Lucky bum. Then what, did you screw tap it?
Exactly. I drilled blind holes in the top and screw tapped them. All the other plates have through holes, without thread. So all the screws go in from the back.
In the beginning I considered visible screw heads on the top, but I decided against it.
It looks “cleaner” that way.
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Next step.
I glass bead blasted the case today, and I am quite happy with the result so far.
Picture taken right after blasting:
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I found some visible imperfections in the surface, so I gave the case another round on the belt sander.
After that I bead blasted again, with a little higher pressure.
Now I am satisfied with the result:
What remains is the question, what switches?
Box Navy or Zealios v2 78g?
Clicky or not?
I like them both, but I am not sure if I should go all in and make that board really “loud and heavy”…
10 Likes
Looking amazing!
Wow, so nice. When is the GB? 
I had fun with Holy Pandas on my steel build. Mine was a plate-only sandwich build on top though, so yours will have a very different sound profile given the top plate there.
My current favorite tactile switches are Pacos (Halo stem in Cream housing) or Holy Bobas (Halo steam in Boba housing).
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Thanks!
This is (probably ) a “one of”, but I kept the dxf-files, just in case… (pun intended)
I already have Box Navys and Zealios v2 78g, so I’ll go for one of them.
I own a modified Varmilo VA69 with Glorious Pandas, which are supposed to be quite similar to Holy Pandas. I like them, but I prefer heavier switches.
The heavier and more tactile the better
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Firmware, soldering and assembly is done.
I thought to myself, a case that heavy needs heavy and loud switches.
So I went for Kailh Box Navys. Loud and heavy…
16 Likes
wow, this build just gets better and better. what keycaps are you gonna throw on there?
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Thanks!
Honestly, I am not sure yet.
I consider an (almost) all-grey build, with a grey-tone that goes well with the bead-blasted steel. Thought of Signature Plastics DSA in GDE colourway with a dash of colour. Like let’s say a blue enter.
Or something really flashy, with colours as “loud” as the case…
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This looks so good you are tempting me to buy my own bead blaster. Entry level ones aren’t too expensive.
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No pictures, but I swapped out the 68g springs in my Holy Pandas for 63.5 springs. I got to say that I like this weighting much better, however I am still struggling a bit with typing on these.
I need to give it another week, but the HPs at 63.5 have a large bump and are all bump. It makes it hard to know when you actually activated the switch. Normally I just bottom out all the time, but typing on these is making me realize that for some keys I must not always bottom out on those keys…
I like the HPs for their unique bump, but I think my tastes are moving away from this type of tactility.
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Two switches I’m able to type the most quickly and accurately on are Box Whites and Silent Box Browns. Compared to HPs, both have less heavy but sharp, affirmative tactility - especially the whites. Neither have the boutique factor that HPs do, but for no-nonsense typing I prefer the basic Boxes.
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I think I have honed in on liking 62-64g weights and my tastes have been going back to medium tactility. I have some Clears on the way that I plan on making ergo clears.
Not sure that I am ready to go back to browns, but have you tried the Pewter switches? Pewter switch overview / FAQ – Parallel Limited
They seem like an improved brown, or a slightly more tactile brown. They almost sound like a Brown stem in a T1 housing.
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A 60% Quefrency for a commission build. They really wanted 60% and Zilents, and I had most of the parts already 
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Queef frenzy? Whatever floats your boat, I guess … 
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Tuning up that G80-3494 since I can’t use the replacement PCB I have with it. Out with the stock springs & silent black stems, in with 62g short TX springs, Keebo films, & YOK panda stems. Gonna lube the housings & stems with this 204g00 I’ve been sitting on & the springs with my usual 105.
The Panda stems actually surprised me a little bit TBH. I was trying to figure out what to replace the silent stems with & decided to give them a try since I have a ton of them. They’re actually just as nice in these housings as the retooled black stems I was planning on using! Which saves me a ton of time since I don’t have to open up another 104 switches just to harvest the stems!
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Careful bud, you got switches to test later. 
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