Wooden casing?

[GeorgeStorm]

As above,
Since I'm very interested in getting an aluminium case for my poker, but they are very rare, was speaking to my brother earlier, and we thought, why not get a wooden one?
I've see various wooden keyboards, and so I don't mean something like that, merely a wooden version of the imsto poker aluminium case kinda thing.
I was merely wondering whether this has been done, or is even doable?

Would anyone else be interested?
Would go particularly well with a wooden wristrest methinks

[Swede]

If it is doable? Sure it is, as long as you have the equipment for it. Making it by hand will take to long and it will be hard as well.

I am interested in having a different case, but I want it to be the exact same as the original casing.
And having it in alu makes it damn expensive, and only way I will be able to have my own is by doing it myself in school, my teacher though I was a nutter when I brought it up last time xD

So for me Wood seems like a nice way to change the casing. And fairly cheap as well compared to alu. But what wood will you be using? I know nothing about the different types and what the differences are. And how will you make them? CNC seems like the easiest way, and will be fast as hell. But it needs to be worked on by hand afterwards I think.

[GeorgeStorm]

Oh I wouldn't be making one personally, don't have the knowledge or the tools needed to do it.
However I am possibly going to ask around if anyone I know has any experience with woodwork.
No idea when it comes to material etc, hence why I posted the thread really

I wouldn't be wanting anything fancy, something like the normal one/imsto alu one.

[Findecanor]

The Poker case is not much more than a frame. Perhaps you could ask a store that sells frames to build you a custom frame out of wood. Then drill a hole for the connector and shave it lower.

[mSSM]

Why not contact the Vortex guys? They seem really friendly and approachable - and most importantly, they already have the designs. Maybe you could ask them to inquire how much it would cost to make 1,2,...,n casings in whatever type of wood you prefer?

[GeorgeStorm]

Yeah, I thought it would be fairly simple to do if you knew anything about wood.
Have done, hopefully they'll come back to me with some positive news

[gore]

I'd love to have a case CNC'd out of a block of lignum vitae, but I have the feeling that would cost WAY more than an Alu one.

[Gilgam]

I want to do that kind of case in wood from the local woodworker (ébéniste idon't know the right name in english).
http://deskthority.net/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=1431 (the grey blue one).


Lignum Vitae is hopefully protected, as it becomes rarer and rarer...
http://www.cites.org/eng/cop/11/prop/62.pdf

There are so many beautiful local woods

[gore]

It's a really nice wood to work with, its almost like working with metal, you can even polish it up to a super high gloss. I have some but not enough to make a case out of.

[whiskerBox]

I wonder if Eric Barney (<--I think thats his name) would be up to the task because his wrist rests were just gorgeous.

[GeorgeStorm]

Already asked him, he said he'd need a case/board to even start working on one, and also reckoned that a plain wooden one wouldn't be very strong, and a metal plate would be needed aswell.

[nanu]

Hardwood isn't plastic or metal. Instead of breaking like dry spaghetti-from-a-box, it splits along the grain when encountering sufficient impact, so it is fragile when not bulky, requiring extra babying, which is fine if you don't intend on portability. This is why you don't see keyboard cases in the typical modern low-profile keyboard form factor. Is your desire aesthetic?

[GeorgeStorm]

If I were to get one, I wouldn't be moving the keyboard around very much, and when I did, would be in it's box.
I'd be getting it for both aesthetic reasons, and so that the keyboard just has a bit more weight to it, possibly make it feel a little more solid and well made (my only issue with the poker is due to it's weight it can feel a little cheap, which is a pity because I think it's an awesome board!)

[Grond]

In this thread: http://deskthority.net/viewtopic.php?f= ... 990#p31990
I learned that Swedx makes wooden keyboards. Maybe they would make costum cases if asked?

[nanu]

merely a wooden version of the imsto poker aluminium case kinda thing

so that the keyboard just has a bit more weight to it

These preferences sort of contradict one another, if you want to keep the original, sleek profile and expect weightiness and solidness by executing it using wood. It would have to be at least slightly bulkier unless you use a very dense (and costly) hardwood. This is why plate mounted switches would help. Merely using wood as thin pieces might not be enough to increase your perception of firmness. Keyboard cases are most often made from ABS that barely sinks in water. Compare specific gravities/densities for plastics and hardwoods.

[GeorgeStorm]

Similar style as imstos, nothing fancy is what I meant, I'd be more than happy with it being slightly bulkier if it was made of wood

[igasho]

as long as someone that actually manufactures keyboard cases uses a cnc machine and is willing to purchase the correct bit for using wood instead of metal or plastic, it would be super simple, obviously there would be some differences based on how thick the wood would have to be vs the metal or plastic, but you could make some extremely fashionable computer accessories at that point.

[Findecanor]

Wood has grain, and grain is in one direction. For durability, you would want to keep elongated features to be aligned with the grain. For aesthetics, you would want to avoid exposing any end grain.

[igasho]

http://woodgears.ca/computer_case/keyboard.html
http://www.geekologie.com/2007/10/do_it ... yboard.php
http://www.mj.com.ua/service_en-wood.htm

couple options