IBM boltmod done in Germany or within EU?

hKing

22 Aug 2015, 19:49

Hi there,

are there some members here in Germany or within the EU capable of doing a complete (proper and clean!!!) boltmod? I know there is phosphorglow and his incredible work, but I don't want to ship it to the US and wait too many weeks :D

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scottc

22 Aug 2015, 19:50

I know that Half-Saint used to do them (and apparently a damn fine job, at that) but I haven't seem him active in some time. He's not in Germany, though.

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seebart
Offtopicthority Instigator

22 Aug 2015, 19:55

I know that Madhias can do that but again he is not in Germany and I don't think he offers it as a service. There are really good guides in our workshop section though:

http://deskthority.net/workshop-f7/ibm- ... bolt%20mod

hKing

22 Aug 2015, 20:04

Thanks, but I can't do that myself. I'd destroy my Model M ;)

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idollar
i$

22 Aug 2015, 21:02

hKing wrote: Hi there,

are there some members here in Germany or within the EU capable of doing a complete (proper and clean!!!) boltmod? I know there is phosphorglow and his incredible work, but I don't want to ship it to the US and wait too many weeks :D
I could do it ... perhaps
PM in your way ...

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fohat
Elder Messenger

22 Aug 2015, 23:59

Somewhat tangential to the topic, but there is a disconnect between buyers and sellers of bolt-modded Model Ms.

I have sold (or tried to sell) at least half a dozen bolt-modded Ms (in the US, for whatever difference that makes) and rarely have I gotten significantly more than the going price for a comparable ordinary used Model M.

Given that the process is fussy and time-consuming (theoretically you can do it in an hour, although I take the opportunity, while the beast is dismantled, to thoroughly clean everything and check and adjust all the hundreds of parts to ensure that they are all working properly and harmoniously) and quite often, even with experience, requires complete dis-assembly and re-assembly at least once, buyers are rarely willing to pay for 2-3 hours of labor, even at minimum wage rates.

Plus, there is the $10 or so of hardware that must be bought (ordered, most likely) and this takes time and money, too.
Plus packaging, transportation, and postage for the return leg of the trip to the end user, of course.

All-in-all, I would consider a bolt-mod to be a $50-100 process, at least, in terms of skilled labor, materials, time, etc, in addition to the price of the keyboard itself.

For a few months, last winter, Ezrahilyer (in Florida, USA) was doing a brisk business in refurbished bolt-modded (or, more likely, screw-modded) Model Ms with internal Soarer's Teensies for about US$125-150 but that dried up.

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RoastPotatoes

23 Aug 2015, 00:06

fohat wrote: Somewhat tangential to the topic, but there is a disconnect between buyers and sellers of bolt-modded Model Ms.

I have sold (or tried to sell) at least half a dozen bolt-modded Ms (in the US, for whatever difference that makes) and rarely have I gotten significantly more than the going price for a comparable ordinary used Model M.

Given that the process is fussy and time-consuming (theoretically you can do it in an hour, although I take the opportunity, while the beast is dismantled, to thoroughly clean everything and check and adjust all the hundreds of parts to ensure that they are all working properly and harmoniously) and quite often, even with experience, requires complete dis-assembly and re-assembly at least once, buyers are rarely willing to pay for 2-3 hours of labor, even at minimum wage rates.

Plus, there is the $10 or so of hardware that must be bought (ordered, most likely) and this takes time and money, too.
Plus packaging, transportation, and postage for the return leg of the trip to the end user, of course.

All-in-all, I would consider a bolt-mod to be a $50-100 process, at least, in terms of skilled labor, materials, time, etc, in addition to the price of the keyboard itself.

For a few months, last winter, Ezrahilyer (in Florida, USA) was doing a brisk business in refurbished bolt-modded (or, more likely, screw-modded) Model Ms with internal Soarer's Teensies for about US$125-150 but that dried up.
I bought a Model M for £80 a while ago and then sold it for £80 after bolt modding it. I have also done my SSK which was even more time consuming as it was not very clean and the traces were a bit brown.

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idollar
i$

23 Aug 2015, 00:52

fohat wrote: Somewhat tangential to the topic, but there is a disconnect between buyers and sellers of bolt-modded Model Ms.

I have sold (or tried to sell) at least half a dozen bolt-modded Ms (in the US, for whatever difference that makes) and rarely have I gotten significantly more than the going price for a comparable ordinary used Model M.

Given that the process is fussy and time-consuming (theoretically you can do it in an hour, although I take the opportunity, while the beast is dismantled, to thoroughly clean everything and check and adjust all the hundreds of parts to ensure that they are all working properly and harmoniously) and quite often, even with experience, requires complete dis-assembly and re-assembly at least once, buyers are rarely willing to pay for 2-3 hours of labor, even at minimum wage rates.

Plus, there is the $10 or so of hardware that must be bought (ordered, most likely) and this takes time and money, too.
Plus packaging, transportation, and postage for the return leg of the trip to the end user, of course.

All-in-all, I would consider a bolt-mod to be a $50-100 process, at least, in terms of skilled labor, materials, time, etc, in addition to the price of the keyboard itself.

For a few months, last winter, Ezrahilyer (in Florida, USA) was doing a brisk business in refurbished bolt-modded (or, more likely, screw-modded) Model Ms with internal Soarer's Teensies for about US$125-150 but that dried up.
I agree completely with you. The process takes time and normally a couple of attempts before the final assembly works. Cleaning the caps takes and the case takes time (I clean and dry each keycap one by one !), not to say the effort that takes to save the stickers.

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hammelgammler
Vintage

23 Aug 2015, 01:37

Oh yeah, i know what it takes to clean the keycaps from 3 SSK one by one per hand. Very time consuming, but it seems to be totally worth it. The Model M that i own looks like keycaps got put in a dishwasher or so, the texture is totally not rough like on my SSK. A so much better felling when it's rough!

hKing

23 Aug 2015, 19:19

hammelgammler wrote: ...
Please check your inbox ;)

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