I have been accumulating parts to build a KMAC II for a while. I finally got everything together this weekend and built the board today.
Parts list:- KMAC II winkeyless kit (case, plate, PCB, screws, winkey blockers)
- MX clear PCB mount switches
- 62g springs
- Switch stickers
- Krytox 205 grease
- 4x short Cherry pcb mount stabilizers, 1x long (7x) for spacebar
- EK Mechlube stabilizer grease
- Hakko FX888D soldering station
- Kester 44 Rosin Core Solder 63/37 .031
- Wire cutter for clipping stabilizers
- Keycaps
- LEDs (I did not use, but you can)
- O rings (used for spacebar only)
Few photos:
The KMAC is an 87-key board but I made some extras. I ended up bending a few pins when installing switches, so the extras were helpful.
Red vinyl switch stickers from Techkeys, 62g springs from Originative, and Krytox 205 grease from Amazon. I probably won't bother stickering switches in the future. The benefit is negligible and it adds a lot of time.
The finished ergo clears.
Plate.
Winkeyless layout.
Titanium colored case.
I took stabilizers off an old Cherry board I had. The space bar stabilizer pictured here is a 6.25x, which is wrong for my winkeyless build. I had another MX board, an MX11800, which had a 7x stabilizer that I took (not pictured here).
you can see the 7x stabilizer here. Stabilizers are lubed with EK Mechlube.
This is a trick I took from a video on Youtube. If you install only about 1/3 of the switches in the plate and then snap on the PCB, it makes things much easier. The switches hold everything together and it's easy to make sure the layers are firmly pressed together.
I used an MX gray for the spacebar, but ended up changing it out for a regular MX clear. The gray spring is too strong and it was throwing off my typing.
Used my Hakko FX888D with stock tip and Kester 44 Rosin Core Solder 63/37 .031
Completed build with original Cherry dyesubs!
And with doubleshot GMK RGB mods.
I ultimately decided to use the fulltouch caps lock configuration. Upside = much better for typing since I remap caps lock to control. Downside = have to use a lasered PBT key with a really faint legend. Sadly no dyesub PBT cherry full touch caps locks exist. I will try to replace this with a doubleshot GMK key.
