IBM Model M SSK Bolt Mod + Fancy Colors -- Complete rebuild!

[Trent]

So, those of you that know from following Photos & Videos that I recently obtained four pallets of keyboards (http://deskthority.net/photos-videos-f8 ... t2204.html). Within those four pallets I was fortunate enough to find a poorly treated IBM Model M SSK.





This baby needed some love... Almost all of the springs were rusted, about a third of them were bent and malformed. Using the Sandy method for replacing all of the springs wasn't enough, I knew that it needed a rebuild. Here are some images just to show how badly the screws were damaged:




Inside I found:
* Rusted corner of the board
* Lots of dust!
* And a dead flying bug (no joke)

So after opening it up and seeing all of the damage I quickly wanted to see if it worked at all, and QWERTY worked just fine so the board was indeed functional.

I bolt modded it via Ripsters Rivet replacement mod and it worked fairly well. When the instructions say a clean cut with the rivets he really means it. A dremel helps significantly with sanding if the cuts aren't clean (most of mine were horrid).




I placed brand new Unicomp springs on the board. On a side note, I notice these spring to be VERY stiff in comparrison to my main Model M and other Model Ms I have. Has anyone else noticed this? It is due to poor placement or just the fact that the springs are brand new?




So since this was a huge endeavor for me I wanted the board to look really nice! RGB shift alt ctrl, colors F1 keys, Red Esc Delete, Orange Page Up/Down the works.

The Final Product





Conclusions and concerns: Bolt mods suck, and there are one or two keys that seem to spit out two letters with one click every now and again. The one that is most noticeable is the E key, and is a bit bothersome. If anyone has advice on fixing this problem please let me know. I am hoping that is it just a new spring issue, but I could go back in and fix it (at somepoint later, because I am NOT touching those rivets anytime soon).

Future improvements: Green Insert, some kind of color for Home & End

Thanks for looking!

P.S: I have heard that you hate the colored WASD keys Ripster, got them as a test but most likely taking them off of this board.

[Grond]

A bit too many colors for my taste, but it's great to see the beaten ssk revived! Nice work.

[Icarium]

I love it! Well done!

I award you the golden trashcan for serious keyboard recycling work!

webwit can we have little awards next to the avatars?

[mintberryminuscrunch]

don't see a reason for your ghosting issues
did you fasten the screws too much, not enough?
maybe a different membrane could help
it's just weird
PS: did you sand down the bumps next to the white thingies

[Trent]

don't see a reason for your ghosting issues
did you fasten the screws too much, not enough?
maybe a different membrane could help
it's just weird
PS: did you sand down the bumps next to the white thingies

As for fastening the screws I could have done them too much, I can try to loosen them. I don't know what you mean by sand down the bumps, I didn't see that in the tutorial so I didn't do it.

[mintberryminuscrunch]

If you didn't that's good.
I remeber there were some sort of space holder aka bumps that should stay intact. On second thought they are placed around the rivets/screws...

[Trent]

If you didn't that's good.
I remeber there were some sort of space holder aka bumps that should stay intact. On second thought they are placed around the rivets/screws...

I will probably take it apart and reset the E key and see if that would help, but not until a while, as I think if I had to deal with all of those rivets anytime soon my head will explode due to insanity.

[ripster]

I recommend doing it over two days with a beer break at least once a day.

Btw Cherry MX >>> IBM in the RipOruster tests.

[Trent]

I recommend doing it over two days with a beer break at least once a day.

Btw Cherry MX >>> IBM in the RipOruster tests.

I believe in "Everything in excess (within moderation)" aka spending 7 hours finishing this up but not eating fast food.

As for the cherry MX, meh. I don't have a dedicated cherry board to work on. I am hoping to get one this summer during some massive sales and trades from the pallet work.

[Jim66]

Good work, I tired a pop-rivet mod a while ago. The rivets were too tight and they deformed the plastic.

Everyone knows; Cherry FTW.

[woody]

there are one or two keys that seem to spit out two letters with one click every now and again. The one that is most noticeable is the E key, and is a bit bothersome. If anyone has advice on fixing this problem please let me know.

Few vague advices:

Check if it's somehow related to a row/column of the matrix, i.e. whether a common trace/wire is malfunctioning. Not very likely, but anyway.
Check the membrane carefully and clean thoroughly if not already done so. Dirt and mold could result in such chattering.
Last, check the bolt fastening as suggested - AFAIK they shouldn't be overtightened.

Good job so far!

[ripster]

Always thoroughly test with just 9 bolts/nuts. I'm pretty sure you have a mushroomed rivet.

[off]

mushroom nuts.. ugh

[Trent]

I think that the bolts are too tight. Ripster from your experience should new Unicomp springs feel stiff in comparison to a used Model M with old springs?

Later today I am going to try to loosen them a bit and see what happens.

[ripster]

I dunno about "stiff". They feel a tad more "solid" and definitely less pinky. Some say they are a bit lighter, like 3-5g.

[snoopy]

very nice project....!

good that you saved that beauty from the trash

[Trent]

So after resetting the springs, I got it working well without the previous issues (e key typing twice, backspace too stiff, other keys stiff). Some of the keys feel a tad bit different but I guess that is what happens when you redesign how a board is held together. Plastic rivets sure are a different kind of force than screw with nuts.

Some of the keys are loud due to loosening up the joints. This IBM keyboard is how I like my women, loud, large, and older than me, wait that didn't come out right... Maybe it's just the keyboard I like.

To come: HQ images with better camera

[off]

So after resetting the springs, I got it working well without the previous issues (e key typing twice, backspace too stiff, other keys stiff)
To come: HQ images with better camera

Woohooooo!
(what's resetting the springs btw; pop open, fondle, close?)

[Trent]

So after resetting the springs, I got it working well without the previous issues (e key typing twice, backspace too stiff, other keys stiff)
To come: HQ images with better camera

Woohooooo!
(what's resetting the springs btw; pop open, fondle, close?)

The spring on the IBM Model M's are very fragile in terms of placement. You need to make sure they are just right and then get the rubber mat over them. The reason I find them so tricky is the fact that you have to find bookends or something similar to let the keyboard rest while placing the springs.

Also going to add on the to-do: go back and paint the screws black. I hadn't realized that I missed that step (which didn't matter anyway as I don't have black paint handy atm) but you can indeed see the metal screws at certain angles.

I may also go back to the board to loosen the screws a bit more. I think the tension I feel is mainly the fact that the springs are brand new (weird feeling!) but could be board pressure. Either way except the TODOs I would say that this is a finished product. It'll be a while before I get the other keys I wanted. I wasn't sure if it would be too much color and hesitated. Really wasn't a big deal, but I did NOT realize how stupid expensive Unicomp shipping is, $10 shipping for a $10 order that weighs as much as a feather? Is that a joke??

[Trent]

Hey Ripster,

Is there a simple way to mod something to the space saver controller so I can get LEDs for the num lock, scroll lock and caps lock? I'd drill holes in the case to add em (crude but still awesome).

[ripster]

IIRC you CAN use a standard Model M controller by adjusting the Mylar connector leftmost. Then it would be a matter of routing LEDs to the right contacts.

You'd lose embedded numpad capability which is nice for Unicode stuff.

On my iPad I don't need no steekin' Unicode.

₩£¢¥€
Ōœøõóöôò
Ęēėëéèê
Ūúüûùe
Įìīïîí

Foreigners and their love of diacritics.......

[graboy]

Very nice! I too, along with Ground, prefer a simpler color scheme, but its awesome the way it came out.

By the way, welcome to the SSK club!

[Half-Saint]

I regret not getting moar color keys years ago when Chuck was still selling them cheap

[mkawa]

the trick to keeping the hammers in place while you're building up the board is to loosely (DO NOT CLICK IN) some key stems, pref one in each corner and lay the frame with hammers on a table hammer-side-up so that the stems act kind of like table legs. then, lay the rubber mat down and start securing bolts. the trick is not to put too much pressure on the board while you do this so that you don't fully mount any of the keystems that you've put in (that will shove that particular hammer out of place)

[ripster]

I use two by four pieces of wood but there are lots of ways to do a nut/bolt mod.

Like the books in the OP.