Been thinking of doing this for over a year and finally got round to it. Found parts. Spent hours soldering, lubricating, stuffing with foam and programming QMK. So happy with the final result. It’s a joy to use.
Gateron yellow switches. YMDK PCB, backplate and case. Ali Express keycaps.
It’s a budget build and none of this is high end…but it has still worked out really well.
That looks great, I’m just lurking here and have never built one myself but I bet it’s super rewarding!
Looks awesome. What’s going on with the space bar?
The great thing about it is you can make it whatever you want it to be. For me it is: left is backspace, middle is to access another layer (which makes left home row letters into direction buttons and right home row letters into number buttons), right button is space.
I’m not home to post a picture, but it would be clearer if I could show you a screenshot of the layout. Basically this means I only ever have to move my hands away from home row to press enter or special symbols.
For me, the left and right also act as layers, if held and something else is pressed. Then I can access a e.g. navigation from the homerow.
whoa, so cool!
Good choice on the Gateron Yellows! They’re really lovely switches, especially for the price.
I switched from always using browns. Liked reds to start with but now I’m really happy with having linears with slightly more resistance. Highly recommended. Might not be the best switches out there, but they’re cheap and readily available.
Wow this looks sexy af. I only have a bought one that is simply not dying on me. Seeing this beauty makes me want to do one too but damn, i dont think i am able to put in all that hard work.
If you have more money than time, then you can find hotswap PCBs and pre-lubed switches; and that will mean all you’ve got to do is press the parts together. Soldering and lubricating are the most tedious parts.
Problem is, i sink my disposable income mainly into anime-merch, so far without regrets.
60% isn’t my cuppa, but damn if this kb isn’t one sexy beast! Nice job!!
What’s your QMK config like ?
The layout looks like a standard qwerty, so I’m guessing you have layers for the numpad or function keys ?
