Ah yes, I can see this working! For my own, I think I was hoping for something either brighter or more colour, but I actually really don’t know. Haven’t developed an eye for keycap/keyboard colour combos yet.
These makes sense, though I can’t seem to find them other than in the actual switches, which seems a bit wasteful. And I can’t seem to find any other short/fast curve springs. Any ideas what would be a reasonable substitute?
Honestly no - if there is one available on its own I’m not aware of it.
That said I’ve been hoarding them for years and I’d be happy to send you some, ha!
hey, thanks @Deadeye that’s really kind! I just sourced some 85 springs for 5 Euro in Germany as I’ll be visiting there again soon. But thank you very much for your offer! also, for the “curated switch samplers”. I am interested in those, but I feel like that’s a big ask… 
@kb123 Five euro, that is pretty cheap for springs in Europe. From what German shop did you order?
It wasn’t in a shop, second hand from a discord seller 
I just got lucky I guess
So this has been on the back burner for about 4 years. Yeah, it’s one of those.
Finally built my Sidewinder. These are some really nice brown alps that I’ve had for 6 or 7 years and the keycaps from a SGI board.
I spent a lot of time with this one. The biggest headache was adding some slots in the plate so that I could screw in the plate/PCB assembly. For some reason the stock Alps plate doesn’t have 2 of the cutouts at the bottom by the space bar.
It’s a simple modification. But I forgot the plate was steel. Holy cow, I underestimated how much harder steel is than aluminum.
Anyway, it’s done after all of these years… and a fun board to type on.
Mmm, so, i finally finished lubing the last of the Black Lotus switches, and am ready to pop on the Purpurite keycaps (which look great btw, thanks for the recommendation @ListlessLlama ). However, as much as I LOVE the PBTFans tray and it’s giving me major VHS nostalgia with the case, I can’t work out how to open the top bit without spraying keycaps everywhere - surely I’m missing something really obvious? 
EDIT: I knew it was something stoopid simple…like trying to take the bottom off when there’s a lid…
EDIT 2: excuse the background crap, but here it is in all its purple yellow white glory 
I love it!
This set looks great on that board and matches the switches even better than I expected! I love when I’m able to match the switches to the keycaps even if nobody knows but me. Well, me and bunch of strangers on the internet 
I use the Gateron switch opener. It’s great for switches with the Cherry style clips. Doesn’t work with the Kailh style clips though.
Best MX switch opener:
They also have Kailh switch opener.
Yes they match surprisingly well! I thought the keycaps might be a bit too intense, and maybe they are a little, but I really like it! And they sound and feel good, too!
Thanks for the recommendations @donpark and @trashcat. In the meantime, I ordered the Domo switch opener, and if that doesn’t work, I’ll try these!
That one is nice from a price/simplicity standpoint.
For a little more you could get this one, in brass. Which, I have to say, is very nice in the hand. If not just a tad heavy.
It will work, but you won’t get a good work flow.
This opener is supposedly good for opening winglatch switches. I have no experience with them myself
They are available on AliExpress and probably other places too
Stock
Lubing
Let’s start with the base.
Pros:
Basic kit.
Interesting design.
Easy to move and press, no slowdown from lubrication.
Price (disputed topic)
Minuses:
Poor stem mold casting (very bad, I personally think)
Curved brace (difficult to align)
Lubrication is required (strong wobble and ratling for default)
The wire bracket must be very carefully lubricated, since its location and latch are made so that all excess grease will be on the board. This gives the wobble of the staple in the latch. You can decide to put some kind of soft material.
The conclusion is that you need to wait for new revisions.
TX also did not immediately become good.
For me, TX version 3 or new 4 is better for a beginner or a person who wants to buy and just install.
I made these two stabilizers for 2u for two and a half hours)) I didn’t like this design so much that I didn’t do it for the space keycap.
Good idea. But it was necessary to make the shape better. Or other body materials.
This protects the staple wire more from frequent keycap changes. I caught such a thing that if you change the keycap often, the stabilizer began to knock. Disassembly showed that the wire became a little bit curved. Even taking into account the fact that I carefully shoot the enter keycap.
I like how tightly the wire is clamped on the Gateron stabilizer or on the M-one. There is a strong hold on the wire.
I think some nail polish, soft kind, coated around inside where wires go or on the wire itself may help with stab noises. My wife doesn’t use nail polish so I haven’t tried it myself.
I tried.
and nail polish.
and hand putty.
and liquid silicone.
or a drop of quick-drying glue.
This changes the pressure and movement. It becomes foreign, unpleasant.
And the varnish or putty is also erased over time.
literally an hour or two monkeytype
I did find it curious they had the wires installed like that. Stating it eliminates wire pop out. How often to stab wires pop out on the top mounted style stabs? I would think as long as you dont gamer rage it should be a non-issue.
One could add something like this:
Under the wires. But thay cost as much as the stabs themselves.
