Just finished a labor of love - 4 months of woodwork, soldering, and testing to get a hyperaccurate Byte Shop case, Datanetics keyboard, and Sanyo monitor.
Highly recommend the process for anyone interested in the Apple 1!
A few replication tips:
- Found accurate Byte Shop case measurements on the Science Museum of London’s website. I’d be happy to share the Fusion360 file for those interested.
- I used Sapele wood, which has a similar color and grain of the original and extraordinarily expensive Koa, with a Tung Oil finish.
- Bending the 1/4” Sapele ply for the keyboard face required a dado blade to make a wider-than-you’d-think kerf to get a nice round bend without it cracking. Incredibly, the original cases bent with the grain, which is why some have cracks today. A little hot steam goes a long way, and tons of wood glue to support the bend after it’s dry.
- The keyboard PCB is Mike Willegal’s amazing work. Highly recommend Corey Cohen’s updated build guide.
- The keyboard encoder is the incredible brainchild of Joe from Joe’s Computer Museum. Thanks Joe for the help in getting it going!
- The grey key caps were sourced from a period accurate Datanetics keyboard used at Bell Labs.
- Found a broken Sanyo on ebay and had to recap it, repaint the front bezel, and remake the aluminum label panel. I have extra panels for sale on eBay if anyone needs one.
- Highly recommend P-Lab’s wifi board. I was able to get ChatGPT running through a simple telnet service, which continues to be a trip. You’ll need Claudio’s riser board to fit the case.
- When in doubt, Uncle Bernie’s reliability mods are key! They’ve saved the day multiple times.
- Cole Rise
Highly recommend the process for anyone interested in the Apple 1!
A few replication tips:
- Found accurate Byte Shop case measurements on the Science Museum of London’s website. I’d be happy to share the Fusion360 file for those interested.
- I used Sapele wood, which has a similar color and grain of the original and extraordinarily expensive Koa, with a Tung Oil finish.
- Bending the 1/4” Sapele ply for the keyboard face required a dado blade to make a wider-than-you’d-think kerf to get a nice round bend without it cracking. Incredibly, the original cases bent with the grain, which is why some have cracks today. A little hot steam goes a long way, and tons of wood glue to support the bend after it’s dry.
- The keyboard PCB is Mike Willegal’s amazing work. Highly recommend Corey Cohen’s updated build guide.
- The keyboard encoder is the incredible brainchild of Joe from Joe’s Computer Museum. Thanks Joe for the help in getting it going!
- The grey key caps were sourced from a period accurate Datanetics keyboard used at Bell Labs.
- Found a broken Sanyo on ebay and had to recap it, repaint the front bezel, and remake the aluminum label panel. I have extra panels for sale on eBay if anyone needs one.
- Highly recommend P-Lab’s wifi board. I was able to get ChatGPT running through a simple telnet service, which continues to be a trip. You’ll need Claudio’s riser board to fit the case.
- When in doubt, Uncle Bernie’s reliability mods are key! They’ve saved the day multiple times.
- Cole Rise
