Here’s the manual drill tool I used:
One can always try to put the drill bit in a Dremel tool if you already have one of those. I haven’t tried that.
And the heat shrink:
I’ve now been using this mod on all my boards for over 6 months. No issues.
Best,
LexProf
Can i use a clear rubber latex band aid to holee mod my cherry screw in stabilizers?
I’ve used strips of adhesive bandage for this before, and I believe @ajoflo has had some good results with a particular type.
I don’t like this mod, I did try it but putting a bandaid or any kind of material with an adhesive doesn’t sound permanent to me and looks like it will come off and leave a mess, I’m sure the current trend will soon die and people will do a 180 degree turn on this once they realize it’s just bad.
Good stabs shouldn’t have this issues, in fact we shouldn’t resort to this kind of things, time for manufacturers to come up with a solution.
We can’t have million types of advanced switches and materials while still resorting to making bizzare mods to stabilizers.
Tried one of the “Soulmate” kits that comes with C3 Equalz v3 stabs yesterday.
Among other things, it comes with pre-cut Holee / Epsi mod strips, shown on the right in the photo above; one set in black Poron (soft) and one set in grey Teflon (slippy). They’re already just the right size; the convenience of which is hard to overstate.
I tried the Teflon ones, and they’re refreshingly effective. With just a thin sheen of 205g0 on the stem sides and wires, these stabs are almost completely noise-free; I’ve never had results this good without literal gobs of grease involved. I also used the thickest of the bottom-out pads since this is meant to be a quiet work keeb.
I’m impressed with the kit (and with the stabs), so I figured I’d share those results here.
Before last night, I had some KBDFans polycarb stabs lightly “lubed” with XHT BDZ - probably too lightly. They rattled like crazy and generally sounded awful - these v3 Nylon stabs with the teflon strips not only sound better, they feel better too. Less rotation and play, more smooth, crisp movement.
Here’s a recording of the KBDfans polycarb stabs that come with KBD67 lite kits, with lubed Boba U4 silent tactile switches and GMK caps:
That recording was mainly to demonstrate the switches for their new owner, but I also happened to somewhat capture the crap state of those stabs, as much as I was trying to avoid it… while they aren’t my favorite, they can definitely sound better - that’s just what you can expect with a light application of XHT BDZ on them. (Between the normal typing and the key-roll at the end, there are some other random silent switches for comparison to the Bobas.)
Here’s a recording of the newer Equalz v3 stabs in the same KBD67 lite, with TTC Bluish White silent tactiles and GMK caps - lubed only with a light sheen of 205g0 on the stem sides and wire ends:
(Another difference between the two recordings; the second one also has a silicone insert below the PCB.)
If you want to try a stab dampening method or two, you could do a whole lot worse than this little kit, which comes with:
Aforementioned Teflon and Poron strips for Holee / Epsi modding the stems
Thin gaskets to go in between the stab housings and PCB; has cutout for stem area if you want to bottom-out on PCB while still benefiting from this gasket
Three thicknesses of pads for stems bottom-out on if you want to dampen that too
Support pads for the wires to discourage rattle; the product description says it comes with two thicknesses but I only saw one - not sure which size - they work just fine as far as I can tell 
Kit by itself:
v3 stabs including kit:
https://thekey.company/collections/stabilizers/products/c-equalz-x-tkc-screw-in-stabilizers-v3
Yes! I signed up for the restock, just wanted to see if anybody had any experience with them. Muchas gracias!
From my experience holy panda type switches tend to almost completely migate stab rattle, the real offenders are linear switches.
I wish we didn’t need this type of mod, it feels flimsy, the tape might fall off and will leave residue, sounds messy.
Agreed - it’s something of a bandaid, no pun intended. I eagerly await the days of properly dampened stabs that are designed as well as some more recent silent switches.
