IBM Model M Frame (1390136)

[Whiterat]

Hi All,

A long shot but worth an ask - has anyone got a good condition frame for an early model m? (with key stabilisers mounts)

Mine was snapped in 2 (along with other issues) thanks to a careless courier
I have glued it back together and whilst it's solid enough and should survive being bolt-modded, I would be happier with an intact one.

I did reach out to unicomp and clickykeyboards but unfortunately neither have any of the mk1 frames at the moment.

I did receive a generous offer from one member but unfortunately that frame was lightly cracked already, and whilst that's better than one glued back together - it's still not ideal.

Cheers,

[mind_prepared]

one thing that didn't cross my mind when we were discussing that problem earlier: why not get a replacement frame from Unicomp and salvage the retention clips for the stabilizer bars from your old frame and then just glue them onto the new one? you could also make your own out of leftover plastic or ask a friend to 3D-print the parts. It's not a complicated structure, just an L-shape clip, right?

[Whiterat]

Funny you should suggest that, I had a similar pondering last night - the clips appear to be a single piece just stuck to the frame
Interestingly as even in the grey badge circa 1989 they moved to a moulded clip for the spacebar stabiliser.

Having worked out the (exorbitant) postage from the US, it does seem somewhat less attractive...

[Whiterat]

This would be very tempting to do actually, particularly if they have the full length plastic rivets - could trim them, drill them and melt some threaded inserts into the posts then some nice chrome plated truss head bolts from the baseplate.

Do people on here ever do any kind of group-buy from Unicomp > EU to save on shipping?

[mind_prepared]

This would be very tempting to do actually, particularly if they have the full length plastic rivets - could trim them, drill them and melt some threaded inserts into the posts then some nice chrome plated truss head bolts from the baseplate.

haha, that's the spirit! you're out of your nut... if you actually did that you'd be eligible for the Model-M-restorers-badge-of-honor or something like that. What an effort!

If you contact Unicomp they might go down on shipping a bit, say $15 instead of $30 (or whatever their standard rate is for shipping to the UK). The next best thing you can try is ask blaise170 here on DT, he's proxied a batch of Unicomp replacement space bars for me before and he did a pretty good job, he's a good dude.

[orihalcon]

I have a couple early model M barrel plates, but international shipping surely wouldn't make it worth it I am guessing. Personally, I'd just superglue a clip back on, or use a barrel stabilized cap in its place.