Mechanical Keyboard

[GeneralGusher]

Hey,

I have seen people and youtubers build their own mechanical keyboards. I want to do the same but their costs turn out to be more than a pre built keyboard from corsair or any other big company. I wanted to ask if anybody knows any parts that I can buy that wont be too expensive as it looks like fun building a keyboard.

 

Thanks

[jaslion]

2 minutes ago, GeneralGusher said:

Hey,

I have seen people and youtubers build their own mechanical keyboards. I want to do the same but their costs turn out to be more than a pre built keyboard from corsair or any other big company. I wanted to ask if anybody knows any parts that I can buy that wont be too expensive as it looks like fun building a keyboard.

 

Thanks

You could try cheaping out with aliexpress stuff but it's still not going to be cheap. Best to just buy a keyboard and not build one.

[GeneralGusher]

5 minutes ago, jaslion said:

You could try cheaping out with aliexpress stuff but it's still not going to be cheap. Best to just buy a keyboard and not build one.

ok thanks. just thought it would be fun to build one and customize it 

[minibois]

10 minutes ago, GeneralGusher said:

Hey,

I have seen people and youtubers build their own mechanical keyboards. I want to do the same but their costs turn out to be more than a pre built keyboard from corsair or any other big company. I wanted to ask if anybody knows any parts that I can buy that wont be too expensive as it looks like fun building a keyboard.

 

Thanks

Basically you need:

- PCB (of course you can create a PCB yourself too.. But that's a whole different story)

- case

- plate

- keyswitches

- stabilizers

- keycaps

- cable

- Materials to assemble this (more on this later).

 

PCB, Case, plate:

The first thing to decide with a custom board is thinking about what size of keyboard you want. 60% boards are among the cheapest option, partially because you need less keyswitches, but also because there are just more parts out there.

You need to make sure these three parts match, as screw mounts are not always standard. A lot of people get a GK61 set, which comes with multiple pieces of what is needed.

Other than that, things like RGB, cable types, etc. can also be a huge adventure in finding out what you need.

 

Stabilizers:

this piece of a keyboard makes sure larger keys such as Space, Enter, Backspace and Shift can operate well, even if pressed not exactly in the middle.

Typically you just get a set of 5 for a 60% board, but there are multiple different types you can get.

 

Switches:

There are a TON of choices, mainly in three categories: linear, tactile and clicky.

This topic covers a load of information, difficult to fit in one post even.

Expect to pay around 30-50 USD for a set.

 

Keycaps:

Again, a lot can be said about this too. Cheap sets go for 40 USD, more expensive sets go for 60 USD, but you can basically pay and endless amount for this.

 

I will just reference @sowon's post, which has much more detail:

 

Expect a build like this, to absolutely not be cheaper than getting an already built 60% board like an Anne Pro, Ducky One Mini/SF, etc.

You would do this for endless customization and for fun too.

 

Materials needed to build a keyboard:

Assuming you don't have a hot-swap board, you will mainly need:

- Soldering iron

- Solder

- Solderwick

- Flux (if your solder doesn't have flux in it)

- random 'basics' (screwdriver set, hex key set, depends on what your case requires)

- something to make sure you're not breathing in flux (like a fan or something).

 

There is a ton that can be said about all of this too.

For most people a 'simple' iron (like the DRAPER si400) would already work. Get some solder (usually with lead/Pb in it is easier to solder with) is good too, most solder comes with flux in it already.

Just get some wick as well and you're good (assuming all the miscellaneous tools are already present).

 

A company like Corsair just has the advantage of having a large quantity of items they purchase, meaning they can get all this stuff for cheaper.

Maybe if you like building your own stuff, you could start a little smaller, if you don't want to shell out all that money.

Something like this, does still cost quite a bit (looks like it's already 50 USD + shipping + keycaps + keyswitches), but could be a fun first project?

[geo3]

2 hours ago, GeneralGusher said:

Hey,

I have seen people and youtubers build their own mechanical keyboards. I want to do the same but their costs turn out to be more than a pre built keyboard from corsair or any other big company. I wanted to ask if anybody knows any parts that I can buy that wont be too expensive as it looks like fun building a keyboard.

 

Thanks

You can probably hit a price of around 100 to 120.  If you go with a plastic case, aluminum plate, Gateron or Kailh switches and cheep keycaps. KBDFans is probably the easiest 1 stop shop to get all the parts you need. 

[b emoji]

9 hours ago, GeneralGusher said:

Hey,

I have seen people and youtubers build their own mechanical keyboards. I want to do the same but their costs turn out to be more than a pre built keyboard from corsair or any other big company. I wanted to ask if anybody knows any parts that I can buy that wont be too expensive as it looks like fun building a keyboard.

 

Thanks

Not all custom keyboards are 10K OTD CLs expensive you can build decent ones for less than 150. 

[GeneralGusher]

ok thanks. Do you know any website where I can get the parts from>

[nox_]

2 minutes ago, GeneralGusher said:

ok thanks. Do you know any website where I can get the parts from>

You should quote people, because otherwise they won't see your question. kbdfans, aliexpress and bangdood are the ones I know of.

[GeneralGusher]

a

[GeneralGusher]

1 minute ago, noxdeouroboros said:

You should quote people, because otherwise they won't see your question. kbdfans, aliexpress and bangdood are the ones I know of.

okay thanks for the tip and for the website.

 

[geo3]

2 hours ago, GeneralGusher said:

ok thanks. Do you know any website where I can get the parts from>

 

On 3/27/2020 at 8:48 AM, geo3 said:

You can probably hit a price of around 100 to 120.  If you go with a plastic case, aluminum plate, Gateron or Kailh switches and cheep keycaps. KBDFans is probably the easiest 1 stop shop to get all the parts you need. 

 

[GeneralGusher]

On 3/27/2020 at 10:48 AM, geo3 said:

You can probably hit a price of around 100 to 120.  If you go with a plastic case, aluminum plate, Gateron or Kailh switches and cheep keycaps. KBDFans is probably the easiest 1 stop shop to get all the parts you need. 

ok thanks!

[GeneralGusher]

On 3/27/2020 at 10:37 AM, minibois said:

Basically you need:

- PCB (of course you can create a PCB yourself too.. But that's a whole different story)

- case

- plate

- keyswitches

- stabilizers

- keycaps

- cable

- Materials to assemble this (more on this later).

 

PCB, Case, plate:

The first thing to decide with a custom board is thinking about what size of keyboard you want. 60% boards are among the cheapest option, partially because you need less keyswitches, but also because there are just more parts out there.

You need to make sure these three parts match, as screw mounts are not always standard. A lot of people get a GK61 set, which comes with multiple pieces of what is needed.

Other than that, things like RGB, cable types, etc. can also be a huge adventure in finding out what you need.

 

Stabilizers:

this piece of a keyboard makes sure larger keys such as Space, Enter, Backspace and Shift can operate well, even if pressed not exactly in the middle.

Typically you just get a set of 5 for a 60% board, but there are multiple different types you can get.

 

Switches:

There are a TON of choices, mainly in three categories: linear, tactile and clicky.

This topic covers a load of information, difficult to fit in one post even.

Expect to pay around 30-50 USD for a set.

 

Keycaps:

Again, a lot can be said about this too. Cheap sets go for 40 USD, more expensive sets go for 60 USD, but you can basically pay and endless amount for this.

 

I will just reference @sowon's post, which has much more detail:

 

Expect a build like this, to absolutely not be cheaper than getting an already built 60% board like an Anne Pro, Ducky One Mini/SF, etc.

You would do this for endless customization and for fun too.

 

Materials needed to build a keyboard:

Assuming you don't have a hot-swap board, you will mainly need:

- Soldering iron

- Solder

- Solderwick

- Flux (if your solder doesn't have flux in it)

- random 'basics' (screwdriver set, hex key set, depends on what your case requires)

- something to make sure you're not breathing in flux (like a fan or something).

 

There is a ton that can be said about all of this too.

For most people a 'simple' iron (like the DRAPER si400) would already work. Get some solder (usually with lead/Pb in it is easier to solder with) is good too, most solder comes with flux in it already.

Just get some wick as well and you're good (assuming all the miscellaneous tools are already present).

 

A company like Corsair just has the advantage of having a large quantity of items they purchase, meaning they can get all this stuff for cheaper.

Maybe if you like building your own stuff, you could start a little smaller, if you don't want to shell out all that money.

Something like this, does still cost quite a bit (looks like it's already 50 USD + shipping + keycaps + keyswitches), but could be a fun first project?

Ok thanks for the idea and telling me how to do it! Really appreciate it!