Last weekend at a garage sale in Akron changed my whole approach to restoration

I was digging through a box of old computer junk and found a 1984 IBM Model F with a cracked case and missing a keycap. The guy wanted $5 for it, so I figured why not. I spent Sunday night carefully disassembling it and using epoxy to fix the plastic shell. Got a replacement keycap from a seller on eBay for $12. Has anyone else had luck bringing a trashed board back to life with just glue and patience?

2 comments

2 Comments

hill.hugo24d ago

Wait, did you say it was a Model F from 1984? Those are buckling spring boards but the Model F was mostly produced before 1984, the M came out around that time. I thought the F had a metal backplate and the plastic case was only on the later M models. Could it be a Model M that just got mislabeled? The M has a plastic shell that cracks pretty easily too. Either way, nice find for $5 plus $12 on the keycap. Epoxy is pretty forgiving if you let it cure 24 hours.

the_ruby23d ago

Spent three hours last night digging through a drawer looking for a spring on a Model M I found at a flea market. Lost it twice before I gave up and just jammed a paperclip in there as a temporary fix. Works fine now but I'm never opening that board again.

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