My Vertical ErgoDox Project

[simplisity]

This was a fun little project I thought I would share.  I work only standing up, so this keyboard is not quite as comfortable when sitting.

[tecla.efe]

very nice. i'm waiting for my ergodox, i also want to try it for typing standing. how does it feel?

[Sniping]

Are the support legs made of wood too?

[simplisity]

Are the support legs made of wood too?

If you mean the vertical posts, yes those are made of wood.  The entire unit is made from wood.

[SonOfSonOfSpock]

Does it feel better as vertical? I always thought something between vertical and flat was a better angle

[EvillePanda]

Vertical would keep your arms in a more natural handshake position and decrease the temptation to rest your wrists on the desk.

[simplisity]

Does it feel better as vertical? I always thought something between vertical and flat was a better angle

It is at an 82 degree angle, so it is not perfectly vertical. I found that a slight offset feels more comfortable.

[tp4tissue]

the problem with this, is that the side bezel, forcing you to pick your hands up to access even the main area..

I think  to alleviate this,

it may be possible to place more wood under where the hand would rest, to prop it up until  the index-finger can reach J and F position   while the hand is completely relaxed..

This would however be giving up the 4x 1.5x keys on both sides..   NOT a deal breaker since the ergodox supports more layers than you can shake a stick at.

[katushkin]

Surely if you raised the wood up around the case at the bottom you wouldn't have the room to move your little fingers around to get to all the keys on those sides?

But I like this mod, very classy.

[daerid]

I'd love to see a pic/video of this in use. Looks intriguing...

[simplisity]

I will post a video soon. Many people have mentioned to me their concerns about lack of arm rests causing arm fatigue. Although that would seem to be the case, I have been using vertical keyboards with standup desks for about 8 years and have never had an issue with it.

[SonOfSonOfSpock]

I will post a video soon. Many people have mentioned to me their concerns about lack of arm rests causing arm fatigue. Although that would seem to be the case, I have been using vertical keyboards with standup desks for about 8 years and have never had an issue with it.

What vertical boards have you used before? I know of SafeType and Kinesis Freestyle + Ascent accessory.

[tp4tissue]

standing desk? hmmmmmm


I'd think that if i'm standing..  Instead of vertical..  I'd rather have my palms facing up and diagonally towards each other, which feels even more natural..

as in    palms towards the direction of my nose.


in vertical 90* mode...  I'd have to turn my wrist INTO the keyboard for thumb, index and middle finger keys..    this is for leverage...   and for the lower keys on pinky and ring finger, i'd be rotating my wrist out for those keys...


i think people should stop defaulting to right angles in ergonomic design..   totally incorrect.


If the keyboard was reversed facing down... to suit the diagonal palm up position.    then I'd only have to use my bicep and pull upwards, which is much easier (bicep larger muscle) with 0 wrist rotation.. 

[tricheboars]

pretty cool. i like typing horizontal myself but that looks really nice. kudos on using wood. that is way cool. if you go vertical i think dsa is a must.  or something with a uniform profile regardless of rows.  R3 SA would be cool too.

i am still experimenting with tenting and i might be weird but so far i like flat. i dont know why but i do.  i am sure tenting is better as far as ergonomics but to each their own right?

[tp4tissue]

pretty cool. i like typing horizontal myself but that looks really nice. kudos on using wood. that is way cool. if you go vertical i think dsa is a must.  or something with a uniform profile regardless of rows.  R3 SA would be cool too.

i am still experimenting with tenting and i might be weird but so far i like flat. i dont know why but i do.  i am sure tenting is better as far as ergonomics but to each their own right?

it depends on how high your elbows position when you type

if they're in L shape, and at the level near your shoulders, then your palm are naturally closer to flat facing down.

if your elbows are in I shape, elbows closer to your ribs, then your palms should feel more natural tilted.

[tricheboars]

i just tried this tp4tissue and you are right. it is about how you have your elbows or the height of your office chair.  i guess i am just lucky enough that i have my station setup in a way that makes flat comfy.

[simplisity]

I will post a video soon. Many people have mentioned to me their concerns about lack of arm rests causing arm fatigue. Although that would seem to be the case, I have been using vertical keyboards with standup desks for about 8 years and have never had an issue with it.

What vertical boards have you used before? I know of SafeType and Kinesis Freestyle + Ascent accessory.

I used the SafeType for about 7 years.  They used to be great keyboards, but the quality has gone downhill over the last few years.

[simplisity]

standing desk? hmmmmmm


I'd think that if i'm standing..  Instead of vertical..  I'd rather have my palms facing up and diagonally towards each other, which feels even more natural..

as in    palms towards the direction of my nose.


in vertical 90* mode...  I'd have to turn my wrist INTO the keyboard for thumb, index and middle finger keys..    this is for leverage...   and for the lower keys on pinky and ring finger, i'd be rotating my wrist out for those keys...


i think people should stop defaulting to right angles in ergonomic design..   totally incorrect.


If the keyboard was reversed facing down... to suit the diagonal palm up position.    then I'd only have to use my bicep and pull upwards, which is much easier (bicep larger muscle) with 0 wrist rotation..

I experimented with about 10 different positions before I settled on the one I made, which is an 82 degree angle.  The problem I experienced with the design that I think you are describing was wrist suppination, which for me causes major discomfort in the forearms and elbows.

This design I have posted is definitely not perfect.  If I was to improve on it, I would stick with the same 82 degree Z axis, but would go for a more accute Y axis instead of 90 degree angle.  So, the elbows would turn into each other instead of right angles.

[simplisity]

Here are a couple videos:

http://youtu.be/LyaCXQXIwRA
http://youtu.be/Y66QfhvcX2U

PS: Is there a way to embed videos?

[tufty]

More keyboards should come with a "terrier" attachment.