What's on your workbench today?

As far as I know, this is the only low-pain way to use a POM plate. :stuck_out_tongue:

I think someone actually does make a tool specifically for dealing with soft-plate challenges - looks a bit like a wide-tooth comb - but yeah. I feel that headache.

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My fingertips would disagree with the low-pain sentiment, but point taken :rofl: It’d worked in one off instances before but definitely not here. Lesson learned!

I ended up doing almost the same thing as you when I was trying to swap them while the assembly was still in the board. The modifiers were usually okay as was the num row but the alphas towards the center got me. every. single. time.

I think they have been officially named “plate forks”. I just bought one. They are popping up on more and more sites.

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This is where PCB padding helps immensely.

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Finally put those fun stickers on the BBOX60.


Next to a real breadbin:

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Going fully retro, even with the record player. Endless love for the days of my youth — the breadbin.

BTW, Matt3o showed a C64 case on his discord server. Sounds like he wants to have it manufactured.

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Wonderful. Joyous. Is this the AFSA set?

SP SA Chocolatier :chocolate_bar:

Decided to give C3 Equalz v3 stabs a try tonight.

They come with a gasket kit, with a selection of thicknesses and materials. Since this is a work keeb, I used the thick ones.

I also used the included Teflon strips for the stems.

From there, I just put a sheen of 205g0 on the flat sides of the stem and on the ends of the wires up to just past the bends where they clip in; very minimal. (Switches are TTC Silent Bluish Whites.)

I also decided to finally try one of the silicone case inserts I’ve had laying around for a while.

They’re quite snug.

I’m really happy with these Nylon stabs so far - way more my speed than the polycarb KBDfans ones I had on here before. I can definitely say I’ve never had stabs sound this good with this little lube.

I decided to do this after not using this keeb for a while and forgetting how bad the stabs sounded; floppy and clunky. Definitely a good idea, and definitely worth the leisurely hour or two I spent on it with YouTube in the background.

Here’s what the keeb sounds like now:

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Had the same impression when I first tried those C3 v3 stabs. Sounds great!

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Dang, I’m gonna need to try these now.

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Discipline on the bench today. People do some fancy artsy shit with silk/mask on boards and I really need to get inspired to try it on some of my stuff.

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Decided to give my new little light box a try with some quick phone photos.


Gateron Browns


TTC Heart / Honey / Love


Gateron Oil Kings


Once I get a setup all dialed-in I’ll be photographing my whole collection with my DSLR.

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I missed out on where those stickers come from.

I can’t remember where the gravestone one is from; a sticker pack someone here pointed out to me. They had a handful of MX-related sticker packs; kind of expensive but really cool designs.

The see-thru heart is from a sheet that came with an LP, Aesop Rock’s Spirit World Field Guide

The skull king came from Redbubble, where most of the ones on my jars are from.

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Doing some science!

Experimenting with speed curing RO-59 with a heated food dehydrator. Ideally it would cure around 175-200F, but the circulating air and a little more cure time seems to do the trick.

As a bonus, I get to avoid any awkward conversations with my wife as to why I’m cooking plastic in our oven. :dizzy_face:

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whatcha coating?

I like your style :grin:

I’m working on some Topre housings from a Realforce PFU TKL. I’m applying the RO-50 to the contact surface on the housing for the slider stems.

I’m working on a theory that if these are the fixed contact surfaces, I could save time and materials by only apply to these surfaces versus the entirety of the moving stem. So far things are looking promising, but we’ll really see once the keyboard is fully re-assembled.

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You ever install a set of switches into a board and it sounds nothing like what you expected? It’s been an interesting day experimenting with one of my Prophets. First, I installed Creams in it and honestly, I was underwhelmed. I realize that Creams improve over time but the combination of the shuffling sound of the key press and some leaf ticking contributed to what amounted to an underwhelming overall sound experience. It wasn’t something that I was going to look forward to typing on so out they came.

Enter: my Gateron Ink Black reclamation projects. I acquired these when I purchased my Polaris and they sounded…ploppy. Two ultrasonic cleaning rounds later, I gave them a fresh, much lighter coat of lube and also swapped in 60g TX mediums. At first pass, I’m really excited about these springs. They’re more of a linear feel than the longs but still have enough weight at the top to prevent most accidental key presses. So I got the Creams out, the Inks in, and come to find out that I have two switches that no longer function. And since these came out of a different board, I only have exact count. Bummer.

So for the purposes of typing this comment I’ve swapped the two dead switches into less important spots on the board but unfortunately it looks like these will also need to come out until I can pick up a couple of replacements.

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