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IBM Model M Keyboard

Anyone tried reassembling these things? I've got an M2 which had the common faulty capacitor problem. Caps replaced and the electronics are now working fine, but after hours of positioning springs and key caps I just reached the "start again" point.

I've been following this guide:

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I just need something to hold the springs in place while I put the two halves together. Not to mention some way to really tell if they are in the right position or not after that. Short of putting all the key caps on and _then_ finding that one key doesn't feel right.

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Reply to
Computer Nerd Kev
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Tried a tad of "super glue"?

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Petzl  
Good lawyers know the law  
Great lawyers know the judge
Reply to
Petzl

The idea is that they're free to move at the base so that the lever action works and presses the button when the spring buckles. If I glued them to the button caps, they would be sticking out underneath rather than resting in their proper position.

I need some way to pull them into the holes while I snap the two halves of the keyboard together, but all I can think of is a very big, very strong, magnet (and I don't have one).

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Reply to
Computer Nerd Kev

You could try emailing the people at

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or UniComp
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for advice.

Cheers, Gary B-)

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When men talk to their friends, they insult each other. 
They don't really mean it. 
When women talk to their friends, they compliment each other. 
They don't mean it either.
Reply to
Gary R. Schmidt

Super super magnets are on hard drives for Window 386 or pre 386

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Petzl  
Good lawyers know the law  
Great lawyers know the judge
Reply to
Petzl

No, mine still works ok.

Gravity?

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  When I tried casting out nines I made a hash of it.
Reply to
Jasen Betts

Well that's what I've been trying to use, and finding that it's not strong enough to stop the springs jumping out of position as the two halves of the keyboard case are snapped back together.

However I just thought that it might help to put some blobs of blue-tack on the end of the springs to give them a bit of weight...

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Reply to
Computer Nerd Kev

I gave that a try and either it worked or I've just found a better way of holding the keyboard while pressing the halves together. Picking Blu-Tack off 101 springs won't be a highlight of my life mind you.

All working now, except F3 where I bent the spring by putting the cap on incorrectly and (unlike the other times where I did that) can't manage to bend it back in such a way that it still buckles properly. It regsisters, but feels mushy. Still, it could have happened to worse keys.

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Reply to
Computer Nerd Kev

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