Mechanical Keyboard Build

[DweJiBah]

Hi, I'm in need a of a new keyboard. My brother spilled water on my keyboard. I'm not too knowledgeable about the plating and pcb portion of building a keyboard. I ordered NovelKey Cream switches. Can someone link me some places where I can buy PCB and plating? I would like it to be like a white theme keyboard, and preferably hot swappable switches too. I'm not skilled with soldering so I'd like to avoid that if possible. I don't know what is considered "quality" pcb and plating and I don't want to make mistakes when ordering. Thank you in advance!

[divito]

Most of my knowledge comes from my time being on geekhack, which was some time ago and after acquiring my 5 keyboards and settling on my switch of choice, so I'm not super current on retailers for parts. I know MK used to or still sells Phantom PCBs which are white and the plate for them; MK also has pretty much any other parts you'd need.

As for not soldering, that's really going to limit your options. There are some PCBs you can grab that have the necessary things for hot swapping, and some of them are white. However, the majority of the options I've seen are limited to 60%. If you want 75% or full-size, it might be tougher to find one that's cost-effective. I don't believe KBD makes a hot swap version of a 75%.
 

Not to mention, finding white cases that will fit whatever PCB you choose is also going to be difficult, unless you're content with painting a case. 

[geo3]

Budget? Size? Features?

 

As divito said, hotswap will really limit your options. Soldering is not that hard.

[DweJiBah]

6 hours ago, divito said:

Most of my knowledge comes from my time being on geekhack, which was some time ago and after acquiring my 5 keyboards and settling on my switch of choice, so I'm not super current on retailers for parts. I know MK used to or still sells Phantom PCBs which are white and the plate for them; MK also has pretty much any other parts you'd need.

As for not soldering, that's really going to limit your options. There are some PCBs you can grab that have the necessary things for hot swapping, and some of them are white. However, the majority of the options I've seen are limited to 60%. If you want 75% or full-size, it might be tougher to find one that's cost-effective. I don't believe KBD makes a hot swap version of a 75%.
 

Not to mention, finding white cases that will fit whatever PCB you choose is also going to be difficult, unless you're content with painting a case. 

Do you know what videos I can watch to learn how to solder properly? I didn't know that hot swapping limits my choices considerably

[DweJiBah]

2 hours ago, geo3 said:

Budget? Size? Features?

 

As divito said, hotswap will really limit your options. Soldering is not that hard.

I would like a 60% keyboard, and my budget is something that's not too expensive like 200-300 range? And for features, I just need my keyboard to type. I'm not sure what features a keyboard could have besides RGB lighting

[geo3]

18 minutes ago, DweJiBah said:

I would like a 60% keyboard, and my budget is something that's not too expensive like 200-300 range? And for features, I just need my keyboard to type. I'm not sure what features a keyboard could have besides RGB lighting

PCB

https://kbdfans.com/collections/60/products/dz60-60-pcb?variant=28607000739888

 

Stabilizers

https://kbdfans.com/collections/keyboard-stabilizer/products/gmk-screw-in-stabilizers

https://novelkeys.xyz/collections/miscellaneous/products/durock-stabilizers

 

Plates

https://kbdfans.com/collections/plate/products/cnc-60-aluminum-plate

https://kbdfans.com/collections/plate/products/60-pc-material-plate?variant=21206992584762

https://kbdfans.com/collections/plate/products/carbon-fiber-60-plate-1

 

Caps

https://pimpmykeyboard.com/sa-p-snow-cap-keyset-original/

 

Cases:

https://kbdfans.com/collections/60-layout-case/products/in-stocktofu-white-60-aluminum-case?variant=31609534120075

https://kbdfans.com/collections/60-layout-case/products/pre-orderkbdfans-5-60-case?variant=13760376569914

https://kbdfans.com/collections/60-layout-case/products/customized-gh60-aluminum-case?variant=538568917005

https://kprepublic.com/collections/case/products/anodized-aluminium-flat-case-with-metal-feet-for-custom-mechanical-keyboard-black-siver-grey-colorway-for-gh60-xd60-xd64-satan

https://kprepublic.com/collections/case/products/tron-60-anodized-aluminium-acclive-angle-case-for-custom-mechanical-keyboard-black-siver-tiffany-purple-red-for-gh60-xd60-xd64

Some are sold out, and white is not a common color. If you are willing to accept something similar there are silver or frosted acrylic which are both pretty light.

[geo3]

1 hour ago, DweJiBah said:

Do you know what videos I can watch to learn how to solder properly? I didn't know that hot swapping limits my choices considerably

 

[Dr0y]

I know it's probably not like a real custom build but I got the gmmk barebone and so far I like it a lot.  It's case, pcb and plate and all the accessories but without the switches and keycaps. 

 

https://www.newegg.ca/p/pl?d=gmmk

 

Here on newegg canada.  I wanted to custom build but I thought that, for my first semi-custom keyboard, this would do nicely and would give me the chance to try at least one or two kind of switches. 

[DweJiBah]

On 5/18/2020 at 12:18 AM, geo3 said:

PCB

https://kbdfans.com/collections/60/products/dz60-60-pcb?variant=28607000739888

 

Stabilizers

https://kbdfans.com/collections/keyboard-stabilizer/products/gmk-screw-in-stabilizers

https://novelkeys.xyz/collections/miscellaneous/products/durock-stabilizers

 

Plates

https://kbdfans.com/collections/plate/products/cnc-60-aluminum-plate

https://kbdfans.com/collections/plate/products/60-pc-material-plate?variant=21206992584762

https://kbdfans.com/collections/plate/products/carbon-fiber-60-plate-1

 

Caps

https://pimpmykeyboard.com/sa-p-snow-cap-keyset-original/

 

Cases:

https://kbdfans.com/collections/60-layout-case/products/in-stocktofu-white-60-aluminum-case?variant=31609534120075

https://kbdfans.com/collections/60-layout-case/products/pre-orderkbdfans-5-60-case?variant=13760376569914

https://kbdfans.com/collections/60-layout-case/products/customized-gh60-aluminum-case?variant=538568917005

https://kprepublic.com/collections/case/products/anodized-aluminium-flat-case-with-metal-feet-for-custom-mechanical-keyboard-black-siver-grey-colorway-for-gh60-xd60-xd64-satan

https://kprepublic.com/collections/case/products/tron-60-anodized-aluminium-acclive-angle-case-for-custom-mechanical-keyboard-black-siver-tiffany-purple-red-for-gh60-xd60-xd64

Some are sold out, and white is not a common color. If you are willing to accept something similar there are silver or frosted acrylic which are both pretty light.

for the PCB, can it be programmed to have Korean on it? if not which one can?

[DweJiBah]

On 5/18/2020 at 12:18 AM, geo3 said:

PCB

https://kbdfans.com/collections/60/products/dz60-60-pcb?variant=28607000739888

 

Stabilizers

https://kbdfans.com/collections/keyboard-stabilizer/products/gmk-screw-in-stabilizers

https://novelkeys.xyz/collections/miscellaneous/products/durock-stabilizers

 

Plates

https://kbdfans.com/collections/plate/products/cnc-60-aluminum-plate

https://kbdfans.com/collections/plate/products/60-pc-material-plate?variant=21206992584762

https://kbdfans.com/collections/plate/products/carbon-fiber-60-plate-1

 

Caps

https://pimpmykeyboard.com/sa-p-snow-cap-keyset-original/

 

Cases:

https://kbdfans.com/collections/60-layout-case/products/in-stocktofu-white-60-aluminum-case?variant=31609534120075

https://kbdfans.com/collections/60-layout-case/products/pre-orderkbdfans-5-60-case?variant=13760376569914

https://kbdfans.com/collections/60-layout-case/products/customized-gh60-aluminum-case?variant=538568917005

https://kprepublic.com/collections/case/products/anodized-aluminium-flat-case-with-metal-feet-for-custom-mechanical-keyboard-black-siver-grey-colorway-for-gh60-xd60-xd64-satan

https://kprepublic.com/collections/case/products/tron-60-anodized-aluminium-acclive-angle-case-for-custom-mechanical-keyboard-black-siver-tiffany-purple-red-for-gh60-xd60-xd64

Some are sold out, and white is not a common color. If you are willing to accept something similar there are silver or frosted acrylic which are both pretty light.

And what size stabilizers would i need?

[geo3]

57 minutes ago, DweJiBah said:

for the PCB, can it be programmed to have Korean on it? if not which one can?

This is a function of the OS. No keyboard will output raw korean characters.  But the PCB is fully programmable.

32 minutes ago, DweJiBah said:

And what size stabilizers would i need?

For a standard 60% layout you will need 4x 2u and 1x 6.25u

[DweJiBah]

On 5/19/2020 at 1:52 AM, geo3 said:

This is a function of the OS. No keyboard will output raw korean characters.  But the PCB is fully programmable.

For a standard 60% layout you will need 4x 2u and 1x 6.25u

If I wanted to paint the case in a different color, how would I do so? Do I sand it down to take the finish off and then get spray paint and then put a finish on it? And what type of finish would I need to get if I do need it?

[geo3]

I've done this once before but am no expert on the subject . Aluminum is difficult to paint, it flakes off very easily. You need to use a primer specially designed for aluminum. Then paint it with the color, use paint labeled 'enamel' for a strong finish.  Or if you can't find an enamel version of your color use a clear coat enamel over your color. 

 

 

What I did was hang my case from a wire through one of it's screw holes the sprayed it several coats, basically follow the instructions on the paint can.  I did sand it but only because the original bright orange color was showing through my white paint, I'm not sure if you actually need to sand it. I lightly sanded the primer after it dried and before painting because it creates a very rough finish.