deskthority

Pretty much the title, ever since discovering that my caseless 5251 was actually a naked 5382 I am now driven to fully restoring this keyboard to its former self.
I know a carpenter who should be able to make a wooden case, but aside from eyeballing pictures he will need a rough outline on the size of the case he will need to build. Understandably I don't know the measurements as my board didn't come with one in the first place and I cannot find any info online on the units specifications, so I am hoping someone has a rough idea, or maybe, exact specifications.

I really do hope so one can help me out or at least point me to someone who may know more information, I didn't ever think I would ever get my hands on a unicorn board like this!

Found this promotional image of a rather swave office jock next to the system for additional sense of scale, still trying to find specifications

Update:
Came across a listing on eBay for the whole system/38 unit and have sent a message to the seller to see if they can get some measurements: https://www.ebay.com/itm/304470989552

I am very much doubtful I will get a reply but its worth shooting a message regardless.

Seller responded!

They sent me some images roughly detailing the the keyboards dimensions which I am planning on showing to my carpenter contact:

Muirium wrote: 07 Dec 2022, 20:33

inozenz wrote: 07 Dec 2022, 20:21

Crizender wrote: 07 Dec 2022, 14:22 Its not a 327x either - Its the module from an IBM 5382. The seller was selling the caps seperate from the board, and those were 5382 keycaps.

yeah but now basically it is just a naked 3276 still good to know !

If you can seriously make this desk, some of us may be interested in “desk kits” for ours!

I’m only half kidding. I’ve a Roland piano that sits within a desk frame instead of just plunked down on a desk top, and know how much space such a design can save. Beamsprings are crazy high, but a desk built just for them can change all that completely. Intriguing…

It is something I want to make a reality, but the project will live and die on what my carpenter friend can do. I should know by the end of the weekend weather its feasible or not.

As for "desk-kits" that's certainly an interesting idea! But I am not too sure how you would standardise it for other boards as the desk is shaped around the key clusters (I.e a 5251 beam-desk wouldn't be shaped around 3 key clusters but 2 instead).

However, if multiple new designs can be done for each beamspring layout its certainly doable. Would need specifications on the size of different boards though to make sure that the mounting plate is correct. But the most question is how would a kit be done?

This project will be very much bespoke, but if the quote I get is cheap enough I may be able to talk my friend into making a small batch of desks, but I imagine postage will be a killer to ship these things out, and that's assuming if there will be enough interest in these things to begin with. A flat pack style thing could be done, but it would still be a lot of DIY and certainly not as easy as an ikea desk.

Update and roadmap

My carpenter friend cannot work with the project due to working constraints and the holiday season being in full swing. But while he cannot help me in constructing the case it has not deterred me from this project.

I have decided that my best course of action will be to design the case digitally and then source a manufacturer to 3D print it. I have used Fusion 360 in the past for small side projects, and while I am an amateur at best I believe I am confident enough to use it to design a case. On top of this, because it is CAD I could potentially seek to not only 3D print the design but also get it milled/laser cut, but I can only imagine how much the production cost would be!

Once designed I will be releasing the project files publicly for people to use or modify and, who knows, maybe do small batch runs of the entire case. I only really intended this topic to be a request for help but now I see it has become a glorified dev blog now!

My next post will probably be my design for the beamspring mounting plate as the keyboard has to be sloped and the case has to be shaped around the key clusters. I doubt this will catch many peoples interest, but if anyone has any other beamsprings I would be happy to design alternative mounting plates to fit around them. Because the 5382 is a glorified 3276 and 3279 the mounting plate will be cross compatible between the 3 models.

However, the following models will need to have a custom mounting plate:

• 3278

• 3604

• 3741

• 3767

• 4978

• 4979

• 5100

• 5251

• 5252

• 5253

• 5281

All I would need is measurements of the beamspring metal housing by width, length and depth (with and without keycaps) and measurements of the keycap cluster area and spacing to ensure the case can fit around them. However suffice to say my priority currently is the 5382 as this is a restoration project at its core.

Once the mounting plate has been finished I intend to design the sloped section that fit around the keyclusters, then the rest of the housing as 3 modular sections to help with 3d printing and to adjust to the different lengths of other beamspring layouts if I get to design alternative mounting plates. If once I have finished this project I don't get burned out or move over to another project, I may also design some brand new case designs for a bit of fun. After all I think everyone can agree that a F107 style beamspring would be pure filth!