Hello GH!
"There is little else as beautiful, tactile, luxurious and engaging to the senses as a fine timber. Why not experience this beauty everyday?" - dn
I will be creating some wooden keycaps in the near future and they will be available on GH and through
www.techkeys.us as well as
www.originativeco.com. I joined GH yesterday arvo, had the idea in the car on the way home and posted about it. As a result I have received a lot of encouragement to say the least!
My goal is to make them stunning in the simplest way possible. I will not be marking them up exorbitantly and I will do my absolute best to offer them at the best price I physically can. I will be hand crafting them in my own workshop that I set-up last year in my backyard shed (equipped with lots of expensive machinery) and I am also a member of a major woodworking club as well as a Monash University student with access to specialised machinery, laser cutters, 3d printers and cnc machines.
This is my first attempt to create something on a commercial scale (as I am still a student) but I hope to learn as much as I can from this experience, and hope you enjoy my bespoke creations!
This is what I had in mind in the car yesterday (when the idea was born) - I will probabaly make an esc key (or spacebar) to start with (as recommended by a GH user) and the plan is to eventually offer full sets. A large range of finishes (aka, luxurious ultra high-gloss (glass-like) clear coating, satin finish, natural, French polished, matte or gloss paint and so on) and various options will be available (laser engraving is optional, etc). All custom orders are welcome!
Some wood samples I was thinking about:
Pictured below is what they will probably look like without ANY surface finishing (ie: RAW wood). like (these are KSM keycaps I have posted for reference only).
I intend on making them in the Cherry keycap profile initially and the first batch will be for Cherry MX keycaps (to keep it simple). Also, I appreciate input from the community on this!
Note: It will be a while before I update you on this as i need to get ready for uni semester and re-assemble my workshop after I had a dedicated 42 AMP power supply installed recently.
Please give me time and post your comments here rather than pm!
THANKS!
Edit: I am aiming for SIMPLICITY above all else through production, and hence I will be able to offer them at the best price physically possible.
I will most likely offer standard finishes as the base and optional extras (such as engraving, laser printing, carving, custom finishes and ultra premium finishes etc) at an additional (and fair) cost according to material and labour costs.