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In this article I describe repairing an IBM 029 keypunch that wouldn't punch numbers. Keypunches were a vital component of punch card computing, recording data as holes in an 80-column card. Although keypunches have a long history, dating back to the use of punch cards in the 1890s, the IBM 029 keypunch is slightly more modern, introduced in 1964. The repair turned out to be simple, but in the process I learned about the complex mechanical process keypunches used to encode characters. Keyboard o...