My version of Jailhouse Blues (testing)

[Glod]

My version of Jailhouse Blues (in progress);

Credit for jailhouse blues
http://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=38091.0

- I used .032" Lead-Free Solder; i had some of the stuff left over from some learn-to-solder kits and i had some more just laying around.
- i have experimented with cutting the stem and cutting the spring and lubing. i did not like trimming the stem or trimming the spring but i did like lubing
- also experimented with wrapping solder around the slider like an O or inserting through before wrapping which means more resistance with the spring (pictured). i chose to insert before wrapping leading to more resistance.
- i lubed lightly the slider including the tips and spring with Krytox 103, this removes the click completely and i am happy with the result. i haven't tried a 205/103 mix because my 205 is still in the mail but i think just using the 103 is exactly the result i want; i just hope i don't use too much!

The two switches i have never tried are Clear and Grey so that being said these feel like a heavy brown with a bigger bump, just a little bit less force than blacks, with an obvious shorter throw and quieter bottom out sound. o-rings due nothing with these actually.

I prepared 84 sliders. These will be going into my RACE later this week once i get my Tech Keys stickers and some new white keycaps. then its going on the road with me where these Jailhouse Blues (Glod Edition) will be getting a good 2 week field test







if these work out then ill be sure to share my results, but if they don't work out, well, there goes a few hours i cant get back LOL 

[keymaster]

Awesome mod. It's always interesting to see people experiment with switches and springs.

[Photoelectric]

Thank you for this guide.  I'm researching various methods of making Jailhouse Blues, as I'm about to make my own set.

[SpAmRaY]

Glod how did you end up liking these?

[Leslieann]

This was exactly how I started with them, including the use of .032 solder.

Using that method worked but was highly inconsistent.
As it goes around back, the spring rubs the solder/wire and creates a grinding feel. On uncut springs, it will function, but on cut springs, the switch can actually stick because of it.

I settled on the dual-u shape as it was much more consistent.

Also, the jewelry wire from Walmart is like $1.50 for 6 keyboards worth of wire. Compared to the high cost and toxicity of solder.

[Glod]

Using that method worked but was highly inconsistent.

that summarizes my experience

One thing i did after about 15 switches i realizes lubing them was a bad idea due to time really and i felt like i was creating a whole different switch than i wanted and i aborted those keys (they were lubed so i reusing the housing wouldn't work) and did most of a RACE with these without lube. I noticed they were scratchy and inconsistent as i put them together, i was like eh maybe it will be different once i get key caps on them.

I spent half a day typing with the RACE (this is before i had my ErgoDox), and i immediately realized

"Glod, buddy you really  ****ed up on this one"

it felt like i was close but so far. like 4 or 5 hours of my life wasted and gone. they felt HORRIBLE!

2 months later after i cooled off i took apart the switches on the RACE and replaced them with lubed reds, some of the blue sliders i used in a phantom i built but some still are in a container with the solder in them. I never pursued them any further, i was too embarrassed and pissed at myself to go through the hours of redoing the jailhouse blues.

edit: and oh yeah not only did this not work, but for like 10 of the switches i f'd up the metal leaf in them so they felt like just linear switches!  i must have messed them up with my method of taking off the tops of the switches

TL:DR - I ****ed up, they didn't work out, next time do exactly what people like Leslieann said to do.

[Leslieann]

edit: and oh yeah not only did this not work, but for like 10 of the switches i f'd up the metal leaf in them so they felt like just linear switches!  i must have messed them up with my method of taking off the tops of the switches

I understand the heartache. I probably had 10-15 hours or more invested in my JB's, and that was before putting them in the Filco.

Lubing them, most don't recommend lubing blues, I don't really, but when you do, you only want to lube the spring and the sliders, nothing else. And you have to be prepared for a few days break in.

As for them becoming linear...
It wasn't anything you did. Some stem/housing combinations are looser than others.  Out of a bag of 100 clears, I found 5% didn't properly click, and this was without even opening them or soldering them to anything. They were fresh out of the bag. In other words, it's the tolerances on Cherry switches that are the problem. As you solder it can probably make them worse, but it starts with Cherry.

On top of making them Jailhouse Blues and lubing them, I had to test every stem/housing combo on my Filco to make sure all of them clicked. It's a bit ridiculous to have to do so, but I did and found several that were bad (some I was able to mix and match to get working).

It's a pain in the neck, but the end result can be nice. It's certainly the most fickle, and yet tunable Cherry switch hybrid there is though.