What are your keyboard projects for 2021?

[hellothere]

I'd also like to put together a sandblaster station. That'd help on so many levels of keyboarding: bad metal cases, bad mounting plates, de-shiny keys ...

[matt3o]

I'd also like to put together a sandblaster station. That'd help on so many levels of keyboarding: bad metal cases, bad mounting plates, de-shiny keys ...

Same! I have it in my wishlist since forever

[Redmaus]

I'd also like to put together a sandblaster station. That'd help on so many levels of keyboarding: bad metal cases, bad mounting plates, de-shiny keys ...

You can use a sandblaster to deshine keys? This is the first I'm hearing of this. Wouldn't that wear down the legends?

[quaker]

I'd also like to put together a sandblaster station. That'd help on so many levels of keyboarding: bad metal cases, bad mounting plates, de-shiny keys ...

You can use a sandblaster to deshine keys? This is the first I'm hearing of this. Wouldn't that wear down the legends?

Yes they would... whilst they does relatively little on dyesubs or doubleshot letterings.

[Findecanor]

As I recall, it has to be done gently or it will wear down the plastic too much for comfort.
Wodan's old thread.

[voyagersilver]

Would love to pick up a new Model F, restore another keyboard or two, or do a handwired build (since I don't know how to design PCBs). Best of luck to everyone with their projects in the new year!

[adamcobabe]

I'd also like to put together a sandblaster station. That'd help on so many levels of keyboarding: bad metal cases, bad mounting plates, de-shiny keys ...

Shine on SP SA style caps is great IMHO, on everything else modern it looks bad. I wonder if Signature Plastics would make some SA sets with high shine, I think they stopped offering that option. Not sure when made them last, but it's still in their catalogue.

[Scarpia]

Some of the possible projects:

- Build a keyboard for my fiancée
- Sell some of the collection; at least one of the Topres, one of the SSKs, and my Alps64 with brown Alps. Maybe a few of the more exotic keysets I’ll never use.
- Clean and lube the brown Alps in my custom TKL
- Build a board with a sculpted profile like SA or MT3. Maybe SA Carbon or Domikey SA Semiconductor. Try Holy Pandas and decide between those or Kailh Box clickies or Speed Bronzes.

[clickykeyboards]

Pre-sorting and getting ready for grinding through restoration work for 2021.

Mostly IBM finds and a few customer mail-in boards awaiting in the queue.

ClickyKeyborards 2021 grind.jpg (3.31 MiB) Viewed 6547 times

[SneakyRobb]

Actually finishing projects from years past?

This is the correct answer for me as well

[webwit]

Pre-sorting and getting ready for grinding through restoration work for 2021.

Mostly IBM finds and a few customer mail-in boards awaiting in the queue.

ClickyKeyborards 2021 grind.jpg

Clicky still going strong! As one of the originals you must be the longest serving veteran in this keyboard thing.

[blacvelvetpengun]

I recently picked up a M0110a after reading a few posts here. Will hopefully start my restoration project. Waiting for the adapter from Tinkerboi to come in.

[mcmaxmcmc]

I have several hauls that are projecting to arrive in Q1 2021, of which I'll need to clean and sort everything. Some of which I'll maybe do a restoration post on it.

If the world gets better, I can finally ship a computer system from Japan that I have over there. That'd be quite exciting.

I might have to revamp my room just to store more keyboards... my wall is full.

Some custom keyboards should be arriving too, so that'd be pretty neat. Now I just need some meme Alps switches...

[PlacaFromHell]

Basically the same as the other members, finish my last year projects, but to give an extended answer which will be less boring, that means either do a rev5 of my endgame keyboard or decide that the rev4 is good enough to go for the construction phase. Some pictures of how the rev4 is going:

Spoiler:

Magnetic separation switches, modular beamspring-like design and spherical sculpted keycaps over angled stems, with squircle tops to make them look prettier. More info at some point.

[John Doe]

I might have to revamp my room just to store more keyboards... my wall is full.

Post your wall

[hellothere]

I'd also like to put together a sandblaster station. That'd help on so many levels of keyboarding: bad metal cases, bad mounting plates, de-shiny keys ...

Shine on SP SA style caps is great IMHO, on everything else modern it looks bad. I wonder if Signature Plastics would make some SA sets with high shine, I think they stopped offering that option. Not sure when made them last, but it's still in their catalogue.

I think the thread was on Reddit, but there was someone that made non-shiny keys super shiny. IIRC, he used polishing compound (which is used on cars; it's abrasive, so don't go too nuts) and probably a polishing wheel. They looked amazing. I'm thinking that would look pretty nice on black keycaps with white legends.

[digital_matthew]

I've used this three-step polishing system on acrylic sheets and got pretty good results. I've never used it on keycaps though. A polishing wheel would certainly make life easier. There are also foam attachments which you could put on a drill.

https://www.novuspolish.com/

[kajahtaa]

Build a BFO9000, Levinson (from PA1000H), Honeyboard60, and 3rd Fortitude60

Maybe get some wood parts made

Taking a 1 or 2 year break from GB

[mcmaxmcmc]

I might have to revamp my room just to store more keyboards... my wall is full.

Post your wall

Spoiler:

It's not much but this is the only storage space I have, hahaha.
I probably will have to make some storage space under my bed. Gotta get more space, somehow.

[John Doe]

It's not much but this is the only storage space I have, hahaha.

I never count how many kbds I have, but I think they'll not beyond what you have, or what you have posted atleast.

I probably will have to make some storage space under my bed. Gotta get more space, somehow.

that's what I have done, most of them there are trash boards tho.

[Reshala]

Convert and restore: A Marquardt butterfly, an Alps SKCC cream, a Fujitsu FM town(probably 3rd gen linear leaf spring), a Sharp X68000
Mod and build: Swap switches of a chattering Matias ergo pro to green alps or Matias red, maybe try to build a board with space cadet aesthetics if I can find enough symbiosis SA caps
BTW, really hoping to get a 3D printer

[uttindar]

Building a Steezy60 (both SMK and ALPS versions, probably) to utilize some switches and keycaps I have sitting around for ages. Learning to solder small components along the way, because I have a feeling I will require that skill for some parts.

Also figuring out what is wrong with my Datacomp DFK555, with the issue that seems pretty common for that board.

[Netdewt]

I'll be digging deeper into an ortholinear trench. I hope to help a friend build a 4x16 with encoders.

[Explorer914]

The projects I have for 2021 is.

- To repair my cracked Model M
- To clean and restore my Apple M3501
- Restore an M3501 case and repaint the mounting plate(?). I got a spare M3501 that got some kind of corrosive green liquid in it.
So I decided to remove the switches.
- Find a Dell AT101W to put the switches from the gutted M3501
- Find more keyboards to add to my collection

[ChetManley]

2020 leftovers...still have two 5291 Model F's (Bigfoot) that need restoration and conversion, and a Zenith that needs restored.

New for 2021...finally after much searching was able to find a 3276, so restore and conversion on that as well as restoration on the terminal. That will be enough to keep me out of trouble for a while.

Wish everyone the best of success on their 2021 projects!

[XMIT]

Sales. Working to open an online store and thin out my redundant keyboards.

[digital_matthew]

I know this post probably belongs in Workshop, but I thought it would be appropriate to post it here. I mentioned that I was going to restomod a Model M 1390120, so here is the finished project. I cleaned it, bolt modded it, and gave it lock lights to basically turn it into a 1390131. Here are the pics:

Before:

Spoiler:

IMG_0649.JPG (412.42 KiB) Viewed 5657 times

After:

Spoiler:

IMG_1099.jpg (494.13 KiB) Viewed 5657 times

Spoiler:

IMG_1100.jpg (484.9 KiB) Viewed 5657 times

The project was fun and challenging. Trying to keep the flippers in place while bolting the back plate to the barrel plate was probably the hardest part. But it was worth it; this is one of the best looking, best typing keyboards that I own.

[PixelPlays]

My goal is to take this Alps SKCC keyboard module that I have and acquire the know-how and tools to convert it to USB, so that I can breathe a second life into these beautiful switches.

[lhutton]

I might actually finally put together the adapter for my Pingmaster. That's been on the todo pile for a while.

[juspek]

Finish 40% ortho linear project that begun already over a year ago. Or maybe start a new project with normal staggered layout, as that bottom row without stagger is really difficult to get used to when using other keyboards daily too. Maybe if it was my only keyboard then would get used to it after some time.