jmacz journey

[jmacz]

@olePigeon good luck with that other board

 

[jmacz]

Restored a PowerBook 5300c and a PowerBook 5300cs (documented here).



Recap, created new 3d parts for fixing the broken standoffs on the lid, fixed power port.

 

[LazarusNine]

created new 3d parts for fixing the broken standoffs on the lid

That’s amazing! How did you get the dimensions for the original parts in order to reproduce them with such precision?

 

[jmacz]

That’s amazing! How did you get the dimensions for the original parts in order to reproduce them with such precision?

It wasn't too difficult. Just used a pair of calipers and measured off any straight edge I could find.

 

[desertrout]

You are on a roll! Inspired by the 3D parts... something I want to learn how to do... Blender's installed, I have access to Prusa's... just need to do it!

 

[jmacz]

You are on a roll! Inspired by the 3D parts... something I want to learn how to do... Blender's installed, I have access to Prusa's... just need to do it!

I have been using AutoDesk's Fusion 360. I prefer it. It's free for hobbyists.

 

[jmacz]

From the last two weekends:

 

[jmacz]

Finished my IIfx. Finally!

jmacz Mac IIfx Project

Finally found a IIfx (part of a Macintosh lot I lucked into and picked up over the weekend). Looks like it will need some work. I have not had a lot of time to look at it so far but some observations: Exterior looks clean and in good shape. Interior also looks relatively clean and the...

68kmla.org

 

[jmacz]

Designed a replacement clip for the IIci Power Supply in case you break it or lose it. Needed this for a project I'm working on.



STL model file attached.

 

[jmacz]

Restored a battery bombed IIci (documented here).



Now back to my PowerBook power supply.

 

[olePigeon]

@jmacz lol. Did you add a little bomb to the IIci badge?

 

[jmacz]

@jmacz lol. Did you add a little bomb to the IIci badge?

Yup, sure did!

 

[jmacz]

Replaced the power jack on my 5300c with a more common 5.5mm x 2.1mm jack. (documented here)

 

[jmacz]

Finished building a power supply for my 540c using my custom made connector. (documented here)

 

[CC_333]

Finished building a power supply for my 540c using my custom made connector.

You could totally market these if you wanted to!

Fully working 500 series power bricks that don't require recapping are becoming very hard to find, and this has the potential to completely solve that problem!

c

 

[bigmessowires]

Do you repaint the cases on the systems you've restored? They look very nice. All my classic Macs look like they fell off a building onto some rocks, and were then drowned at the bottom of the ocean for a few decades, before being washed onto the beach and pooped on by gulls.

 

[jmacz]

Do you repaint the cases on the systems you've restored? They look very nice. All my classic Macs look like they fell off a building onto some rocks, and were then drowned at the bottom of the ocean for a few decades, before being washed onto the beach and pooped on by gulls.

Hahah.

For the ones I plan to keep, yes, I have been repainting them. I was originally going to retro brite but after reading some posts about potential to cause the plastic to get more brittle and that it might yellow again as time goes on, I opted for paint. The Quadra 700 and an M0401 monitor which started this this recent journey both had case damage so after repairing them with plastic weld, I had to paint those. After I saw how those turned out, I decided to paint them all going forward.

 

[bigmessowires]

Could you share what paint you're using, and what kind of brush you've used to apply it? I would think the toughest part might be avoiding visible brush strokes.

What did you do for the keycaps on your ADB keyboard? Did you paint them too and then apply new decals for the letters, or just leave them yellowed?

I don't entirely remember which machines were "platinum" and which were other shades of off-white, but if my memory serves I think the Mac 128K, 512K, and Plus were a slightly more beige color compared to the Mac SE and later systems.

 

[joshc]

I don't entirely remember which machines were "platinum" and which were other shades of off-white, but if my memory serves I think the Mac 128K, 512K, and Plus were a slightly more beige color compared to the Mac SE and later systems.

To confuse matters, there were two versions of the Plus. The earlier ones were beige and they were later changed to Platinum.

 

[jmacz]

Could you share what paint you're using, and what kind of brush you've used to apply it? I would think the toughest part might be avoiding visible brush strokes.

What did you do for the keycaps on your ADB keyboard? Did you paint them too and then apply new decals for the letters, or just leave them yellowed?

I don't entirely remember which machines were "platinum" and which were other shades of off-white, but if my memory serves I think the Mac 128K, 512K, and Plus were a slightly more beige color compared to the Mac SE and later systems.

The key caps (well at least on the AEK, AEKII, and ADB Keyboard (M0116) don't yellow. Or at least I have not seen one that does. I believe it used a different plastic? Except the spacebar... the space bar does yellow. So I leave all the key caps alone except the space bar. Yes, that does mean the keys are slightly a different color but I did not want to go through the pain of applying water transfer decals on all those keys individually.

I am using spray paint in particular to avoid brush strokes. The one I have been using is Rustoleum's Satin Stone Gray. I think Lowe's has it or you can get it on Amazon. It's a little bit darker and a has a little bit of a cooler tint than the original Apple color - I'm comparing against the key caps as well as an AEK II I have that has not yellowed (it was a new old stock that was sealed in its original box). The color is interesting as during the day, (if you're not directly comparing it), the color looks very close... but during the evening, it does look a bit darker.