To ask and answer several questions -
I have owned several Model Ms and perhaps one of the best of the original ones was a white label 1991 (by coincidence the first one I bought, at $45 including shipping), and then I bought a half-dozen or so more and cleaned, adjusted, and re-sold most of them on ebay for approximately what I paid for them. This left me with 3 truly top-shelf specimens to work with.
I have bolt-modded one keyboard, a 1988 model 1391401 that was excellent before, and only missing a half dozen or so rivets (10%-15% of them?) randomly spaced but more toward the middle. The first time is always a prototype, but I think that I did pretty well considering that I did it without a drill press, which seems essential for real quality. I was surprised that the ultimate difference was rather small and very subtle, considering the number of hours I invested, but I am not really disappointed. I can understand that this process could yield significant benefits in other circumstances.
This inquiry is about upgrading from the 9.3 level to the 9.7 level.
I once owned a 71xxxxx Model M with rubber domes and I promptly re-sold it and was delighted to get $20 for it. If I get another one for cheap, can I salvage interior parts that interchange, such as the "barrel plate" or whatever you call the large black or beige plastic substrate with the "smokestack" looking appendages for the springs, with an earlier 1391401 model? I know that keycaps and cords are interchangeable, and this would be yet another reason to stay in the market for mid-1990s cheapies.
My previous inquiry was about what to do with this immaculate 1390131 with a complete set of intact rivets - I have decided to stay hands-off, and not mess with it until a problem emerges. In the meantime, I am curious to tinker if the proper pieces present themselves to me.
ps - as a side note, when I log in to geekhack, I always say "remember me" but this site makes me start over from scratch every time. Is that my fault or is somebody working on it? thanks, Harry