Regarding the XT foam: Besides almost everything being an exact reproduction of the original, even with the same type of foam material and similar dark gray color, there were two changes made – one, the removal of the vestigial foam covering part of the attached controller, and two, the pin registration holes were changed from 1/8″ to 3/32″ to provide an ever so slightly tighter contamination shield for the PCB. Therefore the foam is not an exact duplicate of the IBM XT foam.
Note:IBM used a couple different materials for the foam. This listing uses one of those types. Other IBM foam was a type that proved to be "crumbly" and would disintegrate over time - this one is the one that is the type that survives nearly intact after decades inside an IBM XT keyboard. The foam sometimes has many "rough/excess" parts of a little extra material inside the holes when there was not a clean cut. By ordering foam you accept that each foam piece will have small, but noticeable, visible defects that in no way affect the ability to use the foam. You will have to spend time to remove these holes manually before you can use the product.
Additional note: this item from the Brand New Model F Keyboards project is sold at a significant premium on in order to cover the additional fees. All types of foam are currently in stock. When you buy on you are paying a premium for faster shipping within 1-2 business days (will ship by USPS First Class mail with a tracking number).
Check out my other listings for various Model F parts that work with the originals, with IBM's beam spring keyboards, as well as the reproduction Model F keyboards.
***Proceeds from this listing will help cover the significant project cost overruns (more details on the project web site blog). Over 1900 Brand New Model F Keyboards have shipped so far. Thank you to everyone who has supported the project! There is still time to customize your Brand New Model F Industrial F77 or F62 Kishsaver.