What is on your desk today?

[Deadeye]

Hello from the spirit world

TKC Portico68 Black Label

• GMK CYL Mictlán Papel Picado
• HMX Snow Crash linears
• Custom POM plate by HypeKeyboards
• Combo of Knight (mods) and Maiz (space) stabs

a few more photos

Still some potato-package flakes on the keys

These switches fit the theme, aesthetically and otherwise - typing on this build sounds like a chorus of miniature tap-dancing skeletons

Been waiting to pull this set out. Here’s a recording of the build as shown, complete with some background noise:

And as a point of comparison, the same build but with Gateron Smoothies and ePBT keycaps, as I’ve had it for the past few weeks (with the same background noise):

[wjrii]

So, here’s one I haven’t really posted about much. It was the second of three handwired “retro” TKLs I did on aluminum plates from Xometry. Compared to the first one, which I use quite a lot, this one mostly lives on the shelf, but I thought I’d take it out and run it for a bit. This is my one and only “bouncy” board, which is very much intentional. It only has proper sandwich pieces on the left and right. The middle four screws are instead supported by fairly firm springs held in place by standoffs that don’t connect the top and bottom plates. Most of my DIY boards are fairly “soft” but none are flexy like this guy. This may also be the only board where “spring ping” is inherent to the chassis, not the switches, LOL. Bottoming out on the F-row sounds a bit like a newlywed couple’s second-hand mattress.

• TTC Gold Brown Pro from a Novelkeys mystery bag. Still a bit too light for my taste, but nice for browns.
• CSA in Blue Samurai colorway.
• RP2040 running KMK. Perhaps appropriately, the matrix wiring itself is the only thing that supports the MCU, like a fly suspended in a spiderweb.
• 5052 aluminum plates with a bit of fine-grit sanding and polishing
• Hand-filed the weird split Lshift from its two siblings to be proper ISO style, but… meh. Not leaving LShift at ANSI 2.25u is my one regret about the physical layout of these boards. I’m finally trying this again on my current build, but that is specifically to ease keycap kitting on a no-stabs. Here it’s just something that I like less than I could have.
• This board is actually pretty quiet, except for the aforementioned ping and some godawful stab-rattle on the spacebar. I’m a bit of a jackhammer when typing, but the nature of the board and switches makes me use a slightly lighter touch.

It’s nice in its way, but I use this board less than the similar ones with either Box Navy or 67g “Fauxly Pandas” from AE. Along with my early Orthos and the southpaw, it’s a case of “I kinda want this, and though I’m not sure how badly, I do enjoy making stuff.” It would be a fairly minor thing to rework the chassis here to be more traditional, but not much point, so for now it remains an experiment.

[HungerMechanic]

Very interesting to hear about the Gold Brown Pro.

They are underrated. Once you get a consistent coat of 3204 or 205g0, they are velvety.

They aren’t exactly Browns, though. I haven’t built them yet, as they are heavier. They require greater force to actuate. I’d say they are light Ergo Clears, or “heavy Browns” like several other TTC ‘Browns.’ Kind of remind me of MODE Tomorrow - a gentle keypress, but requiring more weight than Browns.

I have a Cycle7 with Zealio V1R. And while it’s pretty good, sometimes I think Gold Brown Pro might have been a better choice. Gentler spring curve [I used short springs on the V1R], and the clack would be insane.

Actually tested a lubed GBP on a sorbothaned M87 Pro. It was the switch that improved the most from the sorbothane dampening.

I wish there was a Brown-weight version, maybe with standard pole. But these are cool for what they are. Part of a trend of long-pole ‘Brown plus’ switches. Like Durock White Lotus.

[skwrl]

This keeps ending up on my desk since it’s just so nice to type on.

Viktus Sinne with 3D printed weights, Oblivion, PC plate, HMX Canglan V2

Something about the Canglan V2s feel just right for me, the weight and travel hit a sweet spot.
The case is pretty dang light without any brass, but I think I actually quite like the Sinne without the brass weights–the brass weight makes it feel awkward and unbalanced to pick up since it’s so heavy and all the weight is in the back.
The burger top mount with screws backed out just right and a little polyfill makes this sound pretty sweet, though.

Crappy cell phone video makes it sounds sharper and more obnoxious than it is but here’s a short clip

Viktus Sinne, Oblivion, HMX Canglan V2, 3D printed weights, PC plate

[Deadeye]

A few somewhat better (if still too warm) photos of the Bombay Blue Portico I build this weekend with DCS Delftware and Nuphy NightBreeze switches (BSUN linears with POK stems):

Man, I love DCS - and I love PBT. But…

I’ve currently got the pictured space bar swapped-out with another; both DCS copies I have are a little too warped and slightly bind the stabs during travel - works flawlessly with a KKB space, though. The color isn’t quite right but it works so much better than the matching one it’s no contest. I’ve reached out to SP to see if I can buy a single white DCS space in ABS, fingers crossed!

Edit: yep

I’ve got two UPKB spacers under the artisan to bring it level with the rest of the caps in the top row, and a couple layers of plumber’s tape on the somewhat loose stem to help it stay in place. I actually love how it jives with the light blue anodizing, and it might be the first fancy artisan I actually leave on a build long term - rama-lama-ding-dong notwithstanding.

I’ve also got one of those spacers on each side of the stabs for the wide keys to prevent teetering on the long-pole switches; I use them for that more than anything else.

This keyboard is one of very few VIA compatible examples that already comes with the layout I like from the box, no fiddling required.

I didn’t plan to put Delfware on this keeb, but I’m really happy with the pairing. (The rounded corners of the caps match the case lines like they were meant to be!) I’m also very happy with the Designer Studio Adaptive stabilizers I used on the build, these things have been amazing so far. Not even a whiff of rattle. Love it.

I don’t blame them for having to swap the space key; this is at least the second configuration I couldn’t get it to work with, and I tried two different copies of it. The only board I’ve gotten one of those bars to play nice with is one that has Costar stabilizers, which don’t use captive sliding stems at all and are much more forgiving towards banana bars.

Also not my usual dark-with-splash-of-color or some-kinda-purple color scheme, but I’m loving it. Makes want to put doilies out and sit in the shade, or something.

---

Edit; side-view pic from my work desk so you can see how nice the otherwise slightly-too-short artisan cap lines-up with the rest of the row:

Gotta love those tasty DCS row angles

[mf68]

Very nice, but reminds me of old, cold Dutch farmhouse toilets where you freeze your buttocks off. Nothing personal @Deadeye, just one of my traumas.

Only a week ago I had such an experience again. I should have taken a picture (rest assured, without my junk), had I known you were building this.

Oh yeah, and tall as they are, the Dutch tend to have extremely high mounted urinals. You see, it is sometimes an uphill battle there to keep your pants dry!

[Deadeye]

I am now going to imagine the gold bit as the flushing handle

[donpark]

If you grew up using ‘classic’ toilets, you’d known how to do it airborne style. No toilet to get cold, just a dark hole too cold to even stink. Ke ke ke.

[ListlessLlama]

Not to interrupt the flow here (heh), but I keep returning my Salvation to my desk:

• Salvation Lightning Silver case
• MTNU WoB caps
• CIY Asura tactiles
• BM60 RGB v2 Hotswap PCB (flashed with VIAL)
• Durock v2 stabs

I had planned to use this case and PCB as my testing board since it’s such a quick disassembly (two screws!) and the PCB is easily replaceable if I kill it, but I love the current combo so much that I’m dragging my feet on changing anything. I’m ok with that, but I keep thinking about buying another Salvation that I’ll use as a tester for real this time…

The switches and caps seem perfectly paired here and it’s such a great typing experience. MTNU has quickly become one of my favorite profiles (HSA is the other). Love the look of them, but the feel of the caps is just pitch-perfect in my opinion. Great sculpt and scoop, great height, and the texture is lovely. The CIY Asuras punch so far above their weight in terms of value for the price. Ignoring the price, I’d still put these at 9.5/10 in terms of quality (thanks again to @Neprawda and @Deadeye for the recommendation).

Obviously not on my desk any more, but I had originally built this board using 75g Zeal Clickiez and OTC Modo Light. Loved the look of that build and the Clickiez are an unreal experience, but ultimately wanted something a bit more subtle on the typing feel:

[honghong]

It looks wonderful！

[shuishui]

This keyboard looks really unique! The bouncy design is an interesting concept. I can understand why it might live on the shelf but still be fun to take out and use every now and then. The combination of TTC Gold Brown Pro switches and CSA in Blue Samurai colorway is aesthetically pleasing. The RP2040 running KMK is a nice touch too. Looking forward to seeing more of your creative builds!

[shuishui]

This cat is so cute

[najasnake12]

Dang, that left shift keycaps is so cool!

[Rob27shred]

Switch swap complete & these Keebfront Bigwigs are super nice IMO! A good bit quieter & deeper sounding overall than the Macchiatos, surprisingly these are very reminiscent of Cherry switches. It’s basically what I think a long pole Cherry switch would feel & sound like. They have that slight Cherry scratch & quite bassy housing collisons, especially the bottom out on that PBT. They are also still a very responsive feeling switch even with the lighter springs. Although I would recommend sticking with a longer spring in these whatever weight you choose. I tried some Geon 57.5g 15mm springs & some Sprit progressive 63.5g 14mm springs in these earlier & they definitely took a little of bite out of the upstroke of the switch. Not so much to call it sluggish, but definitely noticeable & that will probably be exacerbated with a thicker lube like 205g0.

Gonna give them a run through for a few days, like I gave the Macchiatos, & probably give a few other a switches a try in the Ergo before I decide on what I will ultimately put on the solder PCBs. However whatever I decide on there these Bigwigs will definitely be getting the hand lube treatment & put into a build much sooner than later. Definitely a pretty nice & unique switch IMHO!

[PenguinMoe]

ScottoAlp keyboard - I downloaded the case and plate files from ScottoKeebs and 3D printed them in PLA. All of the 1U switches are damped cream Alps from a broken AEKII keyboard I had. I removed the dampeners and click moded them by breaking off two metal tabs on each leaf. The spacebar is MX to work with the stabilizer and I used a Gateron Melodic. It is my first 40% and I am having fun getting used to the layout. I do think that the springs in the Alps switches are a little heavy for me.

[Rob27shred]

@PenguinMoe

I do think that the springs in the Alps switches are a little heavy for me.

RNDKBD sells Sprit ALPS springs, SPRiT ALPS Springs — RNDKBD
Also you can use Choc springs fit in ALPS switches too if you can’t find a weight you want in the ALPS springs, SPRiT Kailh Choc Springs — RNDKBD

[PenguinMoe]

Thanks for the suggestions. I was thinking I might have to change the springs but really don’t want to because it is a hand-wired build and I know it will be a pain.

[Deadeye]

MM Studio Class80

• CannonKeys T-120 Videotape Deskmat
• MTNU 800 w/ Module A
• Gateron X linears
• FR4 Plate
• SwagKeys Knight stabilizers
• Custom lock-light gels
• Yes, of course the solenoid is active

More photos

Board overview:

Right side; check that clean, purposeful seam:

Left side:

Deskmat overview, excuse the crusty floor:

Lock lights:

Also, Happy Halloween! I don’t have a costume this year, but my keyboard dressed up as a GameBoy cart, and my deskmat as a VHS tape sleeve.

[pixelpusher]

Absolutely perfect setup there. Love everything I see. MMKeyboard has some of the best designs and finishes out there. I try not to show mine too much because I want to keep it a special secret

[dream]

this looks so nice! minila is my fav layout, may i ask which pcb you’re running in this build?