IBM 3278 Restoration

[MrDuul]

Mark me down for metal lid.

[orihalcon]

I'd be in for maybe 2-3 metal doors for future proofing, just in case

[mr_a500]

I'd like 2 of these, please.

[XMIT]

If this ever gets off the ground again I'd love a door.

Also, if anyone has scans of the *rear* manual - NOT the one under this door, but the one that goes on the backside of the keyboard - please let me know!

EDIT: Got one - thank you so much arkanoid! http://www.ebay.com/itm/112423593696

[kuato]

I'm in talks with a fabricator for the metal lid. I currently don't have a ton of free time to organize a large gb, so I'm considering of doing a mini run (depending on cost). These lids will be most likely 304 SS (.125"), laser cut and tig welded i.e. not cheap

Anyone interested?

[orihalcon]

I'd be in for 3 metal lids. Don't actually have that many of the keyboards, but hey, maybe someday, so would rather buy some extras now.

[kuato]

I'm taking the lid to the shop tomorrow to get a quote. I'll keep you posted.

[XMIT]

Yeah, let me know too. I both would like a door, and, like to fund community projects. With a metal door in hand I'm more likely to powder coat my 3278 industrial gray to match my F107, instead of rattle can painting the door and case the same color. They need to match!

I wonder if the original IBM part was plastic so that users wouldn't freeze. Wrists have a ton of blood flow going through them and when my wrists are in contact with a steel desk I freeze. Big problem in the winter, nonmetallic wrist rests really help with this.

[kuato]

Things are slow in the shop with the coming holiday, so expect an update late next week.

[kuato]

I went by the shop today to talk to the owner about doing a small run of the lids (5-10 units). They just moved to a larger location, so he has to pull the drawing from their old database and get back to me by Monday with pricing.

Now, if we want to do this in the short term he said he can have them done by the end of next week (7/21). They have a big order coming from a client that will take them about 6 weeks to complete.

Assuming the price is ~$200-300 (just throwing out a number), can we get enough people to do order a 5 unit run? Let me know.

Preliminary list based on responses: (user/# of lids)

Code: Select all

kuato - 1
mr_a500 - 2
codemonkeymike - 1
MrDuul - 1 (confirmed)
orihalcon - 3 (confirmed)
XMIT - 1 (confirmed)

[MrDuul]

I am still up for one!

[kuato]

The tech wasn't able to find the drawing for the lid, so they have to measure the part again and make a new drawing. I'll reach out to him in about two week, when things die down at the shop. I'll keep you guys posted.

[xueyao]

Hi OP? Any updates? I'm quite interested in one as well haha.

[Bass]

Wanted to bump this again because I have looked into getting some steel replacement 3278 lids. I went to my local machine shop and asked them what it would cost me, and to my horror, they said... $500 each. Absolute madness! Wondering if I should search around for other shops or if these rates are normal for this type of work. The shop said the latching tabs with the holes in them are the reason for the insane price since they make the job much more difficult.

[XMIT]

Are you joking? Must be SoCal inflation.

Look at kuato's pictures. If a shop has a water, laser, or plasma CNC cutter of any reasonable tolerance this job should be trivial. Cut five pieces from sheet stock (the lid and the four tabs), bend the lid, weld on the tabs.

I can't promise to do this any time soon but it's been a year since I've heard anything from kuato. I bet some fabricators out here might be willing to take on the job. I'll ask around.

[Bass]

Unfortunately I was not joking about that price. However I went to a few other shops today to get a better idea. The first one outright told me that they couldn't do the job but then sent me directly to another shop that was a few minutes away, and it seems like they are probably willing to do it. They haven't quoted me yet since they still need to figure some things out but they still expect it to be pretty expensive. When I told them that the other shop quoted me $500, they also thought that was insane so perhaps their definition of "expensive" will be a bit more reasonable. No idea what it will be yet but I am guessing around $200 each plus the initial cost of modeling the design which will probably be $50-$100.

I also asked them to tell me what the unit cost would be for 2 doors (which is what I personally) vs 10 to get an idea of how much I'd save if I ordered in bulk. I can't guarantee concrete pricing yet, but if anyone here is still interested I would be open to run a group buy for these if the pricing turns out to be reasonable enough. Just let me know.

[codemonkeymike]

Still interested

[xueyao]

If the pricing isn't so ridiculous I'm interested as well

Sent from my SM-G965F using Tapatalk

[adamcobabe]

I'm in for any price below $150.

[darkcruix]

I'm in for any price below $150.

Same here

[LightningXI]

So I got a 3278 and I now would love a lid like this.