After a long development period I’m excited to present the TEKNA-65SP, a 65% southpaw keyboard with a cast bronze base and a hardwood top. I do CAD by trade, and while I love the smaller formfactor boards I always need a numpad for number entry, preferably on my left out of the way of the mouse. This was a way of playing with new materials in a high-end board while also utilizing an excellent layout that doesn’t get the love it deserves.
Currently finishing up CAD and 3D printing / Laser cutting prototype parts to ensure good fitment before sending the files over to the lovely guys at American Haptics for final prototyping and development. AH will also be heading distribution, but I’m definitely looking for proxies so give me a shout if you know someone.
I love the idea of mixing hardwood and metal in this way. What kind of attachment mechanisms do you expect to use for the top-mount, and for attaching the two case halves?
My ambitious plan currently is to use threaded inserts in the wooden part for both attaching the plate and a different set of threaded inserts to screw through the cast piece and into the top piece. I’ll definitely make a drawing of that in the coming days.
You and me both! I’m really looking forward to hearing the acoustics of it.
Always wanted to play with bronze on a keyboard, you beat me on that
Having it casted is a very original way of making a case part, do you plan on doing some machining after the casting process is done ?
Will the wood be stabilized before it’s machining process ?
Indeed I’m currently planning on doing a machining pass on the USB cutout(there’s a hint to that in the USB port render) and daughterboard section as well as drilling mounting holes.
This is a really good question, I often dislike the feeling of stabilized wood, but it might be necessary to maintain dimensional stability. Definitely need to do a few tests before deciding.
Hey guys! One form request was to see it in British Racing Green by Hand Engineering, which has been one of my favorite sets recently, I paired it with a Oak top and Patinated Bronze bottom and blockers. Also I wanted to plug the AH discord where there’s a channel for this board now, which is where all the most recent updates will be available first. Thank you for all the interest and I’m looking forward to sharing more information with you in the future!
