c/custom-keyboard-builds

12

grant.margaret•4d ago

Wasted $50 on a cheap keycap puller and regretted it instantly

I bought a plastic wire keycap puller off Amazon for $5 thinking it would do the job, but it snapped on my third key and scratched the stem of a $50 GMK set. An elderly guy at a meetup in Portland showed me his $12 steel wire puller from a local shop, and I just ordered one on his advice. Has anyone else had a cheap tool ruin a good keycap set?

7

jordan184•7d ago

Tried a hotswap PCB after swearing by soldered builds

I was dead set on soldered boards for like 2 years. Thought hotswap was just for people being lazy. Then last month at my desk, I was trying to swap a switch on my solder board and the pad lifted right off. Took me 10 minutes with a desoldering pump and it still looked terrible. Picked up a cheap hotswap board from a local meetup in Portland just to try it. Now I get why people like them. I can swap switches in 30 seconds without worrying about frying anything. Still like soldered for the feel but I'm not gonna pretend hotswap is bad anymore. Anyone else have a moment where they changed their mind about a keyboard thing?

14

lisa_brown•8d ago

Found a 1990s keyboard catalog in my dad's garage

I was cleaning out my dad's garage last weekend and found an old computer parts catalog from 1994. The thing that surprised me was a Cherry G80-3000 keyboard listed for $180 back then. That's like $380 in today's money. Makes my $120 custom build seem like a bargain. The switches were listed as 'MX Black' with no mention of any other options besides blue or brown. Funny how we complain about switch prices now when people were paying way more for a basic board 30 years ago. Has anyone else come across old pricing for vintage keyboards that made you rethink modern costs?

21

cora562•8d ago

Took me 6 hours to fix a stuck spacebar on my first build

I built my first mechanical keyboard last month and the spacebar was sticking like crazy. I kept thinking it was the stabilizer alignment, so I pulled it apart and put it back together three times. After 6 hours of messing with it, I found out the switch plate was slightly bent near the spacebar cutout. Has anyone else dealt with a hidden issue like that on a build?

2

grant.margaret•9d ago

TIL my $200 keycaps were actually just painted ABS, not doubleshot PBT

I was showing off my board at a meetup in Portland last weekend and some guy just casually points out my caps are worn shiny on the WASD keys after only 4 months. I thought I bought doubleshot PBT from a legit seller but I dug up the original listing and sure enough, the fine print said "dyed ABS." I feel so stupid for not reading closer. The seller had good reviews too so I just assumed. Now I have to decide if I want to replace them or just live with the glossy look for a while. Has anyone else gotten tricked by misleading keycap listings? What do you check for now before buying?

7

stella279•9d ago

My desoldering pump broke mid-build on a 60% board yesterday

I was about 30 minutes into fixing a bad solder joint on my DZ60 build when the rubber tip on my Engineer SS-02 just split in half. Had to run to Micro Center in Portland to grab a different pump, which is like a 40 minute drive. The new one works fine but it's bulkier and doesnt fit in my tool drawer. Anyone else have a desoldering pump fail at the worst possible time?

20

mitchell.wade•10d ago

Just realized my keycap puller was scratching every single switch

I was swapping caps on my tofu60 build last night and noticed these tiny little scuffs on the housings of my gat yellows. Turns out the cheap plastic ring puller I've been using since 2022 has a sharp burr on the inside edge. Grabbed a wire puller from keebsforall (the $8 one) and zero damage, full contact. Anyone else find out their basic tools were secretly wrecking their boards after months of use?

1

reed.ray•10d ago

Hot glue gun trick destroyed my space bar switch last weekend

I was trying to stabilize a loose stabilizer wire on my new build and used a hot glue gun to tack it down. Glue dripped into the switch housing and seized the stem completely. Killed a brand new Gateron Black within 30 seconds of my dumb idea. Had to desolder the whole thing and replace it, took me about an hour of cleanup. Anyone else ever ruin a switch with a quick fix gone wrong?

8

kim.dylan•11d ago

Finally figured out why my spacebar was rattling so bad

I mean, I’ve been building keyboards for like 8 months now and always just assumed a rattly spacebar was normal for budget builds. Last week I rebuilt my third board and decided to actually look up why my spacebar sounded like a maraca. Turns out I was putting the stabilizer wires in backwards the whole time. The wire was supposed to snap into the plastic housing clip thing, not just sit on top of it. I felt so dumb when I watched a video and saw the guy do it right in like 2 seconds. Fixed it on my old board and the difference was night and day. Has anyone else had a moment where you realized you were doing something basic completely wrong for months?

10

thomas_wright41•11d ago

Swapped from Gateron Blacks to Boba U4Ts and my typing got way cleaner

I was running Gateron Blacks for like 6 months and my WPM was fine but I kept making little errors on fast typing. Switched to Boba U4Ts last week and the tactile bump catches me right before bottoming out, so I actually land on the letter I meant. The sound is deeper too, kind of thocky instead of scratchy. Anyone else find a switch that fixed a specific typing issue for them?

8

alice445•11d ago

Saw a guy at the Portland keyboard meetup use a hot glue stick on stabilizer screws and it completely stopped them from loosening up

I always had spacebar rattle after a few weeks of typing but after watching him do that at the PNW Keyboard Club event back in October I tried it myself and it's been solid for 3 months now without any rattle coming back.

5

the_barbara•11d ago

PSA: Watch out for those $15 switch pullers on Amazon

I picked up one of those cheap aluminum switch pullers from a no-name seller for about 15 bucks. First time using it on my Durock switches the legs bent right out of shape and I was out a whole set of 60 switches. Spend the extra 20 dollars and get a legit one from a place like NovelKeys or just use the plastic ones that come with most kits. Anyone else have a tool fail on them like this?

7

grayw32•12d ago

I think hot-swap sockets are overrated for most builds

I've been building boards for about 5 years now, and I see everyone raving about hot-swap PCBs like they're the greatest thing since sliced bread. But after swapping switches on three different hot-swap boards last year, I noticed the sockets started getting loose on two of them within 6 months. One board in my shop actually had a socket pop off the PCB when I pulled a switch out, and that was a $40 fix I didn't expect. Meanwhile, my soldered boards from 3 years ago are still rock solid with zero issues. I get that hot-swap is convenient for trying out switches, but if you're not swapping every week, soldered is way more reliable long term. Has anyone else had sockets wear out on them after just a few switch changes?

30

wendyw71•13d ago

I finally tossed my vintage keycaps after a friend pointed out the cracks

Was showing off my Olivetti keycaps at a meetup in Austin last month and a guy leaned over and said 'you know those hairline cracks are just gonna get worse right?' I had been holding onto them for 5 years thinking they were rare. Has anyone else had to let go of a favorite set that was actually falling apart?

12

morgan.joseph•13d ago

I finally stopped using my favorite switches after a friend roasted my typing test

A buddy at the last meetup in Austin heard my board and just said 'dude, that sounds like gravel in a blender.' I was running my usual Holy Panda build that I've loved for 2 years. He handed me his board with some KTT Strawberries and it was so much cleaner, I couldn't argue. Swapped to some Gateron Milky Yellows the next day and lubed them myself for the first time. The clack is way more satisfying and I actually type faster now - went from 85 wpm to 92 after a week of practice. Anyone else had one piece of honest feedback totally change their switch preference?

18

robert_jones•13d ago

Hot take: I was dead wrong about hotswap sockets being a gimmick

For like 2 years I swore hotswap sockets were just for people too lazy to learn to solder. I built my first 3 boards with a $25 iron from Amazon and thought I was better than everyone. Then I borked a PCB on my 4th build because I was rushing at 11pm and lifted a pad on the Pro Micro spot. That was a $65 mistake right there. I swapped to a hotswap board last month and honestly, the convenience of testing different switches in 20 minutes sold me completely. Anyone else stubbornly avoid hotswap and then switch over?

11

rileynguyen•14d ago

Used to think linear switches were the only way until I tried a friend's build at a meetup in Portland last month

I've been building boards for like 3 years now and always swore by linears. Gat yellows, Tealios, you name it. Thought tactiles were just bumpy and annoying. But my buddy brought this scratch built frosted acrylic with Boba U4Ts to the PDX meetup and let me type on it for like 10 minutes. Something about that sharp bump just clicked for me. Idk if it was the board material or what but now I'm looking at getting a set of U4Ts for my next build. Has anyone else switched teams like that after a meetup or is it just me?

6

sarahh81•14d ago

Dropped a switch in my coffee and lived to tell the tale

I was lubing switches at my desk in the living room Tuesday night and knocked an Aqua King straight into my mug. Had to fish it out quick, dry it with a hair dryer, and let it sit in rice for a few hours. Worked fine after I cleaned the contacts with some 99% isopropyl. Has anyone else accidentally waterlogged a switch and managed to save it?

10

scott.grace•16d ago

Stuck between gasket mount and tray mount for my first build

I was deciding between a gasket mount kit for $120 or a tray mount for $60, and I went with the gasket mount. Now I'm wondering if the softer typing feel was worth the extra cost, or would a tray mount have been fine for a beginner like me?

12

jennifer_west•18d ago

Finally fixed my spacebar rattle after a year of just dealing with it

Last Thursday I spent 3 hours swapping out the stabilizers on my Tofu60 for some Durock V2s and it's like having a completely new board now. Anyone else have that one little annoyance they ignored forever before finally fixing it?

8

robert_jones•21d ago

Been building boards for 5 years. Hotswap sockets are better than soldering for most people.

I used to be one of those "real builders solder" guys. Bought a nice Hakko station and everything. But after building 3 boards with millmax sockets this month for friends, I think I was wrong. You can test different switches without desoldering. If a pin bends you just pop in a new socket instead of fighting with a solder sucker. And honestly? The typing feel is identical if you use quality sockets like the 0305's. Unless you're doing something exotic like Alps or beamspring conversions, sockets save time and frustration. Am I missing something or is soldering just tradition at this point?

11

anthonykim•21d ago

Hit 120 builds before I realized I never lubed a single switch right

I was going through my old boards last weekend and opened up my very first build from 3 years ago. The switches were bone dry, no lube at all, and I thought I had done it proper. Counted up all the kits I've done since then and it came to 120. Decided to re-lube one of my early boards with Tribosys 3204 and it sounded like a completely different keyboard. Has anyone else gone back and redone an old build and been shocked at the difference?

19

elliotw37•21d ago

Guy on Reddit told me to try lubing my stabs with dielectric grease instead of Krytox

I was having this nasty rattle on my spacebar for months with my Keychron Q1, tried everything. Some random user named keyboard_kyle_420 said just grab some Permatex dielectric grease from AutoZone for $6 and try that. I was skeptical but man, that stuff quieted my stabs so much, no more ticking noise. Has anyone else tried using car grease on their stabilizers or am I just a weirdo?

21

foster.dylan•21d ago

Had to pick between Gateron Yellows and Cherry MX Browns for my first build

Went with the Gateron Yellows because everyone online said they're smoother. After 3 months of typing on them at work in Austin, I'm realizing I actually miss the tactile bump. My fingers keep bottoming out and now I want to rebuild the whole board. Anyone else make a switch choice they ended up regretting?

17

oscarthompson•23d ago

Stripped a screw on my brass plate and spent 2 hours fixing it

I was building a board at my desk last Tuesday and overtightened a screw on the bottom row, stripped the brass thread completely. Had to use a tiny tap and die set I borrowed from a friend to rethread it, which worked but now I'm paranoid about every screw on every build.