IBM 3741 Data Station / System 3 Barn Find

__red__ · 22 Nov 2017, 01:53

Get that keyboard in yo!

JP! · 22 Nov 2017, 01:57

I should have the rest of the parts I left in storage this week.

OldIsNew · 22 Nov 2017, 02:51

JP! wrote: ↑The desk after paint

Awesome job - very professional looking. That has to be one of the coolest things EVER. Going to be a pretty sweet setup for sure!

DustGod · 22 Nov 2017, 09:41

Beautiful!

flowerlandfilms · 22 Nov 2017, 11:13

...wow...

mike52787 · 22 Nov 2017, 16:36

This is beautiful. I like many others would love to replace my boring old desk with this

Myoth · 22 Nov 2017, 22:42

I'm still salty I can't have the one in Paris, I really really am frustrated, seeing this restoration brings me to be sad.

digital_matthew · 02 Dec 2017, 16:18

Well this just looks awesome. I love the idea of the keyboard being integrated into the desk (especially a beam spring), and the overall look and color scheme. Now you got me looking for/building a similar looking setup for my workstation. Thanks for the thread!

paecific.jr · 10 Dec 2017, 01:35

Wow! That's looking really nice!

JP! · 13 Jan 2018, 04:36

It's Alive!

JP! · 13 Jan 2018, 04:50

I plugged it in and I typed stuff. I spent a good chunk of my free time this week sonic cleaning parts, oiling springs, ptfe lubing the sliders, making new foam, finding parts and assembling. I still have a few finishing touches but this is a good milestone for me.

New foam.

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Two by two, hands of blue.

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Naked. Notice the upside down z

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//gainsborough · 13 Jan 2018, 05:51

wooooaaahhhhh That looks super clean! Did you punch the holes in the foam? Looks fantastic, dude!

Techno Trousers · 13 Jan 2018, 05:55

Awesome work. I'm looking forward to seeing it all together.

JP! · 13 Jan 2018, 06:14

//gainsborough wrote: ↑wooooaaahhhhh That looks super clean! Did you punch the holes in the foam? Looks fantastic, dude!

Yep, I used a 15 mm? hole punch.

Techno Trousers wrote: ↑Awesome work. I'm looking forward to seeing it all together.

Spoiler:

seebart · 13 Jan 2018, 07:31

JP! wrote: ↑I plugged it in and I typed stuff. I spent a good chunk of my free time this week sonic cleaning parts, oiling springs, ptfe lubing the sliders, making new foam, finding parts and assembling. I still have a few finishing touches but this is a good milestone for me.

New foam.

Looks fantastic! A rare gem even in the world of Beamsprings!

Cattus_D · 13 Jan 2018, 10:58

This is such a remarkable project. Thank you for the latest update!

OldIsNew · 13 Jan 2018, 15:16

Excellent! Really great save - I was looking back at some of your first pics of this - you probably could have planted a small garden in the amount of dirt that appeared to be in that thing when you found it!

digital_matthew · 13 Jan 2018, 16:28

The solenoid sound must really resonate through that thing.

//gainsborough · 13 Jan 2018, 18:49

JP! wrote: ↑
//gainsborough wrote: ↑wooooaaahhhhh That looks super clean! Did you punch the holes in the foam? Looks fantastic, dude!
Yep, I used a 15 mm? hole punch.

Techno Trousers wrote: ↑Awesome work. I'm looking forward to seeing it all together.

Spoiler:
IMG_2574.JPG

The wingnut is a nice touch! That's the beginnings of a great "battlestation"! Do you plan to hook it up to a computer and monitor?

JP! · 13 Jan 2018, 19:22

digital_matthew wrote: ↑The solenoid sound must really resonate through that thing.

I imagine that it will be quite loud. Maybe it will resonate through the walls so the neighbors can hear it

I've have not hooked this solenoid up yet .

//gainsborough wrote: ↑ The wingnut is a nice touch! That's the beginnings of a great "battlestation"! Do you plan to hook it up to a computer and monitor?

Beamstation prototype:

Spoiler:

digital_matthew · 13 Jan 2018, 21:19

JP! wrote: ↑
digital_matthew wrote: ↑The solenoid sound must really resonate through that thing.
I imagine that it will be quite loud. Maybe it will resonate through the walls so the neighbors can hear it I've have not hooked this solenoid up yet .

//gainsborough wrote: ↑ The wingnut is a nice touch! That's the beginnings of a great "battlestation"! Do you plan to hook it up to a computer and monitor?
Beamstation prototype:

Spoiler:
I think I should tell my employer that the office does not meet my ergonomic needs therefore I will need to work from home.
beamstation.JPG

Tell them you have Unelevatable Wrist Syndrome (totally a real thing xD ) and that you need a special "droopy desk" to accommodate it.

DustGod · 13 Jan 2018, 22:58

JP! wrote: ↑
Beamstation prototype:

Spoiler:
I think I should tell my employer that the office does not meet my ergonomic needs therefore I will need to work from home.
beamstation.JPG

ＩＣＡＭＥ．

Sangdrax · 14 Jan 2018, 20:41

Fantastic restore. Is it strange that I find the most impressive bit was you sourcing the old connector bits and fixing that insane metal rot near the feet?

//gainsborough · 14 Jan 2018, 20:46

I just realized - did you repaint the bottom part red?

Phenix · 14 Jan 2018, 21:07

did i really oversee the pics everyone talks about??

Could someone please link me?

seebart · 14 Jan 2018, 21:13

Phenix wrote: ↑did i really oversee the pics everyone talks about??
Could someone please link me?

Hit the spoilers further up the page in JP!s posts.

Phenix · 14 Jan 2018, 22:35

seebart wrote:
Phenix wrote: ↑did i really oversee the pics everyone talks about??
Could someone please link me?
Hit the spoilers further up the page in JP!s posts.

oversaw the spoiler for some reason dammit.
thanks! :thumbs:

Menuhin · 14 Jan 2018, 23:37

JP! wrote: ↑...

Beamstation prototype:

Spoiler:
I think I should tell my employer that the office does not meet my ergonomic needs therefore I will need to work from home.
beamstation.JPG

Talking about ergonomic, assuming you're going to sit on that luxurious classic Aeron chair, it seems that only the recessed Beamstation keyboard meets the ergonomic requirement, all other keyboards being at least 10cm too high; the middle of the screen should be at the level of the top of the speakers, now the screen are approx. 20cm too high.
You can easily crank down the desk level.

Interestingly, more and more people are getting height-adjustable standing desks, at least I have seen them among my colleagues, especially when they don't have to pay for that.

vometia · 15 Jan 2018, 02:04

Menuhin wrote: ↑Interestingly, more and more people are getting height-adjustable standing desks, at least I have seen them among my colleagues, especially when they don't have to pay for that.

I tried that for a few weeks: got a workbench out of the garage and made "stilts" for it out of square-section aluminium tubes. It worked quite well; unfortunately my knee did not and I'm not sure it ever fully recovered from the experience...

Menuhin · 15 Jan 2018, 03:30

Those standing desks they requested to have cost north of 1000€, and can be electrically adjusted in a few seconds with a button press. Well, some of them ordered them just less than 1 year they planned to leave for another job.

I was first skeptical about standing desk because the first person I know doing that was a postdoc who never finished a project and who could never convey his ideas completely or clearly for audience of any level, and then went on to start a startup that is not making money. I always thought he is just escaping the high unemployment rate from his south European home. When I visited his home for a party, I found his work space has no chair - it was a standing desk setup, and he had more than 3 or 5 keyboards, some ergo lying around. I thought, "Such a crazy work setting..." (In hindsight, I have a number of keyboards and keyboard kits that I lost count now...)

Not until I had heard from some colleagues who did research for the US army that standing desk is becoming a real thing to improve work efficiency did I start taking the standing desk setup seriously. While standing desks may not be suitable for people who have knee injuries or who are recovering from one, I am a fan of ergo chairs (kneeling chair, and leaning stool) and regular exercise to minimizing neck and back pain.

- The Canadian government suggested that the desk should be at 5cm below elbow height for computer users:

Some quite good infographics:

Spoiler: