Last summer I picked up a well loved Model F AT so I could experience a Model F first hand. I figured I would just clean it up and put it to use with a PS/2 to USB adapter and be done with it. At the time of acquisition, it was super dirty so I jumped right in and pulled off *all* the keys. Only after all the keys were ready to be installed did I realize that you can't put the Model F AT spacebar back on without taking apart the entire keyboard! At that point, I was committed to taking the thing apart just to get the spacebar functional again, so I figured why not go whole hog.
The plan was to:
- tear down and clean the entire board
- replace the foam (you can see how bad it was in the pics)
- spray paint the top barrel plate, the bottom plate had no noticeable corrosion.
- ANSI mod the layout
- replace the controller with an xwhatsit
- add two alt keys
- use the original cables with custom adapters. The black coiled cable was in near perfect condition and I wanted to retain that in the final product.
I already had a partial Model M key set that I could use to harvest the spacebar, ctrl, atl, enter, "\" and backspace, plus other keys from. I was able to get the needed barrels and flippers and controller from some other forum members. The foam was the 1/16th inch from McMasterCarr that has come recommended in other Model F restoration projects.
As of last weekend, I was able to get everything complete and I brought this with me to the NorCal mech keyboard meetup yesterday at WASD. I took some pics along the way. Not super extensive, but should be enough to give you an idea of where I started and where I ended up.
![Another Model F AT ANSI conversion plus ALT mod 123482-0](https://geekhack.org/index.php?PHPSESSID=1ruki944mvqs7cl1vr3makmcqj61qglv&action=dlattach;topic=78540.0;attach=123483;image)
Poor quality cell phone pic before touching the keyboard
![Another Model F AT ANSI conversion plus ALT mod 123484-1](https://geekhack.org/index.php?PHPSESSID=1ruki944mvqs7cl1vr3makmcqj61qglv&action=dlattach;topic=78540.0;attach=123485;image)
After cleaning the keys and casing, you can see the corrosion on the barrel plate. I already replace the enter key with the ANSI enter.
![Another Model F AT ANSI conversion plus ALT mod 123486-2](https://geekhack.org/index.php?PHPSESSID=1ruki944mvqs7cl1vr3makmcqj61qglv&action=dlattach;topic=78540.0;attach=123487;image)
Internal label. Anyone know how to read the date code?
![Another Model F AT ANSI conversion plus ALT mod 123488-3](https://geekhack.org/index.php?PHPSESSID=1ruki944mvqs7cl1vr3makmcqj61qglv&action=dlattach;topic=78540.0;attach=123489;image)
Dirty old foam and key barrels. I have no idea how that much dirty got inside the keyboard!
![Another Model F AT ANSI conversion plus ALT mod 123490-4](https://geekhack.org/index.php?PHPSESSID=1ruki944mvqs7cl1vr3makmcqj61qglv&action=dlattach;topic=78540.0;attach=123491;image)
![Another Model F AT ANSI conversion plus ALT mod 123492-5](https://geekhack.org/index.php?PHPSESSID=1ruki944mvqs7cl1vr3makmcqj61qglv&action=dlattach;topic=78540.0;attach=123493;image)
New foam with template after cutting. I opted against buying a round die cutter and just used a sharp exacto knife. Seemed to work quite well.
![Another Model F AT ANSI conversion plus ALT mod 123494-6](https://geekhack.org/index.php?PHPSESSID=1ruki944mvqs7cl1vr3makmcqj61qglv&action=dlattach;topic=78540.0;attach=123495;image)
Trial placement of keys before installing barrels and flippers. Needed to get the placement right!
![Another Model F AT ANSI conversion plus ALT mod 123496-7](https://geekhack.org/index.php?PHPSESSID=1ruki944mvqs7cl1vr3makmcqj61qglv&action=dlattach;topic=78540.0;attach=123497;image)
Barrels installed
![Another Model F AT ANSI conversion plus ALT mod 123498-8](https://geekhack.org/index.php?PHPSESSID=1ruki944mvqs7cl1vr3makmcqj61qglv&action=dlattach;topic=78540.0;attach=123499;image)
Other side with Model M spacebar stabilizers attached. Just some scrap stainless steel glued using E6000. Tried some epoxy first, but didn't hold as well, seemed to be too brittle.
![Another Model F AT ANSI conversion plus ALT mod 123500-9](https://geekhack.org/index.php?PHPSESSID=1ruki944mvqs7cl1vr3makmcqj61qglv&action=dlattach;topic=78540.0;attach=123501;image)
Internal shot showing the custom adapters for both the micro-USB and LED indicators.
![Another Model F AT ANSI conversion plus ALT mod 123502-10](https://geekhack.org/index.php?PHPSESSID=1ruki944mvqs7cl1vr3makmcqj61qglv&action=dlattach;topic=78540.0;attach=123503;image)
Finished project with inline passive adapters on the original cable.
Notice that I also replaced the numpad with Model M keys, since I liked the brown navigation legends and wanted the bump on 5. I also replace the F and J keys with Model M keys so that i have home row bumps.
This is now my daily driver at work... until someone complains about it!
Hope you enjoy!