I’m a long time mech keyboard user building my first custom board. I’ve gone with a kbdfans tofu84 kit. I use a Vortex Race3 UK ISO at the moment and I’m going for roughly the same layout with this build.
I’m trying to get all of the additional bits and pieces ready while I wait for the kit to arrive.
So far I have a set of box jade switches (I gather I’ll also need some hearing protection) and some NicePBT Type 6 keycaps, and I’m about to order some durock v2 stabs as I’ve read that the included stabs aren’t the best.
I think I need a 3x2U + 1x6.25U stab kit. How do I work out if that’s correct for this layout?
Should I be looking at something other than durock?
And are there any other mods I should be looking at for this kit? I’ve read about gasket mounts and switch films, but I’m unsure if that applies here.
Hello and welcome to KeebTalk! To work out the amount of stabilizer size and the amount you should get, check out some Youtube videos on building the Tofu84, and they usually say what the stabilizer size and amount you’ll need. As for looking at something other than Durock stabilizers, I’d recommend checking out some [Zeal stabilizers.] (Zeal® Transparent Gold Plated Screw-in Stabilizers V2 - Zeal Generation Inc.)
They are considered to be some of the best stabilizers for boards currently, but I still recommend doing your own research. The one that would work for your build, a 4x 2U, 1x 6.25U stabilizer kit. Finally for other mods, I would recommend l doing the O Ring mount mod or the gummy O Ring mount mod, which are great for Tofu boards such as the Tofu84, 60, 65, and more. They are known to be quite hollow, so I would recommend looking into putting some butyl foam or a noise dampener material such as KilMat in the case. Happy building!
Thanks so much for the advice, that’s very helpful. Sadly the international shipping on the Zeal stabs is a bit silly, so I may be stuck with durock. I’ve seen Owlab and Wuque for sale locally. Are those worth a look?
A hollow sound is something I really want to avoid… I’ve ordered some foam with the kit, but maybe I’ll experiment a little with o rings and other dampening techniques.
Go with C3v3 stabs or cherry clip-in. If u are in Europe, keygem.store is a good vendor.
But owlab wuqhe will be a good choice to. I just want people to stop thinking Durock is the best.
And u will need 2x 2u and 1x 6.25u(alt 1x 7u) for a ISO build but u most likely have to buy a kit anyway.
Thanks for the comment. Unfortunately most of the euro shops have either stopped delivering to the UK or have very high minimum order values. Durock seems to be the best option locally.
I’ve done a bit more searching and apparently the stabs provided with the kbdfans kits are better than they used to be.
I think I’m going to wait for the kit to arrive first, then see what they look like. If they aren’t great I’ll order something better on aliexpress and put up with the long shipping time…
I will report back when the kit arrives either way!