This project it is just amazing that someone wanted to put the time into building a better keyboard for such a retro machine.
I know this will horrify some as they want retro rigs to be OG and preserved in amber for all time. Perhaps, as I was an Atari 400 owner first, I put this notion in my rear view when I upgraded the keyboard on that atari so that I could write better ASM/Action code before I got 800 and 800xl later in life.
For any Commodore, Apple, Atari, these computers sold in the zillions; there are plenty of decaying originals. They rot over time; if you want to keep using them, you have to replace the power supply; recap the motherboard; the case will generally have yellowed and if you want it to not look nasty you have to do something about it -- retrobrite, paint, total replacement. It's always going to trend to a ship of theseus situation unless you want to encase it in an unlit vacuum forever as an object to occasionally think about but not interact with. And if you want to use it and you have to make changes anyway, why not make it more pleasant to live with?
I do want to still replace the membrane/backplate inside the keyboard with low-profile switches as I did to my PC-6001mkII (https://www.leadedsolder.com/2024/11/26/pc6001mkII-keyboard-...), but that involves a lot of picky measuring for mounting holes, outlines, key switches, etc and you can tell from the article that accurate measuring is not one of my strongest suits :)
I probably just need to stop hanging around snobby retro enthusiasts who brag how they have a VAX 11/780 in their basement with OG parts salvaged from other Vaxen? Vaxii ?