> The only one that I really care about is the caps lock LED. That's why I prefer LEDs on the side.
That's my general preference as well...
> I shall be trying this and ...
In that case it may be helpful to you to describe what I've learned so far.
I ended up using blue tape as the outer mold for the glue. This seems to have worked well as far as texture goes. But it's a little tricky if you need to trim some of the glue because you end up with a little different texture where you've trimmed. I found I needed to trim a bit at the corner between the top and side because of the way I had taped it.
I ended up using a Loctite "5 minute Plastic Epoxy" I got from Home Depot. (Not the 20 minute type I've see elsewhere). This was soft enough to trim after about 90 minutes of setting time (but before it got too hard to easily trim with a utility knife).
Of course it's also tricky using a 10 inch blade to make the cut in the first place. Probably not the ideal tool for the job, but the best tool I could think of that I had. There's not much room for error though.
I ended up taping the key (with more blue tape
) to a 'zero clearance' fence I had made. I taped it key bottom side to the fence and then steadied it more with a piece of wood clamped to the table. There's not much room for error though.
> Looks as though it may have been a little cleaner if you had used a smaller type of blade/ filed the cut etc.
As it was I used the blade I had in the saw (an 84 tooth carbide tipped laminate/non-ferrous blade). The manufacturer claims it has a 0.098 inch kerf, for what it's worth.
I was mostly trying this as a 'proof of concept' test to see if this was workable. So far I'm mostly pleased with the results.
Thanks everyone.
Sadly, it's a bit nerve wracking to cut up a key when you know you'll have to buy a whole new set (as in RA 2) to get a new replacement if something goes wrong
.
