Hey - so I had a bit of a water issue at my apartment. Long story short, several items got wet including my Model 100. I quickly took it apart to dry it out as soon as I could, but now I’m having trouble fitting the wooden shell back on! I’m not sure if the wood getting wet made it shrink or expand in some way. It’s had a few weeks to dry out at this point so it shouldn’t be actively wet still. Any tips on how I might get this thing back together?
I had to replace the back cover on my right side due to a manufacturing defect, the mounting hole wasn’t tapped, and these things are not easy to get back together. In the end I found putting the RJ45 port in their place and slowly working around applying significantly more pressure than I felt was safe got it back in. I wish you luck, but these things are tougher than I thought they would be to reassemble.
I’ve disassembled and reassembled at least the left half of my Model 100 numerous times in the course of doing hardware debugging. I’ve found that there are places where the interior of the wood enclosure rubs against the sheet metal of the key switch plate enough to grind away the stain to some degree, and definitely produces a lot of friction during reassembly. I suspect that the clearances are a little too tight in a few places, especially when considering environmental dimensional changes in the wood.
I’m sorry to hear about your water issue and the trouble you’re having with your Model 100. It’s possible that the wooden shell has expanded or warped due to the exposure to water, causing it to not fit back on properly.
One thing you could try is to gently sand down any areas where the wooden shell seems to be rubbing or catching as you try to put it back on. Sanding can help to remove any excess material that may have caused the shell to become misshapen due to the water exposure.
Another option could be to use a hairdryer on a low heat setting to gently warm the wooden shell. This could help to soften the wood slightly and make it more pliable, allowing you to manipulate it back into place.
If these methods don’t work, you may need to consider taking the Model 100 to a repair shop where a professional can assess the damage and potentially make any necessary repairs or replacements.
I hope this helps, and I wish you the best of luck with your Model 100
I took mine apart the other day and also had trouble getting it back together. But I found a good solution. I took a file and lightly beveled an edge of the plastic base — the one that meets the edge of the wooden shell — between the cutout for the RJ45 connector and the corner of the case nearest the Shift key. Then, when fitting the base into the shell, I put the opposite corner (the one under the palm rest) in first, and pressed in the beveled edge last. It was easy. They should mold them that way.