deskthority

Very nice! Thanks for sharing.

I have done a few partial screw mods with good results. Hopefully the controller is good. That could become a real headache.

This link on Geekhack describes some common issues. https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=88397.0

They talk about it being a rare controller.

Interesting problems to say the least. This IBM keyboard will have a few sheets of membrane that the flapper will press down on. 1985 is the oldest version of the Model M so it might be time for a tear down and inspection of the springs, flappers, membranes and so on. Specially if it's a daily use ...

Great news! Should be all down hill from here on.

My guess would be debris has found its way in there. A drill shaving could in theory get in the board doing a partial mod. Just do a complete tear down, cleaning and inspection. You tried the shortcut method which does work sometimes. I know I have done a few partial screw mods myself.

I don't bother with the bolt mod. I prefer to do the screw mod instead. Easier and don't have to fuss with all the extra parts and steps. I've done about 6 boards myself with success on all of them expect one that had bad membranes. I had to order new membranes from Unicomp and a new controller. Old ...

Welcome to the hobby.

I normally do ebay because I don't have time for anything else. Going to pay more doing it that way. People find the best deals at thrift or goodwill stores. Going to take sometime and persistence to find something good. Some of the best finds are in trash piles for free ...

Unicomp's New Model M is solid and under $200. I own a couple. Muirium defiantly has some good recommendations that meet your criteria. I even went and looked at some of his recommendations myself. Realforce peaked my interest. I personally prefer using vintage IBM Model M boards from 1985-1988 era ...

Attempted a repair on a cracked barrel plate with ABS glue and it worked out better than I thought it would.
Put it on heavy with a Q-tip and let it cure for a week before I did a screw mod. I had a major break in the center
and hair line cracks running down each channel. This barrel plate is rare ...

Chances are that Model F is going to need some work if has been used heavily. F122 are awesome boards, I own one myself but I rarely use it and defiantly don't daily the keyboard. I seem to always default to a normal Model M as my daily. You are getting a more expensive board going with the Model F ...

I have personally used Joe's replacement foam in my Model F rebuilds. No complaints here.

I went and looked up a receipt and I even bought flippers and springs on one of the orders.

If you open it up have the new foam ready. You're going to need it. Best to just get it replaced either way if you want to daily it.

Pretty much in the same boat as you Green Maned Lion. Defiantly passed the five grand mark long ago. Twenty plus different variant model Ms and Fs. I would have to do a inventory check on my stock to know the exact amount. Haha. Problem is I say I'm done then the next thing you know I'm on ebay ...

A recent board I picked up for my collection. I have a thing for business keyboards that have custom keys. This one has quite a few unique keys. Cleaned it up today and gave it a health check. Had six missing rivets but the keyboard typed and worked just fine so I just installed screws on the ...

Sounds like you have had a hell of a time with this keyboard the last few days. My guess it's more likely the keys malfunctioning than the membrane. I would look closely at the springs and pivot plates. Also check seating issues with the spring and keycap. Defiantly don't want to over tighten the ...

Ellipse wrote: 02 Oct 2025, 21:19 Major project milestone:

Today the keyboard projects passed $4 million in total orders!

Congratulations. A lot of work to get there.

Normally if there is key to give me a problem its the large shift key then followed by the enter key above it. Alignment issues. Probably more common with later Lexmark and Unicomp keys. Who knows maybe IBM keys had their issues also but had better quality control and never left the plant.

Guessing maybe heat? Does the interior of the van get warm in the summer months? I live in Arizona and temperatures could deform plastic. I have had a few keys that were never right from new. Some defect on the key that would cause issues. Normally after I get a set of keys to work with a board I'm ...

It's a rite of passage to replace the foam on a Model F keyboard. Haha.

Oh, something will come along. Nice board. I have one myself (6110344 May 85).

The sub-legends aren't as black as the numbers in your photo. I own early boards with that color variant. Later keys under Lexmark and Unicomp is when you would find all black on the keys. Wouldn't want to find those on a 131 board seeing they probably wouldn't be original to the board and had been ...

I have to agree it appears to be clean in the barrels, but the foam does appear to be breaking down on that top edge in your first photo.
Just not much to fail on these robust model F boards. Hopefully someone else might know more about this issue. Otherwise I think you might have to open it up for ...

Have you looked down the barrels to see what the foam condition is like. I own one of these myself and the foam was in terrible shape. Debris was in the barrels causing issues with the flappers. That is a common issue with Model F keyboards.

Very nice collection! Thanks for sharing.

Looks good. I like the red command keys and blue arrow keys the most.

This weekend I clean up a IBM Model M 1394412. From my research on the part number it seems to be kind of rare.
Has an interesting key layout and keys. Here some photos.

Thank you for sharing and keep up the great work.

Hopefully these keyboards can stay relevant and useful for another 40 years. Who knows what technology will be like
but I'm sure someone will interface a Model M somehow just for the hell of it.

My Unicomp Mini M was doing the same thing a few years ago but I thought that was corrected back then. What year is the board? My Mini M is a 2022. I had to send it back to Unicomp and have a controller replaced or software installed on the controller. Can't remember. Yea it's a annoying issue.

Nice collection. Haven't got into the typewriters yet and think I should just stay away. At least for now.