deskthority

So I decided, in all of my infinite wisdom, to powder coat the barrel plates of my IBM Model F AT. Turns out, at 400 degree Fahrenheit, the stabilizer clips melt into tiny blobs pretty quickly.



Is there any coming back from this?

My options, as I see them now are: adding a spring in ever barrel (will this even work? I'm guessing it'll feel weird, but I have a few extra so I can try this), or finding something similar to solder on to these spots to mimic the same functionality.

Well if you used different caps you could just use in barrel stabilizers.

Are there certain types of caps that are compatible, or is that a stupid question? Are model m caps an easy replacement?

Barrel stabilizers are not as great for vertical purposes. Try to make some stabilizers by hand and glue them to the keyboard, I think Fohat or someone else did that in order to use a model M spacebar inside a model F. I have like 4 spare pairs, but the shipping from my country would kill your wallet just for some plastic pieces.

Yep, agree with the above, easiest solution would be just to get a parts model M 101 key and use the "in barrel" stablizer inserts and the keys that go with it. I usually like to preserve the wire stabilizers as they might feel a little bit smoother in the end, but seems like a good compromise in this situation. You won't have the big-ass enter anymore though, but seems many prefer the ANSI layout anyway. Hindsight is 20/20, but I usually recommend taking the stabilizers out before doing any kind of painting and then putting them back in afterwords.

My single experience with powder coating a barrel plate wasn't so great as the actual powder coating thickness made it so that the barrels would no longer fit in the plate, though I've seen others do it just fine, so perhaps was just the local company I used maybe putting on more coating than was needed. Yours, at least, is quite salvageable by doing the above as others have mentioned.