IBM Soft Touch Model M mod - has anyone tried this?

[XMIT]

Has anyone here tried making their own Soft Touch Model M?

I have a giant tube of Super Lube silicone grease with PTFE, a grease gun, and an extra barrel assembly sitting here. I'm tempted to try it. But, before I go and ruin a perfectly good barrel assembly by stuffing it full of grease, I'd like to see if anyone else has tried this, and whether or not they might recommend it.

Anyone?

[fohat]

I bought a Model M on ebay a couple of years ago for about $10-$15 that someone had ruined that way.

I peeled it apart, threw the flippers into the garbage, cleaned it, bolt-modded it, and had a nice keyboard.

Whatever grease you use has to be soft enough to not do much to the feel, yet be firm enough to stay in the springs indefinitely. So think long and hard about leaving it outside in that Texas sun!

[XMIT]

fohat, did you just happen to have a bunch of replacement flippers and springs, then?

I have a couple of spare Model F barrels and Model M flipper and spring assemblies. Perhaps I'll make a few testers and see how they hold up.

I would use this stuff, which is pretty common for, say, greasing stabilizers to avoid rattle.
http://www.super-lube.com/synthetic-mul ... zp-49.html

The manufacturer claims: "will not run, drip, evaporate or form gummy deposits, and will not melt or separate". This seems ideal. I haven't seen Super Lube do any of these things in the times that I've used it - has anyone else? Maybe I'll leave some out in the sun for a few weeks to see what happens.

[lot_lizard]

I actually am in love with Break-Free CLP. I originally started using on my guns years ago, and have since upgraded its use to many things with moving parts where no residue is desirable (dries leaving thin PTFE film). I have used on my springs to prevent rust and provide lube, but the PTFE layer there is so thin that it has ZERO impact on feel or sound. I have tried in the past to build up layers with it, but that product just doesn't work that way (it's a cleaner foremost, and any application mostly removes the previous Teflon layer).

My experiences with thicker compounds like grease are the same as Fohat, but I haven't ever used something that "dries" without residue like PTFE would. The traditional lithiums are a globby mess. This sounds interesting what you are trying, but if a true grease, thinner the better. If mostly PTFE, the thicker the better I would think (within reason) since it is "residue-less".

Coating the springs with permanent lube has been something I thought about for a while and never made headway with. I can say though that PTFE (aka... Teflon) is incredible stuff. Interested in your results

[XMIT]

Lithium grease - aka lithium soap - will dry into a horrible sticky mess and is a great way to ruin springs. That sounds like bad news.

Again, what I'm proposing, "Super Lube Multi-Purpose Synthetic Grease", is a medium to heavy weight silicone (100% synthetic) grease with PTFE. This is a very easy item to source here in the US.

Catalog: http://www.super-lube.com/files/pdfs/su ... atalog.pdf

I'll update this thread with more updates later. I'm thinking that I'll do a control of: no grease, light grease, heavy grease, test the sounds and the feel, and leave them outside (but covered) for a while to see what happens to the grease. When I leave the setup outside I will also leave a line of just grease to see what happens over time.

Certainly, once this stuff goes in, it will be very difficult to get it out. What I'm hoping is to establish a procedure where, with a precision grease gun, you can just squeeze some amount of grease into a spring, perhaps smear it around with a toothpick, and get good sound damping without much change to the actuation force. If successful, this would work equally well for Model F keyboards.

[fohat]

fohat, did you just happen to have a bunch of replacement flippers and springs, then?

Yes. hundreds from several Ms that I have butchered.

[lot_lizard]

While you are doing controlled testing, it would be interesting to try a permanent coating like Cerakote as well. It is something I have considered for a while, but never got around to. If it is even possible, the effects could be intriguing

[ohaimark]

Or a rubber spray coat with higher elasticity.

[XMIT]

While you are doing controlled testing, it would be interesting to try a permanent coating like Cerakote as well. It is something I have considered for a while, but never got around to. If it is even possible, the effects could be intriguing

You mean, Cerakote on the inside? It works fantastically for keyboard shells:

photos-f62/cerakote-ceramic-powder-coat ... 11573.html

[XMIT]

Or a rubber spray coat with higher elasticity.

Again, not sure if you mean on the inside or the outside. I'd rather leave the insides of the barrels alone since the tolerances to the stem of the key cap are pretty tight.

[ohaimark]

I was thinking of covering the spring itself. Might have some pretty bizarre results if paired with lube. Or if only half the spring were sprayed.

[XMIT]

Well, fortunately, I have plenty of junky old barrel frames that can contribute to experiments, so sure, I'll try some things out. Eventually.

[lot_lizard]

You mean, Cerakote on the inside? It works fantastically for keyboard shells:

photos-f62/cerakote-ceramic-powder-coat ... 11573.html

I was referring more to the spring itself (like ohaimark). If done properly, the coat can be very thin (~.2 mm), which would account for coil spacing even on the tighter F. There are alternatives, but the idea would a thin coated permanent lubricant (hot dipping, whatever).


Again... No idea if this is viable or not (may flake... God knows), but a cheap test for a handful of springs.

Teflon coating the barrel is interesting as well. For keystem glide as much as anything.

[ohaimark]

I've used Teflon dry lube in barrels with excellent results.

[XMIT]

Long term update: after several years the sample switch tester I created with this grease on the spring is still holding up great! Next time I'm up for a bolt mod I'll try the whole board!

[depletedvespene]

Long term update: after several years the sample switch tester I created with this grease on the spring is still holding up great! Next time I'm up for a bolt mod I'll try the whole board!

I think I'll be sending you a Model M keyboard so you can do "further tests".

I mean, I will be testing if this mod would make the Model M acceptable in an open office plan.

[XMIT]

Haha. You are welcome to send me a keyboard! The shipping will be prohibitive! It would be cheaper for me to send you the grease.

I have plenty of Model Ms here to donate to the cause. This has been on my back burner since ... 2016?

[depletedvespene]

Haha. You are welcome to send me a keyboard! The shipping will be prohibitive! It would be cheaper for me to send you the grease.

The keyboard is closer than you think.

Also, it may be an ISO keyboard in need of a bolt mod anyway...

I have plenty of Model Ms here to donate to the cause. This has been on my back burner since ... 2016?

Jokes aside, how long is the list of "things I'd like to do/try" each of us has? I joined DT in July 2017, and my own list (which does have items going back all the way to 1991) does nothing but grow. And that is only considering keyboard stuff!

[ZedTheMan]

I just got a spare F XT Module I'm going to make a project of. XMIT, what was your form of application that worked out well?

[XMIT]

Just a toothpick but I was working on a flipper and spring assembly that was out of the keyboard. You just want to coat the coils of the spring, not fill it. I'll see if I can get some photos to make it more clear.

[E TwentyNine]

Long term update: after several years the sample switch tester I created with this grease on the spring is still holding up great! Next time I'm up for a bolt mod I'll try the whole board!

Is that with regular use or just sitting around unused?

[XMIT]

Mostly unused, admittedly, but my big concern was hardening or running of the lubricant over time.

Simulating a million or so strokes takes a drill, a jig, and a month.