easy keyboard dust cover (pics)

[wellington1869]

Picking up where this thread left off...

Until iMav knits us our geekhack-logo'ed keyboard socks, the below is a very cheap and neat way to get a "dust cover" for your keyboards while they're in storage.

Basically, stretchy "book covers" (avail from $1 to $5 on ebay, in variety of colors), works very well.  See pics below.


Book cover, front side


Book cover, back side


Looks small? looks will be deceiving.


Put one side on end of keyboard


Now streeeetch!


Perfection.


What back side looks like.


Note that you can actually stuff the cord inside it too, I left it out here to show how neatly it fits over even a Model M sized board. Should fit all sizes nicely.

Ebay is full of these for just a few bucks.  Look for "stretchy" ones that say either that they will fit 8"x10" books, or sometimes they're sold as "one size fits all". Either of those should fit a keyboard nicely.

[xsphat]

Wouldn't these put pressure on the keys? If so, I'm not sure I would like that.

[Chloe]

How easy is it to take off?

I'd like a plastic tray like the Filco come with as part of the packaging. I wonder if you could buy a sheet of thin plastic and heat it with a hair dryer so it just molds to fit the keyboard.

[wellington1869]

Wouldn't these put pressure on the keys? If so, I'm not sure I would like that.

no pressure at all, the keys dont depress at all. Its all very light and fluffy.

[wellington1869]

How easy is it to take off?

very easy, like putting on your socks  The stretchy ones really stretch very well.

I'd like a plastic tray like the Filco come with as part of the packaging. I wonder if you could buy a sheet of thin plastic and heat it with a hair dryer so it just molds to fit the keyboard.

They do have plastic like that, I've seen it in craft stores, they use it to make molds.
On ebay I've also seen these neat plastic crystals that you put in boiling water for a minute and then you can shape it for 10 minutes into any shape you want (put it on your keyboard and press down for a mold) and it hardens after that.

[itlnstln]

Are you trying to hide the identities of the Alt, Shift, Tab, F4 and F8 keys?  Are they turning State's on the SysRq key?

[wellington1869]

Are trying to hide the identities of the Alt, Shift, Tab, F4 and F8 keys?  Are they turning State's on the SysRq key?

hahahaha! No, that velcro is so my thumbs and fingers find those keys with confidence and easily -- The two alt keys are my hotkeys in autohotkey, so is tab and capslock (which is remapped as control of course).  (on the function keys its volume and play/pause (so again I dont have to look down, just feel).
Velcro on shift key just cuz my pinky slips and I'm annoyed when it does - velcro solves 99 percent of the worlds problems.

[itlnstln]

velcro solves 99 percent of the worlds problems.

I guess duct tape solves the other 1% then.

[wellington1869]

I guess duct tape solves the other 1% then.

precisely

[xsphat]

Are you trying to hide the identities of the Alt, Shift, Tab, F4 and F8 keys?  Are they turning State's on the SysRq key?

That is funny. I thought Wellington bought a jacked up Model M off eBay.

[itlnstln]

The other nice thing about the stretchy book covers is that you can see the birth certificate for applicable keyboards, so if you have mulitple, say, Model Ms, you can tell which one it is without taking off the cover.  It doesn't help, though, if you're me and both your Ms are from the same year.

[wellington1869]

The other nice thing about the stretchy book covers is that you can see the birth certificate for applicable keyboards, so if you have mulitple, say, Model Ms, you can tell which one it is without taking off the cover.  It doesn't help, though, if you're me and both your Ms are from the same year.

well thats why you get different colored covers

[itlnstln]

well thats why you get different colored covers

I'll be damned if I would be able to remember them based on that.  That is, if I had enough keyboards that I would be lost in my own collection.

[bhtooefr]

That's when you get picky about the date, or the ID number, or something.

[wellington1869]

I'll be damned if I would be able to remember them based on that.  That is, if I had enough keyboards that I would be lost in my own collection.

You could always scrawl across the cover in magic marker (just tryin' to help ya out here )

[fkeidjn]

You can get these at OfficeMax or -Depot, Walgreens, Walmart, RiteAid, etc.  Depending on where you live, they may or may not have them in stock.

[itlnstln]

You could always scrawl across the cover in magic marker (just tryin' to help ya out here )

I use crayons; the big husky kind.

[wellington1869]

On ebay I've also seen these neat plastic crystals that you put in boiling water for a minute and then you can shape it for 10 minutes into any shape you want (put it on your keyboard and press down for a mold) and it hardens after that.

three more kinds of moldable plastic if you want to mold your own cover (or anything else):

plastic pellets called "shapelock"

"metal clay" (looks like silver after its dried)

"magic-sculp"