[Help] Want to BUILD my first mechanical keyboard (Choosing the components)

Fenrir The Gray · September 12, 2018

Hi guys,

I'm looking forward to building my first mechanical keyboard. I already own a Redragon K551 (Otemu Blue) mechanical keyboard, and I was satisfied with it since the moment I bought it.
However now I want more. At first I wanted to get myself an IBM Model F AT or more preferably an IBM Model F 4704 107, but those 2 are either god damn impossible to find or insanely expensive.
I've found the 4704 107, already restored and converted, but the guy is asking 470€ for it... Way out of my price range.
I do realize that custom keyboards require a lot of money as well, but I can buy them more easily, by buying one component at a time.

Now that I'm looking to build the keyboard myself I need your help choosing the right components.

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Choosing the switch
What I'm looking for in a switch:
- Preferably Short Key Travel
- Light to Medium Actuation Force
- High Tactility
- Silent or Deep/Bassy sounding, or simply put nothing that is high pitched
- A stable, non-wobbly switch
Important note: I do not wish to go through the tedious process of modding any switches, only off the shelf stuff.

Choosing the keycaps
This is probably the easiest part. I would really like something in the style of SA or DSA keycaps.
I've found these, and now I only have to wait for the new drop to happen.

Choosing the rest

This is where I need the most help, as I have literally no idea what to get out of the following...

What I'm looking for in the rest of they keyboard:
- Full 104 key board. F**k anything with less keys than that. I use every single key of the 104 keyboard, and I wouldn't even mind having a few more.
- Steel backplate, I think? I want the keyboard to sound bassy or to be silent. I'm guessing that a nice steel plate would help this.

- A nice thick plastic case (same reason as above?), that can also support the 104 board.
- Detachable USB cable
- N-Key rollover

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If you have any suggestions for any of the components noted above, please do write 'em down! Your help, xp and knowledge would be most appreciated!
Also since this would be my first build, I have probably missed something that I didn't even know I needed, so do feel free to inform me of that as well.

Thanks guys!

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EDIT 1:
I wouldn't mind buying an off the shelf keyboard that meets my requirements, but I haven't found any so far.

RollinLower · September 12, 2018

3 minutes ago, Chola said:

Full 104 key board. F**k anything with less keys than that. I use every single key of the 104 keyboard, and I wouldn't even mind having a few more.

yeah, there is only one way to get a PCB for that, and it is damn expensive. your best bet is to get a Teensy++ 2.0 and wire every switch up yourself.

in general, 104 key boards are very difficult to make yourself, as most people who make their own boards specifically want something other than the standard 104 layout.

Fenrir The Gray · September 12, 2018

Just now, RollinLower said:

yeah, there is only one way to get a PCB for that, and it is damn expensive. your best bet is to get a Teensy++ 2.0 and wire every switch up yourself.

in general, 104 key boards are very difficult to make yourself, as most people who make their own boards specifically want something other than the standard 104 layout.

I see. I think that would be way too complicated for me atm... What would be that one damn expensive way?

I did forget to mention that I wouldn't mind buying an off the shelf keyboard that does meet my requirements, but I couldn't find any. Will add that to the post.

geo3 · September 12, 2018

3 hours ago, Chola said:

What I'm looking for in a switch:
- Preferably Short Key Travel
- Light to Medium Actuation Force
- High Tactility
- Silent or Deep/Bassy sounding, or simply put nothing that is high pitched
- A stable, non-wobbly switch
Important note: I do not wish to go through the tedious process of modding any switches, only off the shelf stuff.

Kailh Burn Orange has all those properties except it's probably heavier than you want. If you were willing to mod though you could replace the spring to make it lighter.

62g Zealios or Zilents are another option they have most of those properties except they and more wobbly than Kailh switches and also have standard key travel (2mm/4mm)

My latest board has Zilents and they are in fact nearly dead silent.

3 hours ago, Chola said:

Choosing the keycaps
This is probably the easiest part. I would really like something in the style of SA or DSA keycaps.
I've found these, and now I only have to wait for the new drop to happen.

Ha I just got those from Massdrop 2 days ago. They are super high quality. You can check r/mechmarket for people selling them. An alternative would be to buy a sculpted SA profile set which is pretty similar and has much higher availability.

3 hours ago, Chola said:

Choosing the rest

This is where I need the most help, as I have literally no idea what to get out of the following...

What I'm looking for in the rest of they keyboard:
- Full 104 key board. F**k anything with less keys than that. I use every single key of the 104 keyboard, and I wouldn't even mind having a few more.
- Steel backplate, I think? I want the keyboard to sound bassy or to be silent. I'm guessing that a nice steel plate would help this.

- A nice thick plastic case (same reason as above?), that can also support the 104 board.
- Detachable USB cable
- N-Key rollover

The custom keyboard scene is all about 60% and or odd layouts. I'm using a 5x12 ortho layout. There are 104 key boards but they are rare and expensive. You can expect to pay $90+ for the PCB alone. Check out GON NerD, there are probably others but that's the only one I know of off hand.

In my experience the quietest plate material is aluminum. Steel is very stiff and reverberates, amplifying the sound of the keys.

Almost every custom board will have a detachable cable and N-Key, so you don't really have to worry about that.

A couple things you can do to get quiet or bassy sound is, one, add dampening foam in the case under the PCB ( a cut up old mouse mat works well), and two, is lube your switches. This pretty much eliminates the pinging noise that the springs make and also makes the switches feel smoother.