obama had an average GDP of 2.3%, with 11.6 million jobs created and unemployment peaking at 10% in 2009, then falling to 4.3% in 2016. If we had continued on that downward deficit track, we would have again reached balance and another surplus in 2017-2018.
– Frank V Walton 2025-07-01
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