Group Build prototyping phase

[matt3o]

The acrylic case has no "sandwitch" plate?

you mean the top frame?

[Pyrox]

The acrylic case has no "sandwitch" plate?

you mean the top frame?

Ye

[matt3o]

nope, that's an open frame keyboard

[matt3o]

I took the time to make a very quick video to show you how the wood case works. The wood of course still needs varnish

[pyrelink]

Looks great! Thanks for the video.

Did you just use wood glue, or did you use some sort of epoxy, or something weird? I really like how the wood top and the aluminum plate, is its own entity, so if you want to get access to the PCB, its just a matter of unscrewing the bottom steel plate. Did it turn out the way you had planned? Anything you don't like about how it turned out?

Oh and did you sand (and plan to varnish) after you put it all together, or did you sand each piece before putting it together?

[matt3o]

The glue is just wood glue. Take it strong since we are not going to use nails.

This being a prototype it has some very tiny defects (mostly due to the fact that I never worked with wood). But they are very small details that can be easily fixed in the final product.

I must say that the light wood + alu go very well together but once varnished the wood will be darker.

The wood has to be sanded at the end when glued together.

Everything's is actually better than I expected

[Findecanor]

Are the borders around the keys a full 1/4" from the plate or are they lower so that there is a gap underneath the keys?

I think I would seal and paint the sides and stain the top.

[matt3o]

Are the borders around the keys a full 1/4" from the plate or are they lower so that there is a gap underneath the keys?

I think I would seal and paint the sides and stain the top.

nope, the frame is 4mm (you'd need 6mm to completely cover the switches).

[pyrelink]

I think I would seal and paint the sides and stain the top.

I am debating this myself. My favorite, is usually to use a nice clear coat on wood. I love the look of natural wood, and I find that a good clear coat just makes the wood look super vibrant and shiny, and still maintain the great look of wood.

I am considering staining part of it though. If done well stain can look really nice. Depending on the project, I have never been a big fan of painting wood. I would usually only paint the wood if I was using a crappy piece of ply wood and wanted it to look a little nicer. Since you can see the layers on the sides of the case, I am thinking a stain might be nice. I prefer the look of a more solid piece of wood, so maybe like a darker stain on the sides with some clear coat on the top.

It would be nice if we had some extra material to experiment with. Highly doubt it, but is there any chance the laser cutter would throw in a few of the scrap pieces from the wood cases?

Will be exciting to see what everyone comes up with/decides to do.

[Vierax]

very nice video A bit shame it looks like it cuts in the middle of a sentence but it doesn't matter since we can discover your hands and your voice

As I can see, the internal middle layer is a bit thinner than the external. This design is clever, great work !

[pasph]

Darker stain+clear coat+polish is a great idea but maybe a little too much for such a tiny thing?

[matt3o]

It would be nice if we had some extra material to experiment with. Highly doubt it, but is there any chance the laser cutter would throw in a few of the scrap pieces from the wood cases?

the laser cutter can cut any kind of wood, but they store ply only, so we would have to provide the wood we want. Makes things a little more difficult (not to mention expensive).

very nice video A bit shame it looks like it cuts in the middle of a sentence

that's what happens when you forget to charge the batteries...

Darker stain+clear coat+polish is a great idea but maybe a little too much for such a tiny thing?

definitely overkill but that's what I'm going to do

[pasph]

This is passion

[matt3o]

to the paint shop! later today varnishing and painting like there's no tomorrow!

[pyrelink]

Oh you are actually sending the pieces off to a shop to be painted? Or do you mean you will be doing the painting today, yourself?

EDIT: Never mind. I am an idiot lacking sleep. You mean you are going to the paint shop to buy the paint or what ever.

[matt3o]

yes, I went to buy some paint and varnish.

It is coming out pretty well but plywood is not the best looking wood. Wood is really great for custom keyboards, so easy to work with, but maybe you should simply spray paint case+plate of whatever color you like. The treatment to make the wood look good and natural is very long and as I said ply is not really the best option.

Anyway here's the before/after





I still need to varnish

[pasph]

Isn't simpler (for someone more skilled than me) glue some veneer over it?

[SL89]

That looks great matt3o! I am trying to find out how to go about using Tung Oil or something to get that 'oil finish' on some guitars.

[matt3o]

Isn't simpler (for someone more skilled than me) glue some veneer over it?

not the easiest, the frame is very small. I believe the easiest is jut to paint it

[Muirium]

How hard was the peninsula of wood between the arrow keys and the rest? Delicate at all?

[matt3o]

How hard was the peninsula of wood between the arrow keys and the rest? Delicate at all?

no, not delicate at all, but I glued it to the plate, so...

[SL89]

How hard was the peninsula of wood between the arrow keys and the rest? Delicate at all?

no, not delicate at all, but I glued it to the plate, so...

i was just gonna suggest that. what is the thickness on the top layer of wood?

[Muirium]

Smart as always.

How do you reckon the wood design would handle being shrunk to a sub-60% size? I'm talking about my PCB mount M84 switches again. So no plate. But also no peninsulas.

[matt3o]

How hard was the peninsula of wood between the arrow keys and the rest? Delicate at all?

no, not delicate at all, but I glued it to the plate, so...

i was just gonna suggest that. what is the thickness on the top layer of wood?

4mm, but could be anything. I also have a 6mm one, but I don't like it.

How do you reckon the wood design would handle being shrunk to a sub-60% size? I'm talking about my PCB mount M84 switches again. So no plate. But also no peninsulas.

with wood the more matter the better. I would make everything a little larger, apart from that I also have a wood numpad and if it works with a numpad it works for a sub-60

[Muirium]

Yes, that numpad ought to be a good test.

[SL89]

Any reason you aren't so keen on the 6mm matt3o?

[Muirium]

Minimalist! (Just like me.)

[pasph]

[matt3o]

Any reason you aren't so keen on the 6mm matt3o?

the case is pretty slim, 6mm top frame is almost as tall as the case sides. It works, simply not my cup of tea. I'll post some pictures of the numpad with both frames

[SL89]

Ahh ok, makes sense.