deskthority

Hi All,

I don't know what the exact term is but I was wondering how the plates which allow switch top removal without desoldering differ from standard plates?

Can you mod a standard plate with a drill or file to allow the access or are they manufactured completely differently?

SS just refers to stainless steel, so that has nothing to do with the switch holes. You could mod an existing plate, but they are often made of steel and so are very tedious to work with, especially since it has to be some pretty accurate work. I would just get a new one cut from a local laser cutter, or ask someone else on these forums.

Ah right, yeh I had realised about the SS since posting :p

If I were to get a local cutter to do one, I don't know what the difference is between these and standard plates "hole-wise." What is different about the holes in the plate for the switches which allows switch removal?

The switch holes have notches around the 4 hooks of the top casing, to allow enough clearance for them to be bent aside (unhooked).

thanks. going to try and get a Ti plate made up. wooooo

Wait, what? Titanium?
I want one

Indeed! Titanium. Doing a big build. Well, actually rather small..... Ergo clear ISO 60% with Ti plate and low profile case and PBT caps.

Wow, titanium?!. Do you already have a price quote for the plate? I'm curious what such a plate costs in comparison to the usual aluminum or stainless steel ones.

Looking at $100 ish shipped. Yup more than a normal plate. Was actually finding it hard to source a Stainless Steel one in the UK. Initially wanted Stainless Steel to add weight to the keyboard as 60% are smaller and therefore lighter. Want to achor it to the desk better.

Titanium will be lighter IIRC. So I'll be doing research into some nice anti-slip feet for the new case. Really no need for it to be titanium....but thought "why not." -----> YOLO <-----hahaha :p

Very interesting. I made my own 60% from laser cut metal, too. Stainless top to bottom. But I only assembled it in Britain. The plates came from Italy via Matt3o's group build. Going all stainless made me a 1 kilo keyboard. The same weight as a Ducky Shine 3 TKL.

Where did you get your Titanium quote? I'm always interested in new materials.

Any tool you used to design the plate?

Professor Matt3o did my design, once I came up with a layout. Think he did the same for most of the group. I believe he uses DraftSight.

Here's the build thread. The first post has an attachment of the complete group buy's plates:
http://deskthority.net/marketplace-f11/ ... t6102.html

Muirium wrote:Professor Matt3o did my design, once I came up with a layout. Think he did the same for most of the group. I believe he uses DraftSight.

Here's the build thread. The first post has an attachment of the complete group buy's plates:
http://deskthority.net/marketplace-f11/ ... t6102.html

Professor Matt, this is actually one of the things that I've been meaning to ask about. If you get some spare time, could you post a tutorial about how to do this too? Of course, I'd put a lot more faith in you designing a plate and me copying the design than me doing it myself, but I'd like to learn regardless!

Muirium wrote:Professor Matt3o did my design, once I came up with a layout. Think he did the same for most of the group. I believe he uses DraftSight.

Here's the build thread. The first post has an attachment of the complete group buy's plates:
http://deskthority.net/marketplace-f11/ ... t6102.html

Thanks!

Muirium wrote:Very interesting. I made my own 60% from laser cut metal, too. Stainless top to bottom. But I only assembled it in Britain. The plates came from Italy via Matt3o's group build. Going all stainless made me a 1 kilo keyboard. The same weight as a Ducky Shine 3 TKL.

Where did you get your Titanium quote? I'm always interested in new materials.

I like the weight of my shine 3. That's be a good weight!

Titanium is going to be lighter than SS. The case will be aluminium. Just gpoing to have to wait and see how it turns out.

SS would have been a better option for the plate. I want as it's get the weight up and also I really am over-stretching my budget going for the Ti....as far as i'm concerned a plate is a plate and will add stability no matter what reasonably strong metal it is. This is just a keyboard not a space rocket!

The things which matter more with the build will be the switches...springs and lube for the ergo clear mod will greatly influence it. The plate and case weight will give it a certain weightly feel when combined, that's another factor.


Caps I can always change over to another set if I don't get the right vibe first time. Will be trying ABS doubleshots for the first time when round 5 gets in....they might get a go on it.

Muirium wrote:Very interesting. I made my own 60% from laser cut metal, too. Stainless top to bottom. But I only assembled it in Britain. The plates came from Italy via Matt3o's group build. Going all stainless made me a 1 kilo keyboard. The same weight as a Ducky Shine 3 TKL.

Where did you get your Titanium quote? I'm always interested in new materials.

PM ing about quote

scottc wrote:

Muirium wrote:Professor Matt3o did my design, once I came up with a layout. Think he did the same for most of the group. I believe he uses DraftSight.

Here's the build thread. The first post has an attachment of the complete group buy's plates:
http://deskthority.net/marketplace-f11/ ... t6102.html

Professor Matt, this is actually one of the things that I've been meaning to ask about. If you get some spare time, could you post a tutorial about how to do this too? Of course, I'd put a lot more faith in you designing a plate and me copying the design than me doing it myself, but I'd like to learn regardless!

you mean a draftsight/CAD tutorial? wow that would be something...

fart_toast wrote: Caps I can always change over to another set if I don't get the right vibe first time. Will be trying ABS doubleshots for the first time when round 5 gets in....they might get a go on it.

That's it, I can't resist! Here's my 60%, wearing Round 4 SPH, which are identical profile to Round 5.

It works all right. (Even more so with a SPH/REPAIR kit to sort out those row issues you can see with the mods.)

Stainless steel makes a hell of a tough keyboard. I like it a lot! Mine is chock full of MX greens, which give it a rough and tumble sort of character. My kind of keyboard.

Thanks for the link about titanium plates. For those interested there's a GB on GH:
http://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=52970.0

Titanium should have a whole different feel again from steel and aluminium. I'm intrigued. Although 7bit pretty much owns my soul, let alone my wallet at this point…

wondering if there would be interest in a GB for a layered SS keyboard...

When talking about titanium, does that actually mean the pure stuff or titanium-steel?

Good question. Either could be aircraft grade.

matt3o wrote:wondering if there would be interest in a GB for a layered SS keyboard...

But you're an aluminium man.

steel is cheaper, believe that?

I'd love to have a layered stainless steel keyboard. The Marquardt military keyboards I have are nice, but I'm still trying to convert one to a regular ANSI layout. Having a brand new case built to suit an existing PCB (or custom...) would be smashing.

My 60% has no PCB: it's entirely hand wired beneath the plate. But Matt has tried another approach:

http://deskthority.net/workshop-f7/hhfo ... t6905.html

I'm thinking of going custom PCB next time to try it out! (And I have some PCB mount Cherry stabs I'd like to use, too.)

Jmneuv wrote:When talking about titanium, does that actually mean the pure stuff or titanium-steel?

"Aerospace grade Titanium" allegedly. Depending when they are shippped (and if I choose to continue my studies) I will have access to an electron microscope so I can whack a small sample in it and hit it with some x-rays (EDX) to see it's composition.

Muirium wrote:

fart_toast wrote: Caps I can always change over to another set if I don't get the right vibe first time. Will be trying ABS doubleshots for the first time when round 5 gets in....they might get a go on it.

That's it, I can't resist! Here's my 60%, wearing Round 4 SPH, which are identical profile to Round 5.

It works all right. (Even more so with a SPH/REPAIR kit to sort out those row issues you can see with the mods.)

Stainless steel makes a hell of a tough keyboard. I like it a lot! Mine is chock full of MX greens, which give it a rough and tumble sort of character. My kind of keyboard.

Thanks for the link about titanium plates. For those interested there's a GB on GH:
http://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=52970.0

Titanium should have a whole different feel again from steel and aluminium. I'm intrigued. Although 7bit pretty much owns my soul, let alone my wallet at this point…

I've seen that keyboard before, I really like it/love it. Hoping Mine will turn out somewhat similar... be it a round 5 variant and in ISO.

I love my MX browns and I have a Shine 3 yellow with blues. I don't like the blues as much actually. I was really hoping to love them! Initially I was going to kit this build with whites...but I read that they were just lubed blues. After hearing about the ergo clear mod I got really curious as it could potentially become my daily)quiet) office keyboard.

I have a few greens in my order from 7bit but I don't think I would like a full MX Green board for this build. I think I would like heavy blues even less than blues. Recently discovering that i'm a light switch kind of guy THOUGH I do like the "idea" of the solid stainless steel heavy click keyboard...just sounds so hard wearing and macho/indestructible :p.

fart_toast wrote: I love my MX browns and I have a Shine 3 yellow with blues. I don't like the blues as much actually. I was really hoping to love them! Initially I was going to kit this build with whites...but I read that they were just lubed blues. After hearing about the ergo clear mod I got really curious as it could potentially become my daily)quiet) office keyboard.

I have a few greens in my order from 7bit but I don't think I would like a full MX Green board for this build. I think I would like heavy blues even less than blues. Recently discovering that i'm a light switch kind of guy THOUGH I do like the "idea" of the solid stainless steel heavy click keyboard...just sounds so hard wearing and macho/indestructible :p.

That's the advantage of Cherry's lineup: there's an MX for almost everything. My two MX keyboards (I've five buckling springs…) are that green 60% and a Yellow Shine 3 just like yours, but in reds. Very different typing experience. And I do really like them both.

Greens are definitely an opinionated switch! If you don't like blues, you won't like these guys. I'm used to heavy keyboards with a lot of tactile action (all those IBMs) so greens are right up my street. In fact, I'm relieved Cherry even makes them!

Reds are really growing on me. I like linear switches too, and reds are nice and light. Again, they're not for everyone. I seem to like the extremes…

Ergo clears sound like a wise next step for you. I've only played with a few switches, but from what I can tell MX brown just isn't for me. Clears feel more my kind of thing: a bump they can be proud of, with a tough spring. But ergo clears are their sophisticated offspring, when you cross them with a lighter switch. In fact, ergo clears are what browns should be, I think.