Hello all

[graefeln]

Hello geekhack people. I have been lurking for a bit and was planning on waiting until I had a mechanical before introducing myself; with part of my order bring delayed however, I figured I would just do it now.

For my first board, I have ordered:
Sprit’s PCB (white) and acrylic case (transparent grey top, plate, and boomerang feet / clear frosty and matte bottom).
Cherry MX green switches/Cherry stabilizers with 85g gold springs and matte pink switch stickers and .2mm 40A o-rings (with some Krytox GPL 104 oil).
…and an awesome rose/white USB cable from PexonPCs.

I know I still need to pick out some keycaps that I like, but does it seem like anything else is missing?
I've also ordered some SIP sockets and am thinking about LEDs (probably white), though I am unsure. I am not usually a fan of backlighting, but with solid caps and the acrylic case, it may look good.

Eager to put it all together when it gets here, but I may end up waiting until November – I work fulltime, attend school fulltime, and have two young kids; so it may be hard to find time before then.

This seems like a great community to be a part of and I am looking forward to learning more.

[Vibex]

Welocme to Geek Hack. Awesome first choice for a board. Hope you find the time to build it.

[Sent]

Sounds like a really nice build and you've covered all the bases save the caps that you mentioned.  Welcome to the site.

[rowdy]

Welcome to Geekhack!

I assume you have some soldering experience already, as you are jumping in at the deep end!

Also depending on how old your kids are, you might find yourself having to order an extra keycap or two for them every now and again.  My 8yo daughter has decided that she has to collect them too, so I either try to sneak packages in without her seeing, or just order a few extra for her too

[graefeln]

Welocme to Geek Hack. Awesome first choice for a board. Hope you find the time to build it.

With how much money this is costing me, my wife would kill me if I didn't find the time to build it (especially since it's "just a keyboard"). The fall semester ends late November, so if nothing else, it should be done by December.

Sounds like a really nice build and you've covered all the bases save the caps that you mentioned.  Welcome to the site.

I figure since my wife will probably limit my keyboard spending for a bit after this, I should take my time and find caps that I really like - especially since I have time before it gets built anyways. Thank you for the welcome.

Welcome to Geekhack!

I assume you have some soldering experience already, as you are jumping in at the deep end!

Also depending on how old your kids are, you might find yourself having to order an extra keycap or two for them every now and again.  My 8yo daughter has decided that she has to collect them too, so I either try to sneak packages in without her seeing, or just order a few extra for her too

It has been a little while since I last soldered anything, but I figure I will pick up something to practice on and I just need to kind of brush back up more-or-less. Thru-hole shouldn't be too much a problem, but I have never done SMD; unless I misunderstood the thread, that part should be factory done however. If it isn't, well it's a good time to learn!
I have always been more about jumping in the deep end, that's where the real learning happens. If I have a problem or want to change something later, I will already have at least a little experience and knowledge from putting it together in the first place - and the struggle makes the final product all the more rewarding.
I don't think my kids are really old enough to care about keycaps just yet - or maybe they are too old to care now, they used to take keys off my laptop keyboards and lose them all the time, but haven't in a year or so now...

[Binge]

Sounds like you'll do well here.  Welcome aboard!

Love that you are making your first keyboard- some of us took so long to get to that point.

[graefeln]

Sounds like you'll do well here.  Welcome aboard!

Love that you are making your first keyboard- some of us took so long to get to that point.

To be honest, I wasn't originally intending to make my first board. I had a bid going on eBay for Poker II with clear switches (no back-light), probably from that Massdrop buy.
I also went in on the group buy for Sprit's acrylic case. As the auction went on, I started thinking about about going in on his PCB group buy if I lost that auction instead of bidding on a different one. I was still unsure though - I was even upping my bid for that keyboard in the last hours of the auction. I watched it for the last couple minutes debating whether to put it up to 150$ (it sold for 147.50$). In the end though, I knew what I really wanted to do and just let the auction pass me by.
I think I made the right decision.

I have wanted a mechanical for awhile, but had a hard time justifying the price when I all I really did was browse the internet. As a student now (Computer Science major) though, I type a lot more. I figured if I was going to spend 150+$, just spend a bit more and be truly happy getting what I want - plus a fun project and new experience.

[Binge]

Please also consider the community if you really find yourself unable to work on these projects.  There are some people around here who would assemble for the cost of shipping, but yeah... shake hands, get to know people.  You'll have fun 

[rowdy]

Welcome to Geekhack!

I assume you have some soldering experience already, as you are jumping in at the deep end!

Also depending on how old your kids are, you might find yourself having to order an extra keycap or two for them every now and again.  My 8yo daughter has decided that she has to collect them too, so I either try to sneak packages in without her seeing, or just order a few extra for her too

It has been a little while since I last soldered anything, but I figure I will pick up something to practice on and I just need to kind of brush back up more-or-less. Thru-hole shouldn't be too much a problem, but I have never done SMD; unless I misunderstood the thread, that part should be factory done however. If it isn't, well it's a good time to learn!
I have always been more about jumping in the deep end, that's where the real learning happens. If I have a problem or want to change something later, I will already have at least a little experience and knowledge from putting it together in the first place - and the struggle makes the final product all the more rewarding.
I don't think my kids are really old enough to care about keycaps just yet - or maybe they are too old to care now, they used to take keys off my laptop keyboards and lose them all the time, but haven't in a year or so now...

It sounds like you know what you are getting yourself in to - good

The main thing I was thinking about is that this is a lot of money to waste if something goes wrong!

[graefeln]

It sounds like you know what you are getting yourself in to - good

The main thing I was thinking about is that this is a lot of money to waste if something goes wrong!

Believe me, the thought has crossed my mind as well. It has certainly has turned out to be more than I originally expected to spend on my first mechanical (although I am sure a number of people on this board can say similar). I figure, if when it all gets here, it seems more difficult than I thought, I will find someone with more experience...
I am fairly confident (hopeful?) that it won't come to that though.

[rowdy]

Believe me, the thought has crossed my mind as well. It has certainly has turned out to be more than I originally expected to spend on my first mechanical (although I am sure a number of people on this board can say similar). I figure, if when it all gets here, it seems more difficult than I thought, I will find someone with more experience...
I am fairly confident (hopeful?) that it won't come to that though.

There's a few people here with the skills and setup to help you if you do get stuck, especially if you are in the UK or the US.