PBT Space Bars

[boingo]

Hello All,

I'm still fairly new here so please forgive any mistakes and feel free to correct/inform me.

The Need:
Keyboards sold with PBT caps and PBT cap sets frequently come with ABS space bars. This leaves many of us looking for PBT space bars, but they are hard to come by.

A Possible Solution:
Signature Plastics (and presumably other cap makers) are able to make them in PBT. Assuming that there are enough folks looking for PBT space bars perhaps a group buy could be arranged.

Other Solutions?
Does anyone know of a better way to get PBT space bars? My interest is in OEM/DCS profile.


Would you be interested in a GB of PBT space bars?

Cheers,
Boingo

[scottc]

They have some in their inventory: http://keycapsdirect.com/key-capsinventory.php

Edit: It seems that they only have ABS and PC (polycarbonate?)... I suppose that doesn't help!

[Muirium]

No PBT space bars there, by the looks of it:

http://keycapsdirect.com/inventorypdfs/ ... entory.pdf

Just ABS, and the occasional "PC", which I assume is polycarbonate?

Edit: you Celtic ninja! Anyway, it's also nice to be able to choose a matching colour, of course. What set are you trying to match, Boingo?

[boingo]

No PBT space bars there, by the looks of it:

http://keycapsdirect.com/inventorypdfs/ ... entory.pdf

Just ABS, and the occasional "PC", which I assume is polycarbonate?

Edit: you Celtic ninja! Anyway, it's also nice to be able to choose a matching colour, of course. What set are you trying to match, Boingo?

Firstly for my Poker II which I hope will arrive today. Caps are black (or blackish) http://www.vendio.com/stores/E-sports-G ... d=35050923

My Leopold 660C is in the same boat - but since it uses Topre mounts instead of cherry I assume it's a lost cause.

I'd also like to have the option if I end up getting a PBT set for my Das which is starting to develop a bit of shine though it's a long ways still from looking bad.

Cheers,
Boingo

[Muirium]

The Leopold just needs some of those Topre to MX stems that are all the rage.

http://deskthority.net/keyboards-f2/top ... t7076.html

Well, they will be when they're available.

[matt3o]

organizing a GB for just spacebars (maybe in a couple of colors) would be extremely simple with the new SP system. If you hit the 50 tier at least they end up at a sane price tag

[Muirium]

Step 1. Acquire SP's PBT colour ring ($35) to get a proper match. Dodgy coloured space bars are just as bad as yellowed ones.

[matt3o]

Step 0. Ask for a specific Pantone color and match any set.

[Muirium]

They can do that, eh?

Step -1. Acquire Pantone samples. (More easily found than SP's.)

[boingo]

The Leopold just needs some of those Topre to MX stems that are all the rage.

http://deskthority.net/keyboards-f2/top ... t7076.html

Well, they will be when they're available.

The NovaTouch does look promising, but I'm pretty happy with the layout of the Leo so far - though I will be looking into customizing SpaceFN to use the same FN layer as the Leo's native one.

Do you think they will be available outside of buying and harvesting from a nova touch?

Cheers,
Boingo

[matt3o]

yes, they can match pantone (you have to wait longer for production and the GB needs to be pretty successful).

What color would you like to have? I guess black

Do you think they will be available outside of buying and harvesting from a nova touch?

CoolerMaster said "No"

[Muirium]

Matt3o has made a few of his own… (trying to find the thread)

[matt3o]

https://www.shapeways.com/model/1990125 ... 0beta.html

[Muirium]

There we go! Your Leopold just needs one.

Matt, how about the stabs?

[boingo]

Step 1. Acquire SP's PBT colour ring ($35) to get a proper match. Dodgy coloured space bars are just as bad as yellowed ones.

That does seem to be a flaw in my backup plan of using the ABS space bar that originally came with my QFR to replace the one on the Poker II so I can at least ditch the "Enjoy your feeling" cheesiness

[IvanIvanovich]

If you want OEM profile PBT, then I think you should look at getting some Keycool brand spacebar sourced from China. They do a variety of colors and are universal type which do fit Leopold (one variant, don't remember which) too.

[boingo]

If you want OEM profile PBT, then I think you should look at getting some Keycool brand spacebar sourced from China. They do a variety of colors and are universal type which do fit Leopold (one variant, don't remember which) too.

Thanks IvanIvanovich,

From their website it doesn't look like they sell directly and their 'reseller' section is either blank or broken. Any advice on who/where I could find CoolKey PBT space bars?

Cheers,
Boingo

[matt3o]

There we go! Your Leopold just needs one.

Matt, how about the stabs?

I'm out of prototyping funds...

[IvanIvanovich]

Perhaps you can see if keyboard-WOW will do a bulk order with lower per key price and other colors? Otherwise perhaps one of Chinese member can help you to get a deal with a TaoBao distributor?

[boingo]

Poker II just arrived. The "enjoy your feeling Poker II" looks just as silly in person.

The keys are a dark grey color and the case is black. Since the space bar from my QFR is also black it doesn't look as bad as if it had been the wrong shade of grey, but still not optimal.

Spoiler:

So, which makes me feel more silly? Black space bar or "Enjoy your feeling Poker II"?

[matt3o]

I would put a vivid orange PBT spacebar over there

[Eszett]

How about a Richard-Kiel-spacebar(*) from geekkeys.com

geekkeys.com.JPG (95.36 KiB) Viewed 3556 times

(*) Richard Kiel, known as “Jaws” from James Bond

252706-richardkiel.jpg (22.39 KiB) Viewed 3554 times