customizing mechanical keyboards to cut down on waste and cost?

Anyone here do the customised mechanical keyboard thing?  

Youtube thought I might want to watch some videos about it and it turns out it looks really cool.  

I was thinking about this might be a frugal way to limit electronic waste in my life as the main thing that goes on keyboards are the letters and the little nobs for my index fingers.  It's fine when I'm touch typing, but not good when I'm trying to find keyboard shortcuts in a hurry.  

But alas, my keyboards don't work with replacement keys (they are too low).  

If I could customize the keys then I could even put some of the common shortcuts in different colours to make them faster to find.  

I've got a mechanical keyboard, but it's not a custom.

I code, I'm a keyboard killer. I was destroying one every 18 months or so. It cost 3 to 4 times what I was paying for a cheaper split keyboard, but mechanicals have a significantly longer lifespan, so it should more than pay for itself over time. Vimes' Boot Theory.

There's a whole etsy world of pretty custom keys out there to temp me whenever I do finally destroy a key!

I buy very old heavy IBM  "M" keyboards whenever I see them second hand. The working ones get parts from the non-working ones. I customize my layout as I want, I type in Dvorak, that I modified for my uses, and I make pretty keycap stickers to keep track of it all.

Typing on this laptop makes me crazy, because it's standard Dvorak, except when it's not for it's own reasons, and I can't move stuff around. It's also not wide enough, my fingers feel crowded and won't sit on the keys. Laptop is currently the only thing allowed on the net. I have pretty keycap stickers on it, that have to show both Dvorak and Qwerty layouts, because some things on here won't handle the Dvorak.

I wish you hadn't mentioned etsy.  Wow!  I had no idea there were keycaps like that.

That would be neat to get some different feeling keys to make it faster to find the hotkeys.  

Here's the thing.

Can I take This keyboard: Mechanical Gaming Keyboard, 104 Keys White Backlit Mechanical Keyboards with Red Switches & Double-Shot Keycaps, MageGee Wired Ergonomic Computer Keyboard for Desktop, PC Gamers (White & Blue)  and combine it with these keys: 129 Keys PBT Keycaps Red Samurai keycaps Cherry Profile Dye Sublimation Fit for 61/64/87/104/108 Cherry Mx Switches Mechanical Keyboard ?

I would want to use a mix of the keys from keycaps and a mix of the keys from the original set.

From what I can tell, the red switches in the board are a kind of cherry switch, so the keys should be able to fit.  But I don't understand what else I need to consider.  

Judging by the "clack clack clickity clack" when Paul is livestreaming, I believe he is a mechanical keyboard user.

It's funny.  I can see lots of gamers, writers, and programmers mechanical keyboard content, but not much in the way of video editor mechanical keyboard content.

And yet, editing takes a lot of time at the keyboard.  Doing the editing binge this month makes me realize just how much I hate my cheap keyboards... and how broken they are.  

There is a cross-section of creative users (like video and audio editors) who need a heavy-use, sturdy, reliable keyboard - but one that doesn't make so much noise.  

In most cases, Apple's current lineup is technically a mechnanical keyboard built toward this end, although the mechanical purist would disagree due to proprietary and hard-to-change-or-replace parts.

This is probably your ideal solution.  Although it is spendy, it's integrated with Resolve, and might pay for itself in hours-saved.



B&H photo has some more affordable, if less tailer-made, options.

Beau Davidson wrote:There is a cross-section of creative users (like video and audio editors) who need a heavy-use, sturdy, reliable keyboard - but one that doesn't make so much noise.  

In most cases, Apple's current lineup is technically a mechnanical keyboard built toward this end, although the mechanical purist would disagree due to proprietary and hard-to-change-or-replace parts.

This is probably your ideal solution.  Although it is spendy, it's integrated with Resolve, and might pay for itself in hours-saved.



B&H photo has some more affordable, if less tailer-made, options.

I love the resolve keyboard... for the most part.

But the price is crazy.  

It seems to be built for people who do editing full-time as a career and need help adjusting to the software.  I can't justify spending that much money on it.  

Some other, more affordable options: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?q=resolve%20keyboard&sts=ma

I'm kind of now obsessed with the idea that I can create a custom colour and pattern in a keyboard.  The idea that my electronics could all match and be aesthetically pleasing.  That's an amazing thought for me.  

Although those are very good options I didn't know about.  

From what I understand, the difference (besides whether or not a particular key is on the board at all) is the physical sizes of a couple specific keys, like the shift, control, and space keys. If you were shopping for replacements for those specific keys, it would matter. For example, mine is a split keyboard, I have two shorter space keys instead of one long one. If you're harvesting from older keyboards, you might find some of the keys are aggressively angled. Some people like that, some don't.

Cherry is about the "audio-tactile feedback". Some colors are noisier or quieter, some require you to push the key further down, some "pop" back more strongly.

Some of these custom keyboards go a bit far, but this one made me smile.

I wish I had confidence woodworking.   This would be a great option for my old mouse that wore out the case.

I went to mechanical keyboards because I wipe the letters out about every six months to a year (I type, a lot).  

Older keyboards had etched keys and held up pretty good, but decals stink for longevity.  The mechanical keyboards allow you to swap out the keys that last far longer than decals.  

My first mechanical lasted about two years, but it cost$200.00 hundred (K70?).  It had glitches that went beyond just swapping key caps.  The one I'm using now was about $70.00 (HyperX) and I like it better (easier to keep clean, etc.).

My keyboard arrived and I am in love with the feel and quality.  It's a bit clacky but I think I can do some modifications to repair that.  I'm thinking of adding some felt inside to dampen the sound as there's a bit of a tinny quality to some of the keystrokes which is getting on my nerves.

But I do love the sound otherwise.  I changed the keycaps and the new ones have a lower profile than the old ones so I'm thinking of mixing them up later so I can find specific keys by feel instead of having to hunt for them.

Having a higher keyboard is taking some practice.  I haven't been using my typewriter for a while so my wrists aren't used to being in the correct position.  It's forcing me to sit up better at the computer which is an unexpected side effect.

I'm surprised how little force is needed to use a mechanical keyboard compared to a membrane one.  I think this is going to be easier on my arthritis when I get used to it.  

Having different lighting options on the keyboard is fun too.  I choose one with a white light because I didn't like the colourful lights - they feel dated to me and I want a classic keyboard that I'll be happy with it in 10 or 20 years.


I'm toying with the idea of  making some resin keycaps later to express my own hobbies and interests, but first I need to learn more about resin safety.  Both making resin products and working with the finished product worry me.  If I'm using these keys so much that I can wear them out this quickly, how safe is resin to touch the skin that much?  Are some safer than others?  Things to learn.  

There are some folks making wooden keycaps on etsy.  They look pretty slick to me, and I can imagine preferring the touch to resin.

The only thing I'm not loving about this keyboard is that the space key squeaks.  

I might have to take the keyboard apart and add some felt inside to reduce the sound a bit.  I love it, but the sound travels a bit more than is good.

Some ways to make it sound better