Yet another IBM 5251 restoration

pansku · 02 Feb 2018, 19:09

And now that the case has been washed it was assembly time.

The top case sure adds a lot of heft to the typing sound when using the solenoid. This project has also taught me that beam springs are very very sensitive switches. When I assembled the switches I noticed that not all of the springs which are riveted to the slider were 100% flat. Now I can feel each and every one of those non perfect switches when typing.

: From the top; IMG_20180202_194733.jpg (2.98 MiB) Viewed 928 times

: From the side; IMG_20180202_194725.jpg (3.19 MiB) Viewed 928 times

The controller is also super sensitive and I have to jam an old keycap to put pressure on the connector. That way all the rows and columns get recognised. I still have to come up with a plan to retrobright the keycaps but other than that I think I'm finally done

I watched one video where the guy uses vacuum packing machine to enclose the caps in the H2O2 solution and puts the bags in a pot with a sous vide machine at 50°C. I will try that one I meet someone who has the packing machine. I also have to retrobright my Acer 6012 to give it a new look but that will have to wait till summer. There is hardly any UV light here during the winter at 60°60'N and it's cold so the retrobrighting would take a lot longer than the sun shines.

Now I just feel a little empty inside. I have acquired all the keyboards I want and don't know what to do. The super rare stuff like SE/FI layout beam springs with colored caps, NIB beam springs and SKCM Blues and stuff like that I don't think I'll ever come across in my life

For the record I now have :

Spoiler:

I'll end it with a typing demo. I'm sorry but the video sucks just listen to the sound.

Heikkonen · 25 Dec 2019, 15:37

I dont know how i didnt come up to this than just now. I appreciate the efforts on your restoration

If you still have typing test vid,feel free to pm me a link,your yt links doesnt seem to work anymore.

I actually had to put some thin plastic slices to prevent wobbling on stablizers on spacebar. Did you have similiar issues? The dirtshield on my model originally did the same thing but since it was too crispy and had to be removed.