Build log: Alps64 in a handmade birch case

[pansku]

A little background:

A couple of years ago I bought my first mechanical keyboard. It was a Ducky Shine 2 with MX Blues. Then I got a Ducky Mini with MX Reds. Not knowing of anything better, I liked it so much I ended up selling the Shine 2. Then I got a Model M. Liked the switches but couldn't deal with the ANSI-layout and 2KRO in some games. So in the end I sold it. Then I heard of the Kishsaver, but as it is Unobtanium I ordered the next best thing, Ellipsesaver. While waiting for that I decided to give an F XT a go as it is close to ISO. I love it and it is in rotation with my latest acquisition, Omnikey 101 with Pine Whites. I really like the switches and I've learned to live with the ANSI-layout. But for the most demanding game of mine, Dota 2, I still pop up the Poker 2 even though I don't like the reds nor the layout too much.

As both of my main boards are pretty big, and I like the occasional linears especially for gaming, I've come up with the idea for the next board for my rotation. A programmable 60% ISO keyboard with the Alps that have good weighting for me for both gaming and typing. I might as well go deeper in the Alps vortex and use SKCL Greens for the build. This is a no costs saved build so Greens are more glamorous than something like linear modded Blacks.

First, here is the layout:

Layout

keyboard-layout.png (26.38 KiB) Viewed 7360 times

A standard winkeyless 60% ISO-swedish/finnish layout. Nothing too special about that. The PCB will be Alps64. It should handle that layout just fine, shouldn't it?

Onto the case. I've been planning to build it from local raw birch plank. AKA this stuff:




I was thinking of getting a wide (maybe 250mm?) plank and make a inlay with a router. The inlay would be near the top of plank and lower part would be used as a wristrest. The case would be oiled with a light shade so it keeps the lovely color of birch.

The plate of which I was thinking would be 10mm wider and taller than the PCB. Would it be better to use standoffs in the inlay for mounting the PCB or use the width of the plate for mounting the plate to a shallower inlay? Top of the plate would be at the same level as the top of the case in both of the options. Does 1,2mm sound like a good thickness for a stainless steel plate or is 1mm better? Which thickness would be better if the plate was aluminium?

Next thing in the checklist are the keycaps. I intend to get simple black legends on white caps. I don't mind some wrong legends like in the Ctrl-key saying Caps Lock, but I want Ö and Ä so ISO-DE is likely the way to go. Are such things available in dyesubbed PBT? Also, do Caps Lock keys usually use stabilisers? When trying out the plate configurator tool it used those in Caps Lock position.

So parts list looks like this:

• Case
• Plate
• PCB
• Switches
• Keycaps
• Stabilisers
• Cable

Anything I'm missing or I have overlooked? Are the planned parts acquirable? I don't have the time or energy to spent 6 months hunting a donor board for switches alone. I haven't started acquiring any of the parts yet, not before I'm sure that the final design works.

So what do you guys think? All help, opinions and information is really appreciated

Edit: Title

[Khers]

Interesting project, pansku. Nice to see something different with a wood case.

I've got some quick answers to a couple of your questions:
• 1 or 1.2mm are both good choices for the plate. Regardless of material, you should not go thicker unless you mill a little indentation around the switches as Alps-switches are designed with 1-1.2mm plates in mind.
• Keycaps are definitely available in the wild, but can be difficult to track down. I haven't put too much effort into it as I'm an ANSI-user. However, from the brief check i did a while back I'd say that your best bet, initially, is probably to get hold of an AT102/W. That will at least give you some caps to start with, while not being too expensive. There are definitely nicer sets out there; but as I said, it would be a good starting point.
• Alps64 does fit your layout and is an excellent choice!
• Green Alps are more difficult to get hold of than say Matias linears, but they do exist, you just need to know what to look for.
• Some Alps boards do use stabs for the Caps Lock, but it's definitely not needed.

Other than that, good luck with the project!

[HzFaq]

Just a quick one from me, be a little careful when making your plate as the Alps64 PCB has 3 different ISO enter positions. Probably would be better to source caps before getting the plate sorted so you know which enter position to plan for.

[matt3o]

if you go aluminum (which I recommend) use 1.2mm thickness. For keycaps Granite has all you need Everything else I believe has been addressed by Khers.

Wood is a great material for keyboards, I don't know why it is not used more often.

This I didn't understand:

The plate of which I was thinking would be 10mm wider and taller than the PCB. Would it be better to use standoffs in the inlay for mounting the PCB or use the width of the plate for mounting the plate to a shallower inlay?

[pansku]

@Khers Yea, I kinda thought that caps and switches are going to be the hard part. Sticking to ISO especially the Finnish/Swedish variant always makes life a lot harder when it comes to getting keycaps. I found a picture of pretty much exactly what I want from the wiki, so there surely is hope



@HzFaq Thanks for the heads up! I've sent an initial quote to 2 waterjet cutting places to get a picture of how much the plate is going to cost. Best case scenario is that I get access to a milling machine, maybe even CNC.

@matt3o That trail of thought didn't come out like it did in my head

I meant something like making the plate larger than PCB both horizontally and vertically and mounting the assembly to the case by the plate. I would cut a part with the router so that the top of the plate would be in level with the top of the case.

But I guess it is meant to be mounted by the PCB. I'm still thinking of sinking the plate in so that a bottomed out keycaps' bottom part would be roughly 2,5mm above the top of the case. I still have a lot of supplies to gather before making any of those big decisions. So far I've sent an order to Hasu for the PCB and have no other parts. I'll probably get the plank in the following weeks and start thinking about the routing and cutout for the connector and all that stuff.

Also any suggestions about an affordable quality soldering station are welcomed. I've heard only good things about Weller ones but they seems to cost like 200-1000€. As a rule of thumb for buying tools is that I buy them to last decades so no cheap chinese ones.

Edit:Typos

[pomk]

Hakko FX-888D is the cheapest soldering station I'd buy, no need to upgrade unless you have some very specific needs and it is still quite inexpensive. 220V version can be found here for the lowest price I've seen: http://www.batterfly.com/shop/hakko_fx-888d

If you find a waterjet cutting place in Finland which will work with small orders like yours at a reasonable price, could you please share that information here as well.

If you are into laser cutting stuff, there is a shop in Helsinki with very fair prices: http://www.lasercutstudio.com/
No metal though!

[matt3o]

I meant something like making the plate larger than PCB both horizontally and vertically and mounting the assembly to the case by the plate. I would cut a part with the router so that the top of the plate would be in level with the top of the case.

But I guess it is meant to be mounted by the PCB. I'm still thinking of sinking the plate in so that a bottomed out keycaps' bottom part would be roughly 2,5mm above the top of the case. I still have a lot of supplies to gather before making any of those big decisions. So far I've sent an order to Hasu for the PCB and have no other parts. I'll probably get the plank in the following weeks and start thinking about the routing and cutout for the connector and all that stuff.

If I get what you mean, then, yes totally the plate should hold on the case not the PCB!

[Findecanor]

Also, do Caps Lock keys usually use stabilisers? When trying out the plate configurator tool it used those in Caps Lock position.

That would depend on the type of key you get. Many, such as the ones on the Dell AT102 are 1.5u + a step of 0.25u, and those have the switch centred within the 1.5 area. Others are the full 1.75u with the switch centred in that. Only the latter type sometimes has stabilisers.

Note also that there are two main types of stabilisers on boards with Alps switches: Alps stabilisers and Costar-style stabilisers. Each type has its type of mount in the plate and in the keycap, as well as a different size, shape and gauge of stabiliser wire.

Besides boards with Alps switches, there are lots of vintage keyboards - (rubber dome or other mechanical switch) - with Alps-compatible keycaps that might have stabilisers of one or the other type as above... or a different style altogether.
I have seen some in thrift stores now and then, but I'm sorry I have not bought one for its Alps-compatible keycaps.

Wood is a great material for keyboards, I don't know why it is not used more often.

I think I read somewhere that someone said that wood makes a louder keyboard than if made from than plastic or metal. I was trying to find that post earlier today but it still eludes me...
Anyway, from what I have read, it seems as if the build is going to be quite solid so that might not matter.

[matt3o]

I think I read somewhere that someone said that wood makes a louder keyboard than if made from than plastic or metal. I was trying to find that post earlier today but it still eludes me...
Anyway, from what I have read, it seems as if the build is going to be quite solid so that might not matter.

I made two wood keyboards and they both sound fantastic https://soundcloud.com/matt3oaudio/robo ... sound-test

[pansku]

Project is now officially live! With the first item bought I edited the title to build log. PCB is paid and first quote for plate arrived. 102,40€ VAT incl.

I might have to look into getting the plate made by local vocational school. The labor from them should be cheap. Like less than 20€ per hour. I'm not sure if they have the suitable machinery to make cuts for the stabs though.

Also many of you might have noticed the Dolch with finnish/swedish caps being auctioned at Sweden,but with the little swedish I know it said that the keyboard won't be sold abroad. If anyone can proxy send me a PM

Edit:Typos and stuff...

[pansku]

And the second quote is in. A much more reasonable 70€. If I can get the Dolch then I might just get a 2u backspace and call it a day so I could send a final quote to the vocational school.

@pomk the first more expensive quote was from Prolaser and the second cheaper was from Tampereen vesileikkaus. The latter doesn't accept card for payment, but they could do it in a week. The shipping is 15€ for that sized item (Like a 130km drive from my place so I would just drive there if I decided to order from them).

[pomk]

Thanks for the info!
edit: fyi wooden plates look, sound and feel amazing as well

IMG_2402.JPG (1.57 MiB) Viewed 7119 times

[Johnee]

And the second quote is in. A much more reasonable 70€. If I can get the Dolch then I might just get a 2u backspace and call it a day so I could send a final quote to the vocational school.

@pomk the first more expensive quote was from Prolaser and the second cheaper was from Tampereen vesileikkaus. The latter doesn't accept card for payment, but they could do it in a week. The shipping is 15€ for that sized item (Like a 130km drive from my place so I would just drive there if I decided to order from them).

Have you looked into lasergist.com? I've seen ppl mention them on the mk corners of the internet. They're supposed to be affordable. I have no personal experience with them yet tho.

[pansku]

I kinda threw that option out of the window when I saw the prices were in dollars. Now that I had a quick look it is still more expensive than having one made here thanks to the 24% VAT added after the initial cheaper price. Assuming they ship from accross the Pond. I couldn't find the detailed address from their site on my phone.

[gogusrl]

Thanks for the info!
edit: fyi wooden plates look, sound and feel amazing as well

IMG_2402.JPG

I require a link to the full build log.

[Phenix]

Thanks for the info!
edit: fyi wooden plates look, sound and feel amazing as well

IMG_2402.JPG

Which pcb is it?
Looks really nice!

[derzemel]

Thanks for the info!
edit: fyi wooden plates look, sound and feel amazing as well

IMG_2402.JPG

give us more details... please

[seebart]

Yes some more pictures would be nice.

[pomk]

This is a bit off-topic already. I haven't kept a build log, but you can have a read here:
https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=80263.msg2085061
https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=85768.msg2301079
workshop-f7/switch-chattering-and-low-v ... 15048.html
https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=86364.msg2319258

[elecplus]

Green Alps are not that hard to come by. I have a bunch of them in some old vintage Wyse boards. https://www.elecshopper.com/wyse-00-600 ... board.html
A lot of the old Zenith boards, like the KB-2, also have green Alps.

[pansku]

Green Alps are not that hard to come by. I have a bunch of them in some old vintage Wyse boards. https://www.elecshopper.com/wyse-00-600 ... board.html
A lot of the old Zenith boards, like the KB-2, also have green Alps.

Price would've been well within the budget too without 60$shipping and 24% VAT. By the way, is the shipping weight of 6.00 in kilograms or pounds? Too bad that I've just missed the timing of andrewjoy's group buy.

[elecplus]

Weight is in pounds. GB box has not shipped yet; send Andrew a PM.

[pansku]

And message is sent I sure hope it's not too late.

[pansku]

Slowly but surely progress is being made

• I'm now waiting for the donorboard from elecplus in the EU GB
• Yesterday the PCB arrived and it works
  
• Today I picked up some material for the case. I decided to get one of each so I'll also be making a new case for my Ducky Mini. The mounting points should be the same so I can get started as soon as I find the time. The bigger of the two pieces is a little crooked so I will either buy time to use a local hobbyist shop or give it to a carpenter as I don't have a surface planing machine or what ever it's called (oikohöylä in finnish). The two pieces are actually great quality. They have enough surface without a single branch to make the cases. Best thing is that it only cost 5€ total.
  
• Unfortunately I didn't win the auction for the Swedish Dolch so I need to source the caps elsewhere. I'll be updating my WTB in the marketplace later today. After that I just need to order the plate and stabs and put the whole thing together. I even found a 9mm head for my hot air gun in the garage for easier desoldering of the switches

Picture album: http://imgur.com/a/eLkp6

[pansku]

Minor progress update:

Case is now almost done. I just need to make the hole for USB, put some standoffs and treat it with oil.
The little marks inside it won't matter as they won't be seen nor will they interfere with the mounting.


Keycaps are aquired. They are from gogusrl's SGI Granite. Unfortunately they are not ISO SE/FI but they are close enough for now and I couldn't resist the temptation of PBT.


Donor board for the switches should be on it's way from andrewjoy's GB. After it arrives I'll desolder the switches and maybe put them in my brother's friend's ultrasonic cleaner along with the keycaps. After that just the final assembly is required

Ooh I'm so close to finish I can almost see the end product in my head

[pansku]

Update time!!!!

Oh boy oh boy today was like christmas. The green Alps board I have waited for nearly 2 months arrived today and it sure was worth the wait I really like these switches as they are very smooth, have a tiny bit of tactility and they have great weighting. So now it's time for photos.

Feel free to add this information to wiki if my pictures and documentation are good enough

Backside of the PCB

IMG_20170602_130341.jpg (4.2 MiB) Viewed 6669 times

Overview of the other side of backpanel

IMG_20170602_130312.jpg (3.75 MiB) Viewed 6669 times

Sticker inside the backpanel

IMG_20170602_130258.jpg (2.74 MiB) Viewed 6669 times

Flipout foot

IMG_20170602_125246.jpg (3.77 MiB) Viewed 6669 times

Model sticker

IMG_20170602_125232.jpg (2.76 MiB) Viewed 6669 times

Back

IMG_20170602_125223.jpg (2.39 MiB) Viewed 6669 times

Doubleshot keycap

IMG_20170602_125146.jpg (2.76 MiB) Viewed 6669 times

Alphas with keycap removed

IMG_20170602_125102.jpg (2.86 MiB) Viewed 6669 times

Connector

IMG_20170602_125005.jpg (3.03 MiB) Viewed 6669 times

Overview

IMG_20170602_124952.jpg (3.85 MiB) Viewed 6669 times

Some notes:
Keycaps are doubleshot blue on beige/grey
Some keycaps have mounts for stabilisers but no stabiliser installed
Model is Wyse 00-600-01 but the last number has written 2 on it as if it had a wrong label with the right one being 00-600-02
ICs are a mixed bag of 1984 and 1985
Seems to have diode matrix. I haven't finished desoldering yet
Switches appear to be in excellent condition
Despite the heavy yellowing there was very little dust and dirt inside
It has 10-pin connector so I have no clue about possible conversion with Matias switches as the layout isn't half bad
It has a metal weight in the monofoot and otherwise the casing is very light
More pictures to follow in the next post.

[andrewjoy]

It made it safe then ? Nice one !!

The green alps are fantastic i was so jealous.

Where did you get your plate ?

[pansku]

More pictures:

Assembled Alps SKCL Green

IMG_20170602_140230.jpg (1.51 MiB) Viewed 6661 times

Slider

IMG_20170602_135948.jpg (1.8 MiB) Viewed 6661 times

Top and bottom housing

IMG_20170602_135934.jpg (2.33 MiB) Viewed 6661 times

Bottom housing with black switchplate

IMG_20170602_135823.jpg (2.8 MiB) Viewed 6661 times

Didn't take out stabilised keys yet

IMG_20170602_130629.jpg (4.17 MiB) Viewed 6661 times

Some ICs

IMG_20170602_130615.jpg (2.29 MiB) Viewed 6661 times

Connector at PCB side

IMG_20170602_130539.jpg (2.53 MiB) Viewed 6661 times

I only managed to desolder the numpad at the time of writing this. Are there any tips to desoldering as with the solderwick it's going to take forever? Cheaping out and using my dads 80W non adjustible soldering iron is really taking a toll. After 30mins of use the front of the handle was uncomfortably hot. I really don't want to buy a new one yet as I got accepted to study electrical engineering at Aalto University and they have clubs and things like that where I should be able to use proper equipment. *Sigh*

I might put together the assembly monday and test it in the poker 2 case before I get the chance to finish the birch case. A really busy weekend coming and now that I have the parts I don't have the time Overall this project is finally getting near completion

[andrewjoy]

A desoldering pump will help. You can also get a full desoldering gun that heats up like a soldering iron but they are expensive.

I wish you had said what you where doing i could have sucked them all out for you in 10 mins

[pansku]

It made it safe then ? Nice one !!

The green alps are fantastic i was so jealous.

Where did you get your plate ?

The cardboard had some punctures but the board was safe

The plate I ended up getting from lasergist but in hindsight I should have spent extra 20€ getting it watercut in Finland. There were some uneven cuts in top right partition of the plate and time will tell if I have to file it down to get the switches fit.

Too bad that I'll have like 20 extra switches after this project and no use for them, yet. I could maybe mail one to you after I'm finished desoldering the rest if you want one for collecting purposes.