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Apple II keyboard repairs. Plastic parts?

C

czunit

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Aug 7, 2015
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Have been restoring a pair of Apple IIe's that have been around pretty much forever. Both come up (one is a platnium, the other is an early model IIe) however both have at least one key broken at the stem.

Is it possible to take the key switches apart and replace that part? I have a 3d printer and have been getting pretty good at fabricating things. Thingiverse has a part that is like a hat, but it leaves the key sticking up too far, which isn't optimal.

Thoughts?
 
yes. Taking the switches apart is how you clean and fix corrosion when they dont work. As far as new plungers, I swear I saw some 3D print plans online but I can gurantee it will take alot of sanding it make them smooth. Just remember the IIe (for the most part) uses tall stem plungers.
 
I just acquired a big pile of IIe's with the same problem (all long stem SMK switches) and I'll probably try to 3d print the stems. This looks like a pretty nice how-to of the disassembly and replacement:

There's at least a couple different versions of the files out there:
www.thingiverse.com

Apple IIe SMK style keystem by joelgraff

This is a replacement keystem for Apple II e long SMK keyboards. This has been designed and tested using a Lulzbot Mini2 printer. Printing accuracy may vary with other machines and some adjustments may be necessary. You can buy them from my online store at...
www.thingiverse.com www.thingiverse.com
www.thingiverse.com

Apple II keyboard - SMK Long Stem by option8

Replacement keyboard switch post or stem for Apple IIe. This part replaces the stem in an SMK "long stem" keyswitch, Apple part #s 705-0081, 705-0084, and 705-0082. See the images for more details, or archived Apple documentation here...
www.thingiverse.com www.thingiverse.com

Is this the little "hat" fix you tried? https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:5527086
I wanted to try that as well - did you remove the remainder of the cross at the top of the stem to make it flat, and the key still stuck up too far?
 
did you find the Alps 3D print files as showin in the top youtube image in the left in white (tall and short)? I could use the Tall files as I have a MAcintosh first gen keyboard I need to repair.
 
Ok, I desoldered two of the switches and took a look. Desoldering is simple with wick and a 640f iron, I put a bit of new solder in first to alloy what's there, then just soaked it all up with braid.

Broke one of the switches figuring out how it came apart, but they look simple. Now trying a print of the SMK long stem in PLA. Trying it in PETG at 220 did not work well, but PETG is a bit more complex to work with.
 
Looks like printing the stems at 101% size (tiny bit bigger) on a Creality 3pro printer works pretty nicely. Keys stay on the top, switch works smoothly, and no sanding needed. I'm guessing a blow to the key off axis could break the bond but to be honest I shattered the factory plastic with the same amount of force.

So, we'll replace them and see. I broke the tab on one switch, but crazy glued it back on, we'll see how it looks in 24 hours once the glue has dried.
 
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