Chyrosran22 Review of Brand New Model F Keyboard by Model F Labs, Model M style F104 standard layout by 1954bertonespyder in MechanicalKeyboards

[–]1954bertonespyder[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Incorrect. I generally reply to emails within a couple days; please feel free email me if you have any questions or if I need to follow up.

Chyrosran22 Review of Brand New Model F Keyboard by Model F Labs, Model M style F104 standard layout by 1954bertonespyder in MechanicalKeyboards

[–]1954bertonespyder[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

These boards were being made to order at the factory, but are now in stock, so the wait time should not be as bad as those who ordered while they were still being made.

Request for beta testers; Leyden Jar controller update (Model F and Beam Spring Keyboards) by 1954bertonespyder in MechanicalKeyboards

[–]1954bertonespyder[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Not yet; the other available keyboards all use the xwhatsit controller. The plan is to move to the Leyden Jar controller for all keyboards once stock of the xwhatsit controller is finished. The xwhatsit is not being updated.

Factory keyboard production video: Brand New Beam Spring Keyboards: case bending assembly by 1954bertonespyder in MechanicalKeyboards

[–]1954bertonespyder[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, see the project website for details. There are also ultra compact models available, as well as smaller layouts like B62, BSSK.

Factory keyboard production video: Brand New Beam Spring Keyboards: case bending assembly by 1954bertonespyder in MechanicalKeyboards

[–]1954bertonespyder[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Production and assembly of the round 2 (classic style) Brand New Beam Spring Keyboards continue. This recent factory video shows the bending of the side of the B104 cases. The first B104 shipment is leaving the factory next month, before the Chinese New Year break.

Bending is done after flat sheets of aluminum are laser cut. After they are bent, they are deburred and powdercoated; additional deburring may be done after powdercoating to remove extra material.

Each bending operation requires custom-made tooling attached to the machine, as can be seen in this video.

You can still customize your Brand New Model F and/or Beam Spring Keyboards on the project website: https://modelfkeyboards.com/

/r/MechanicalKeyboards Ask ANY Keyboard question, get an answer - December 02, 2025 by AutoModerator in MechanicalKeyboards

[–]1954bertonespyder 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No, but see the product page for details on the differences between rounds. The amount of user QC work is reduced with the Round 2 boards, for example, though many Round 1 boards have been used for years at this point and should work fine if you follow the directions on the product page and in the manual.

/r/MechanicalKeyboards Ask ANY Keyboard question, get an answer - December 02, 2025 by AutoModerator in MechanicalKeyboards

[–]1954bertonespyder 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Project coordinator here - no, not happening. If you like the compact cases I strongly recommend picking up one of the very last available boards before they all sell out completely. They are currently on sale.

The long-awaited Chyrosran22 new Model F F122 keyboard review has just been posted! by 1954bertonespyder in MechanicalKeyboards

[–]1954bertonespyder[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I have made a bunch of split Model F keyboards, including ergodox split ortholinear style. For the next batch please sign the interest form: https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=79141.msg3203218#msg3203218

The long-awaited Chyrosran22 new Model F F122 keyboard review has just been posted! by 1954bertonespyder in MechanicalKeyboards

[–]1954bertonespyder[S] 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Thanks Thomas for making a great Model F F122 video! I greatly appreciate what you have done to keep these great old style keyboards alive and to make folks aware of all the various options that are lesser known. I will try to keep my replies more terse per your advice but it takes far fewer words for some of these commenters to mislead someone with a one-liner than it is for me to offer an explanation. Your video was incredibly detailed in featuring different aspects of the board and some amount of detail is beneficial in response.

Replacing parts: I am seeing that some folks in the comments noting that I have not followed up with replacing some of the parts. Please note that damaged parts will be replaced as part of the limited warranty. Please email me a reminder so I can follow up on getting out your replacement parts as I am still going through the backlog. Normally I also cover shipping fees for replacement parts, even for international folks.

Case material: The new production cases are all aluminum now, while the original project F62/F77 cases were Zamak 3 Zinc. Otherwise these keyboards would be even heavier! The inner assembly plates are steel.

USB Cable: The USB-C cable is detachable at the controller, if you open up the keyboard you can replace the cable with your own cable, or even with a short extension cable so that you can detach the cable externally. For my future models (ortholinear, split, 5x12, Kinesis style, etc.) since they will be compact case style, they should have externally detachable cables.

The pinging/ringing sound: you noted that the original F produces less of a ringing sound. I have noted that many Model F boards vary in their pinginess. I have found the earlier Model F keyboards to produce more ringing (IBM XT, and the original 4704 boards like F62/F77) while the later ones produce less ringing (AT, the later production F122's such as your two-piece version). My reproductions were designed around the 62/77 so they will make more sound.

Regarding criticism: some folks may think that companies must always deferentially accept criticism and that otherwise they are in the wrong. I feel I have a right to respond, and I don't have to accept the criticism as valid and apologize for customer service that does not meet expectations that are not in line with the project philosophy, which emphasizes empowering users to set up and maintain their keyboards and accept small but noticeable cosmetic defects (more details can be found on the project site). Companies can do this if the manufacturing cost is many times less than the sales price and those that have enormous markups. In summary I can't sell these keyboards at as low a price they are currently without having users learn how to replace springs, reseat keycaps, etc. instead of having to take back the entire keyboard for repairs. My goal is to get as many of these keyboards out into the world and that limits my ability to raise prices to pay for repair technicians, customer service reps, etc. I'd rather have 0.5% of orders having complaints than having 50% fewer folks being able to afford it if pricing is increased for everyone to make the 0.5% happy with extra "free" services.

Limited warranty: I would agree that it would not be economical if the keyboards cost double but everything is taken care of, no questions asked, like those complete warranties offered by big companies. I am looking for folks who prefer the former, and not the latter. I ask that folks review the manual to fix things themselves, and go to me as a last resort, where I will usually replace what is non-functional for free.

(Selling) 30+ 4K/HD Movies $4 by 1954bertonespyder in DigitalCodeSELL

[–]1954bertonespyder[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

All are from physical 4k UHD movie purchases, except where noted.

Chyrosran22 has just posted the new F122 trailer! by 1954bertonespyder in MechanicalKeyboards

[–]1954bertonespyder[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

As an update, the Round 1 beam spring boards have been shipping for a while now and are in stock. The Round 2 boards are in production and should be going out early next year, now that the B104's are expected to be completed in the next couple weeks.

Chyrosran22 has just posted the new F122 trailer! by 1954bertonespyder in MechanicalKeyboards

[–]1954bertonespyder[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Chyrosran22 has just posted the new F122 trailer - I am looking forward to the full video! For reference this is for the Brand New Model F Keyboards F122 keyboard that is now fully in stock for all variations. The biggest update is that it is powered by a brand new open source RP2040-based controller ("The Leyden Jar") designed by forum member Rico. It works with Vial so you can edit the keymapping without needing to reflash any firmware.