I am a writer and a copy editor by trade; I spend a lot of time typing. Also, I recently went back to the computer for gaming. As a result, I've been spending a lot of time thinking about my ideal keyboard: something robust, tactile, and just a little bit flashy, with extra keys for custom macros and n-key rollover.
I grew up with an IBM Model M, but ever since college, I've been using a laptop with the typical rubber-dome laptop keys. I recently got fed up with the mushy Dell computer at my office and replaced it with another Model M, which I love... but which is lacking the fourth modifier key that is oh-so-important for Macs, and which has a game-killing 2-key rollover.
After trying out a number of different types of keyboards, I decided that I definitely like the feel of buckling springs better than any of the variants of Cherry MX or ALPS switches I could find. I like the higher actuation force, as I can actually rest my hands on the keyboard without accidentally mistyping. And I like the strong tactile feedback, as well as the fact that the actuation point and the reset point are exactly the same. Buckling spring keyboards also tend to last several times longer than their Cherry or ALPS counterparts.
Kentucky-based Unicomp continues to make the Model M under a different name, their keyboards are both unsightly and are useless for gaming due to the limited rollover.
To get what I wanted, I had to go older.
The Model F, made before the Model M, employs buckling springs but uses individually traced capacitive switches for each key, rather than a cheap membrane. As a result, it has n-key rollover. It's also built like a damn tank, and while most versions of the Model M cannot talk to modern computers, hobbyists have built a drop-in replacement for the controller board that both makes it USB capable and allows for firmware remapping.
The latter is important, because what we think of as the "standard" keyboard layout was invented for the Model M. As a result, no variant of the Model F follows the ANSI standard, since it didn't exist yet.
The most common variants are the 83-key XT keyboard and the 84-key AT keyboard. Somewhat less common are the 107-key and 122-key terminal models, and a handful of other business and industrial variants.
I opted for the 107-key model, as it most closely resembles a standard ANSI layout, and thus would be the easiest to adapt. It also has a solid steel case; most Model Fs have a steel bottom plate but a brittle plastic face.
So, I bought an IBM Model F-107 and an xwhatsit controller, and set to work.
For reference, this is what the keyboard would have looked like originally. Clearly an industrial model, not marketed to consumers. The two banks of keys that correlate to what we think of as the number pad and the navigation keys, as well as the lefthand F-keys, were actually blanks with paper-insert labels, which could be assigned to whatever function was needed for the specific system to which it was connected.
It begins! Here is the Model F, disassembled, as I received it. Note the chipped paint on the case and the heavy oxidation on the switchboard.
The xwhatsit USB controller takes the place of the stock controller.
Here is the top panel, stripped all the way down to the base metal with sandpaper, a scraper, and some Citristrip. This got about 95% of the paint off; I sanded the rest off by hand after this picture was taken.
And yes, that is solid steel. Just this panel weighs about as much as an entire Model M. The entire assembled keyboard is between 11 and 12 lbs.
The case: cleaned, stripped, primed, and painted with a satin black.
Next, I masked the top shell and applied a metallic paint to the accent ridge. You can see all three painted pieces together in the second shot.
Then I applied a glossy enamel finish. I did this to protect the paint, but I kind of regret it... I think I preferred the matte look. If it still bugs me after a few weeks, I can always strip it down and repaint it again >_<
Painstakingly tracing and removing the cutouts for each of the key wells. The foam goes between the switchplate and the switch assemblies, and serves both to dampen the noise and to protect the circuit board from shorting out on the steel switchplate.
The 30-year-old original had crumbled to dust, so I had to craft a new one. It doesn't have to look pretty; it just has to let the key wells through.
After the foam is fitted to the back of the switch plate, the switches are assembled. Each key well is fed through the back of the switchplate, and the foam helps hold it in place. Then, a spring-mounted keyswitch is dropped into each well.
After the keyswitches are assembled, the capacitive sensor board and its steel backing are mounted to the back of the switchplate and the keycaps are added. Note that one spring (the one for the PD 1 key on the righthand side) is missing; I'll have to order a replacement for that key to work.
All of the keys except for the ones in the main bank are just blank stems; IBM used a two-piece assembly, where all the stems were the same and the key caps snapped on over top. Also note that since it was made for a business terminal, the layout isn't exactly standard. I'll be changing that later.
Here it is, fully assembled! I'm leaving the stock keycaps in place for the moment while I explore other options.
One option is to get a set of Datamancer (or fabricate similar) typewriter-style keys; the downsides to that are that I'd have to make stem adapters for each key myself, and that the round typewriter keys tend to leave a lot of unsightly gaps between the keys.
A second option is metal keys. Aluminum or steel might look nice; unfortunately, the only metal key caps I can find online are zinc, which tends to tarnish and look gross with regular handling.
A third option is to order some custom IBM-style key caps. They'd retain the same shape, but I could specify the font, symbols, and colors used. Or I could just "borrow" the black key caps off my M13 to keep it black on black.
The final option is to leave it as-is. That's not going to happen. If I were being purist about this project, I wouldn't have repainted it in the first place. At the very minimum, I want to adjust it to something more closely resembling ANSI standard layout. It's got 107 keys, so even though the layout won't let me EXACTLY mimic a normal keyboard, I should still be able to cover everything and still have a few keys left over for custom macros. The internal controller lets me change the layout internally (once I figure out how), so I've got a lot of flexibility in this regard--just need to get the appropriate key caps.
One thing I would want to do is swap around the cmd and opt keys, though it looks like you'll need new keycaps made to do that.
Just PM me for details and we can go over options and pricing.