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this post was submitted on 07 Jul 2023
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Asklemmy
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I build custom mechanical keyboards. Got into it because of the Pandemic and now I have built 6 of them. /r/mk and /r/emk used to be some of my most visited subs on the other site. I'm now known as the goto for keyboard questions in my circles of friends.
I started getting into fidgeting more lately and took a liking to magnetic sliders and now have a few that I pretty much always have with me.
And that extended into me learning about begleri beads somehow so now I am attempting to learn that. I can do slips and 2 finger wraps and occasiaonal one finger or thumb wraps but not much else yet. I accidentally learned a stall because I messed up. I need to really learn transfers since that is one of the main things you do a lot of.
I think I am also amongst the hyperfixator group in this thread. I was previously into speedsolving Rubik's cubes and roasting coffee so I feel a lot of these answers lol.
How do you build a custom keyboard? Do they sell every single part in different shapes? (I mean the "chassis", not the key caps). How custom can they be?
To add to what @denton@lemm.ee said, you can also buy kits from sites like Keebio and Novelkeys. There is a Etsy store call BeeKeebs I will always suggest because Leo is a really cool dude and offers a lot of kits for stuff that you'd otherwise have to part yourself.
I print my own PCBs and aim for boards that don't require diodes. I have most of my boards with Choc Sunsets which are aftermarket custom low profile switches form loweprokb.ca. All my boards run on a fork of QMK called Vial and the hobby gets weird from there. If you are on discord there is a meckkeys server that has a ton of info.
For how custom they can be: Look up Ben Vallack's Piano2. It's an 18 key board that he uses for everyday use including writing code. QMK and it's forks are extremely powerful pieces of software that still blows my mind and I've been using it for 3 years.
Holy Molly.
That's a lot of possibilities.
I found some really good looking custom keyboards.
Another sites I forgot to mention since I was half asleep when wrote that was kbfans. I have seen people that get into the hobby to the point of building their own get kits from them or Novelkeys. Both offer hotswap PCBs which means you don't need to solder the switches and can change them if you want. They offer 60% and TenKeyless which is probably where most people aim for so I think it's a good place to start.
Also if you want keycaps, Amazon, Ali and Banggood sell knockoff copycaps(lol) of a lot of designs for a lot cheaper. Look for "double shot" or "dye-subbed". Those are gonna last and you won't get fading legends like on cheap boards.
And don't get too overwhelmed with switch choice paralysis. If you break it down to linear, tactile, and clicky for feel and then light, medium, and heavy spring weight, it gets a bit easier to navigate to what you might want. Tactile will have a light bump or a heavy bump(popular in the last few years) but other than that, they offer testers and samples.