Hello friends,
I finally got an old Apple IIe (non-platinum) with a couple of Disk ][ drives off ebay, and of course the seller didn't pack it well and several keys are broken off. Does anyone have or sell the keyswitches (with the stems that go in the keycaps) or just have an old broken keyboard I can buy for parts to make mine whole again?
Peter Rittwage
mailto:peter@rittwage.com
try using super glue. I have used this on a few broken keys. Just take time to align the broken key to the stalk. Of course it isn't as strong as original but most of the pressure comes from the top, so it works well if you are a little careful not to push the keys from the side.
Dave...
Those nylon key stems don't take to super glue too well. Nylon and polyethylene are the two classes of plastic that won't take the glue with any stength.
I dropped a monitor on my keyboad a month ago. So I brought a donor apple for parts on ebay. Either replace the keyboard OR take apart the keyboard and replace the appropriate switches. This task requires care and patience. You'll need fine tools like jeweler's screwdriver set or some small tipped tweazers to lift the metal sheets for the replacement. When assembling the keyboard back together, you'll need to put in some alignment pins in two of the screw holes to place it back together. Insert some of the screws and then you can remove the alignment pins you've added. Make sure you're ESD protected when taking apart and handling the electronics. Otjerwise you'll zap some ICs and then you'll in a bigger hole...
Also make sure your hands are washed and dried with no oil on your fingers. This can corrode those metal sheets in the keyboard.
Let me know if you have questions
I have stems and key caps of unknown origin, but from your description, it sounds like they could be from a IIe. Let me know if they will help and if they are from a IIe. I don't have the key switches, themselves.
Take a look:
http://www.willegal.net/appleii/forsale/appleii-forsale.htm
Regards,
Mike Willegal
Repairing Broken Keycaps
http://www.vintagemacworld.com/keycap.html
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Thanks very much for the links, but my keycaps are not broken, it's the "stems" which is part of the switches inside the keyboard. The way the Apple keys are setup on mine are the opposite of what is shown on that site.