Complete rebuild Model F-AT & F-XT

Great video! Might be the best Model F video on YouTube. Some comments, though. I've purchased replacement foam from the same eBay seller. You don't need to trim it. If you insert the tabs on the barrel plate into the corresponding edge cutouts/slots in the foam, and then reassemble the keyboard, you'll find that the foam fits perfectly. Not too big or small. I've rebuilt/restored several Model Fs with this seller's foam... it's always a perfect fit on each project I've done. (Wouldn't surprise me if the seller is cutting these to IBM's original specifications.) Also, nice find on the protective plastic on the IBM badge! You wouldn't believe how many original owners never removed that from their keyboards. Definitely keeps the badges in A+ condition as the years go by. Thanks! Keep up your great work on these keyboards.

Great job you did again. Steven now works on 2x IBM 5150s. Greetings from Steven from the Netherlands

Very impressive! An old article on the Model M recommended a 1/4" drive deep socket, 7/32" size for servicing it. That allowed me to reach the three deeply recessed screws on that one. A deep socket is is probably not news to you but you might find it convenient to grab one and be done with it if your tolerance threshold for unnecessary annoyance is as low as mine. This may come from a childhood of having only pliers, a hammer and a few really bad screwdrivers to work with. (The good old days.) 😉

Back in the day i had a Model-F XT with my first PC (Circa 1992), didnt realise then how much these can be worth these days..... If I remeber correctly I used it with an adapter on my AT 286- 12, used it up and to my later 486 "Garage sale parts upgrade" PC circa 1996.

Regarding the spacebar, I haven't heard of them outright breaking. However, it's impossible to reattach the stabilizer bar once you remove it. There are a few methods to try and fix this. The one I came up with involves filing the tabs that grab the stabilizer bar in such a way that it's actually quite easy to re-attach. This effectively eliminates this problem and has caused me no issues. Given other methods tend to also require modification (ex: drilling holes in the barrels to fish with floss) I'd consider this a very good method. This also allows you to assemble without the spacebar installed, mitigating the other use of floss demonstrated in this video. As far as parts, Model F Labs creates entire reproduction Model F's which is cool, but they also do sell foam sheets and cork feet among other parts. So they're a useful resource. Honestly, installing the back plate was super difficult for me when I did it. I never want to do that again.

This is an excellent, educational video. Thanks for sharing.! I personally would not recommend bending the tabs (other than the one lock tab). When I originally did that on an XT, it resulted in a "dead" typing feel, for lack of a better word. You need that plate under tension during reassembly. Bending the tabs back to their exact,. original orientation, or even tighter, does not result in the same typing feel as sliding the plates together while under tension. I use small clamps on the edges of the plates to keep everything aligned, and get a second person to put pressure on the middle of the plates from both sides, while sliding them back together. It really seems to make a difference for me, but other people might not notice or care.

Beautiful work as always; love the feel of the F!

For the curly cord, if you want it to be as springy as the original, you need to invert the coil after doing the heat trick.

Very good content each week. Thankx a lot for sharing with us. Greetings from Steven from the Netherlands

Awesome video! Loved the repairs. I look forward to one day when you are fixing a Coleco Adam keyboard!

Fixing threads.... A drop of acetone and mush up the inside a bit and then let it fully dry and hard.

wow thank you, extremely helpful!!!!!!!!!

I've always just used 2 part epoxy on plastic screw holes that are cross threaded or otherwise damaged. Mix the epoxy and put a bit on the screw. Turn the screw in and leave it. Just dries in place over time.

You typed 'jumped' instead of 'jumps'. You didn't test the S key. I enjoyed seeing how those keyboards went together. Like you said, they are highly over engineered - but that's why they last so long!

After 15 years of using MX brown keys, any clicky keyboard is a challenge, even the best of the best :)

To treat the rust on the plate, you could soak it in a product called Evaporust. It won't harm the plastic, and will remove the rust without having to sand it. After a rinse and dry, you can respray.

I still have my Black Model M13. Amazing keyboard. I got a new cable from Unicomp a few years ago. 👍

The best keyboard I have ever used came on a IBM RT.

ah that's why those keyboards are impossible to find! You got them all! :) You know, I'm not sure I understand how the mechanism works? Where is the clicking coming from?

Magnificent work, as always. I'd love to do this to my Model Ms, but the cost of materials for bolt-modding is insane down here, and I can't import new membranes. Model Fs are also unobtanium, so... Cherry clones all the way for now. :S I understand that the foam isn't strictly necessary? Maybe you could test that in the future.