Resources /guides for beamspring maintenance? Are there any?

[nickg]

Got one recently and I want to make sure to take good care of it. Being roughly 40 years old there's already like 3 keys that take mirginally more force to push down (but still work perfectly even in rapid fire I've tested multiple times ). So I wanna prolong it and take care of it like the (relative to the keyboard world) treasure it is. Since I doubt I'll be able be able to find another white whale at a price I can afford, and even this one took my entire years worth of kb budget xD

[Sangdrax]

Restoration is more important. Check the foam, remove and wipe down the sense PCB with alcohol, open and clean any finicky switches, tune the controller, etc. Once it's restored, the only maintenance you really need is some use parts like a set of selectric caps for daily so you don't use up the originals. Then just that and keeping it in a good indoor environment and it should be fine. I had a 3278 that was babied since 1979 and it was still nearly like new.

[adamcobabe]

Yeah, I would suggest a full restoration too. There are many good beamspring restoration logs on Deskthority. Just do a search.The main things you need to do are remove rust and replace the foam which has usually turned into a sticky tar. One suggestion that I would add is to be careful removing rust on the plates. Certain solutions will remove the rust but also remove the zinc plating, which you want to try to avoid. Also, some switches are quite difficult to disassemble. Making a jig/box of some sort to keep the parts from scattering across the room when you pull them apart is a good idea. I made one from a old electronics box with a hole in one end. Best to avoid using vise grip style pliers to pull them apart too, as they can mark the keycap mount pieces. Just use an old wire keycap puller. These will make more sense if/when you get into it. Here to help if needed.

[nickg]

Restoration is more important. Check the foam, remove and wipe down the sense PCB with alcohol, open and clean any finicky switches, tune the controller, etc. Once it's restored, the only maintenance you really need is some use parts like a set of selectric caps for daily so you don't use up the originals. Then just that and keeping it in a good indoor environment and it should be fine. I had a 3278 that was babied since 1979 and it was still nearly like new.

Restoration is done, has been since before I received it. Cost a bit extra but kept me from using it extensively before i restored it. its in immaculate shape now. Thought i think the outter rim of the foam may have been imperfect and thats why those 3 keys are not perfectly working. But that should sort itself out via gravity if thats the case.

Im on the lookout for blue selectric caps now.

[nickg]

Yeah, I would suggest a full restoration too. There are many good beamspring restoration logs on Deskthority. Just do a search.The main things you need to do are remove rust and replace the foam which has usually turned into a sticky tar. One suggestion that I would add is to be careful removing rust on the plates. Certain solutions will remove the rust but also remove the zinc plating, which you want to try to avoid. Also, some switches are quite difficult to disassemble. Making a jig/box of some sort to keep the parts from scattering across the room when you pull them apart is a good idea. I made one from a old electronics box with a hole in one end. Best to avoid using vise grip style pliers to pull them apart too, as they can mark the keycap mount pieces. Just use an old wire keycap puller. These will make more sense if/when you get into it. Here to help if needed.

Thanks! when it comes time to re-do that I may have to hit y'all up with a few questions about that