I still use ancient Logitech ball mice, three button plus scroll wheel, tethered to a USB-A connector. They drive half a dozen linux computers around my home and office.
Over the years, two mice have lost their bottom glides AKA skates AKA "mouse feet"; thin low-friction teflon/PTFE shapes adhesively attached to the bottom surface. These missing feet are crescent-shaped, about 1.5 inches long and 0.7 inches wide from "base to horns" of the crescent. Ebay vendors sell glide repair kits for some newer gaming mice, perhaps $6 from China (weeks away). They do not sell the curvy front and back glides used on my venerable Logictech M-U48a mice. DIY time. I purchased a ten foot roll of 3/4 inch wide, 1/32 inch thick adhesive-backed "slick strip" tape from Woodcraft Supply, which arrived today. The material is normally used on the bottom edges of wooden drawers to help them slide smoothly. Inspired by https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-lKxyEfI0Lg , I photocopied the bottom of the crippled mice, cut out the paper strips corresponding to the glides, and scotch taped them as templates over the slick tape. I then used sharp scissors to cut and trim tape+template to match the shape of the missing glide; I couldn't find my sharp hobby knife, which would work better. I rounded the edges lightly with a fine file; a nail file or emery paper might work better. After a new glide was shaped, I removed the paper covering the adhesive surface, and pressed the new glide onto the cleaned surface on the bottom of the mouse. It Works Great, though the adhesive may fail in time. That leaves me with 9.5 feet of tape, enough to make MANY more mouse glides. When Linux Clinic resumes, we should schedule a "mouse orthopedic" session to make glides for the rest of you with missing mouse feet. We will need a photocopier for that project, or develop an equivalent method to create an exact 1:1 paper image of the mouse bottom. Keith -- Keith Lofstrom [email protected]
