Cool! Thanks for your input. That helps elevate my fears. Sounds like NIZ kits are the ones to stay away from, which has kind of be true for a number of years. Although so people do like them.
pls check that the class 80 ec plate can take the topre style housings. afaik from all the twitch build streams ive seen the class keebs use Niz. and niz housing dimensions are different so Topre might be too big
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A custom plate I designed for the Portico 65% keyboards, laser-cut in 1/16" birch plywood
I put in f-holes just for fun
When I found out a new coworker had a laser at home, well - it was game on. Can’t wait to try it out later tonight!
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Very cool! The plywood should have just enough give to be useable as a plate. Looking forward to sound tests!
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I was also playing with the laser today. Cut a top-plate out of 1/8" hardboard (aka Masonite). Mostly just checking the laser after tightening the belts, as I kind of like the existing look, but I did do a test fit.
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Update:
Got one of the birchwood plates installed into one of my Porticos, the currently-available 68 Black Label
More photos, notes, material caveats
It fits! Yay.
It also works, and is even pretty easy to install - I do recommend a plate fork if you aren’t using foam or something else below it, though.
Installing the switches carefully with the fork went well, with only a little de-lamination here and there, caused by the clip teeth. This went much better than the intentional torture test I did earlier, hastily installing tons of different switches in one of these:
It’s actually quite easy to separate the layers accidentally:
But, some switches do seem to get along better with the 1/16" plywood than others:
Those clips on the Kailh Box, for example, appear to function just as intended. That gave me some hope after how roughed-up that first plate was by the end of the torture test, and it did work after all. Using the fork went a long way in preserving the layer adhesion and integrity of the fibers.
So what’s it sound like? I think I might do some more recordings with this later with a few different switches and configurations, but for now here’s a quick and dirty comparison:
As a point of comparison, here is a Portico68 BL with all the foam installed, a flex-cut polycarb plate, NK_ Silk Olivias, and GMK CYL keycaps:
Now, here’s the same model keyboard with foam below but not above the PCB, the 3-ply birchwood plate, NuPhy Night Breeze linears (POK stems), and MTNU keycaps:
Edit: also… it smells good
Considering this was some of the cheapest 1/16" wood I could get without looking very hard, I find this result pretty encouraging. 
I’ll keep using this one for a while and see how it goes, and I also intend to continue experimenting with other materials.
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Pretty cool stuff, the wood plate sounds pretty damn good too! I wonder if maybe smearing a little wood glue on the outer edges (maybe even in the switch cutouts too) would help to keep it from delaminating when installing switches?
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De-soldered the DZ60 as I don’t get the flat Bamboo case and PC plate to work for me. Now switched to FR4 plate and 3D print case with gasket mount
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The topic is certainly not about the keyboard)
New and old mouse. I took the old mouse, took it apart and pulled out the board. To desolder the mic on the old one and solder the new mics Kail8.0.
And then if everything is ok.
Change only the circuit board in the new mouse that is on the table.
It turned out fine. I spent a long time cleaning it to get the Omron out. But soldering is very quick.
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Built my second HMKB today since I have a 3rd on the way. 
Having a little fun with SA Leviathan. It’s okay to not have super serious keycaps. Right?
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Trying to figure out how to tune Gateron Slay switches. My best recommendation… donut dip spring, 3204 on all surfaces of the stem, 205g0 on the top housing, and a film. Yikes. I don’t want to put that much work into a switch in 2023.
They’re simply too noisy (as in, extra noise from top housing and stem rattle) and high pitched to use stock.
The lubed and filmed result is nice. It’s like a KS-3 but with more clack. KS-3 usually sound pretty good if carefully lubed, but they tend to sound dead in a lot of builds. The longer pole on these fixes that issue. But it’s gonna be a lot of labor. Not sure it’s worth the time and energy.
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This wooden plate project is so cool. I’m going to have to learn how to do this. Luckily, my local library has a laser cutter in its makerspace, so I can try that out. I love the novelty of adding f-holes.
The de-laminating issue of plywood was good to note. I’m looking into some options for solid wood sheets.
What’s a good way of getting the design files to specify the cut?
Edit: for the board that I’m considering trying this for, I found that the manufacturer provides a PDF file diagramming the plate. However, in general, if that is not available, what would one do? Try to scan an existing plate somehow? Manually measure the dimensions and use drafting software?
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but - have a look at - Thanks! I’m on the hunt for some solid sheets myself; I’d love to know if you find someone who supplies them at the right thickness.
Pretty much - though there are lots of files out there folks have already gone to the trouble of making as well as plate generators - the website @Michabc mentioned is a great resource there. If the plate you need isn’t available anywhere, though, just about any vector graphics software has the tools for precision drawing.
Combining standard measurements with a scan should make for enough reference; that plate I made with the f-holes I traced from scratch using TKCs provided dxf file as a reference. The software I have can read those, but it loses the scale / size information and breaks every line and curve into a separate object making it hard to edit - so I manually traced over it with the software, made the edits I wanted, and then used the standard size of a switch slot and a little math to scale the whole thing - fits like a glove.
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National Balsa sells 1/16" sheets of various materials, such as basswood, maple, walnut, cherry:
It seems that hobby and craft stores are also worth checking. Michael’s lists a 10-pack of suitable sheets (Midwest Products Basswood Sheet 24"-1/16"X6" | Michaels). They might also sell them individually, but their website is terrible for searching for something so specific (i.e., for given dimensions), and I might just go into a physical location to check their stock. I’ve bought similar sheets of wood from them in the past for a completely different project.
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I made castling of keycaps.
And replacement of switches.
I put a “Fecker” on the Tofu2.0 keyboard, re-lubricated by hand. During lubrication, I found several pieces, even many pieces, where the legs of the bodice were severely bent. And I even found a broken leg on the 5th plastic pin.
And on Cycle7 I installed stock default Hyacinth V2U.
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Today I desoldered the orange Alps from one of my m0116 boards. Everything went smoother than expected. I guess my prep work paid off. I started with a good cleaning of 99% Isopropyl and added flux to each joint with a flux pen. Didn’t even have problems with the bent over switch legs.
Hoping to build my Lunar II this week
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Nice, post pics when you get a chance! You gonna use the solenoid?
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Also a game sequel I’ve been waiting to play for around 30 years, thanks to Working Designs titles being hard to find and Sega CD being hard to emulate.
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