RS96 Build Questions(Could use some more advice please)

[Steezus]

I was happily given the opportunity to purchase an RS96 kit from another member, which I bought immediately. Now the only problem is that I've never built a keyboard before. I have experience in electronic components and especially in computers while I have some soldering experience in repairing electronics I mainly learned soldering from making copper drain systems during a summer HVAC job. Given that this is my first keyboard and that I'm a perfectionist I want this keyboard to be the best it can be. So my first question starts out with what parts do I need, currently in my cart is 100x cherry mx blues(PCB Mount) and 120x 67g springs, I know I need stabilizers but I don't know which ones I need. I'm not really sure what the benefits are lubricating the switches are so I am unsure whether I plan on doing this, same goes with switch stickers. Lastly I need a soldering station, after reading a decent amount of reviews I've learned that Weller is quite the reputable brand and that the preferred soldering station is the Weller WESD51 which is $133 currently on Amazon.com, now is this soldering station overkill for what I would be doing and would their be a cheaper/better alternative? Thanks for reading this long ass post

[Spopepro]

Don't analyze this too much.  Your board will likely come out very nice, but you will be happiest in the long run if you suspend some of your perfectionist tendencies.  No one ends up with a "perfect" custom on the first time unfortunately.  But it will be very good!

I like blue switches too.  Those springs will make a heavier feel.  Some people really like it.  Some people not so much.  I'd try and make sure that you really like that switch with that spring before opening and swapping so many springs.  Blue switches typically are not lubed.  Adding lube will deaden the click.

Springs in the 50-70g range and lube are typically used for linear or tactile cherry-type switches.  I lubed and put 62g springs in my clear switches.  I run my blues stock.

Switch stickers are said to stabilize the switch slightly by filling some tolerance gap.  Most think that they are there to look cool and provide little physical benefit.  No harm in putting them on... just extra time.

You will need PCB mount cherry stabilizers.  Pay attention to what type of bottom row you want to run and make sure you have the right size wire for your spacebar.

I have a weller wes51 (analog) and it's a workhorse.  The Hakko FX888 is probably nicer and cheaper.  People have reported here wonderful results with the aoyue systems.  Adjustable temp stations are very nice, make it easy and safe to solder and desolder a variety of things, and I think are worth it.  You don't need digital control, but most stations sold now are digital.  50W should be considered the minimum and there's no reason for anything above 80W or so unless you're soldering to thick bus wires, boards with massive ground planes (think audio where the ground plane is sometimes also used as a shield), or other special applications. 

Something you didn't mention was if you had planned on backlighting under the keycaps.  It's a polarizing choice!  If you want it, you will need some 3mm (nominal) leds.

[Steezus]

Don't analyze this too much.  Your board will likely come out very nice, but you will be happiest in the long run if you suspend some of your perfectionist tendencies.  No one ends up with a "perfect" custom on the first time unfortunately.  But it will be very good!

I like blue switches too.  Those springs will make a heavier feel.  Some people really like it.  Some people not so much.  I'd try and make sure that you really like that switch with that spring before opening and swapping so many springs.  Blue switches typically are not lubed.  Adding lube will deaden the click.

Springs in the 50-70g range and lube are typically used for linear or tactile cherry-type switches.  I lubed and put 62g springs in my clear switches.  I run my blues stock.

Switch stickers are said to stabilize the switch slightly by filling some tolerance gap.  Most think that they are there to look cool and provide little physical benefit.  No harm in putting them on... just extra time.

You will need PCB mount cherry stabilizers.  Pay attention to what type of bottom row you want to run and make sure you have the right size wire for your spacebar.

I have a weller wes51 (analog) and it's a workhorse.  The Hakko FX888 is probably nicer and cheaper.  People have reported here wonderful results with the aoyue systems.  Adjustable temp stations are very nice, make it easy and safe to solder and desolder a variety of things, and I think are worth it.  You don't need digital control, but most stations sold now are digital.  50W should be considered the minimum and there's no reason for anything above 80W or so unless you're soldering to thick bus wires, boards with massive ground planes (think audio where the ground plane is sometimes also used as a shield), or other special applications. 

Something you didn't mention was if you had planned on backlighting under the keycaps.  It's a polarizing choice!  If you want it, you will need some 3mm (nominal) leds.

First off, thank you very much for your knowledgeable reply. My favorite switches are blue and clears but I've also never typed on them all, I really like the sound and feel of the blues but the weight of clears. I was more curious than anything how a blue with a heavier feel would be like so I figured since springs are cheap enough to just buy a pack of them and if I like how it feels then I'll toss them in, if not I can save the springs for clears down the road. So far I was really only looking at what mechanicalkeyboards.com had for stock and it appears they don't have pcb mounted stabilizers(or leds). I'm planning on running the layout with the shortened RShift and arrows keys so as far as I know that means I'll need a 7u spacebar and it'll be winkeyless.

I was planning on backlighting the keyboard and just forgot to mention LEDs so thank you for reminding me and helping me on what leds I'll need, there are no rgb 3mm leds right? If that's the case then I'm torn on LEDs because I will want to find a color that coordinates well with a keyset. The keysets I have in mind that would go on the board are either Granite, Triumph Adler(Hoping that mine don't look bad backlit), Carbon, Symbiosis, or Penumbra r2(if it comes out). One of mine dream keyboards is a lightsaver w/penumbra on it so if I get that keyset I may just have to save it for an LS.

I did hear somewhere that the 3rd gen of the RS96 is compatible with Lightsaver, hoping that's the case then I could look for a LS case and put it on my RS96 and nit would look practically the same.

As far as soldering stations go I checked out the Aoyue 9378 60 Watt on amazon and for $83.99 with prime it looks very tempting. I'm in college attempting to get a Computer Engineer degree so I see myself soldering and tinkering with electronics far down the road so I also want to make sure that I'm getting a reliable soldering station.

[Spopepro]

Don't analyze this too much.  Your board will likely come out very nice, but you will be happiest in the long run if you suspend some of your perfectionist tendencies.  No one ends up with a "perfect" custom on the first time unfortunately.  But it will be very good!

I like blue switches too.  Those springs will make a heavier feel.  Some people really like it.  Some people not so much.  I'd try and make sure that you really like that switch with that spring before opening and swapping so many springs.  Blue switches typically are not lubed.  Adding lube will deaden the click.

Springs in the 50-70g range and lube are typically used for linear or tactile cherry-type switches.  I lubed and put 62g springs in my clear switches.  I run my blues stock.

Switch stickers are said to stabilize the switch slightly by filling some tolerance gap.  Most think that they are there to look cool and provide little physical benefit.  No harm in putting them on... just extra time.

You will need PCB mount cherry stabilizers.  Pay attention to what type of bottom row you want to run and make sure you have the right size wire for your spacebar.

I have a weller wes51 (analog) and it's a workhorse.  The Hakko FX888 is probably nicer and cheaper.  People have reported here wonderful results with the aoyue systems.  Adjustable temp stations are very nice, make it easy and safe to solder and desolder a variety of things, and I think are worth it.  You don't need digital control, but most stations sold now are digital.  50W should be considered the minimum and there's no reason for anything above 80W or so unless you're soldering to thick bus wires, boards with massive ground planes (think audio where the ground plane is sometimes also used as a shield), or other special applications. 

Something you didn't mention was if you had planned on backlighting under the keycaps.  It's a polarizing choice!  If you want it, you will need some 3mm (nominal) leds.

First off, thank you very much for your knowledgeable reply. My favorite switches are blue and clears but I've also never typed on them all, I really like the sound and feel of the blues but the weight of clears. I was more curious than anything how a blue with a heavier feel would be like so I figured since springs are cheap enough to just buy a pack of them and if I like how it feels then I'll toss them in, if not I can save the springs for clears down the road. So far I was really only looking at what mechanicalkeyboards.com had for stock and it appears they don't have pcb mounted stabilizers(or leds). I'm planning on running the layout with the shortened RShift and arrows keys so as far as I know that means I'll need a 7u spacebar and it'll be winkeyless.

I was planning on backlighting the keyboard and just forgot to mention LEDs so thank you for reminding me and helping me on what leds I'll need, there are no rgb 3mm leds right? If that's the case then I'm torn on LEDs because I will want to find a color that coordinates well with a keyset. The keysets I have in mind that would go on the board are either Granite, Triumph Adler(Hoping that mine don't look bad backlit), Carbon, Symbiosis, or Penumbra r2(if it comes out). One of mine dream keyboards is a lightsaver w/penumbra on it so if I get that keyset I may just have to save it for an LS.

I did hear somewhere that the 3rd gen of the RS96 is compatible with Lightsaver, hoping that's the case then I could look for a LS case and put it on my RS96 and nit would look practically the same.

As far as soldering stations go I checked out the Aoyue 9378 60 Watt on amazon and for $83.99 with prime it looks very tempting. I'm in college attempting to get a Computer Engineer degree so I see myself soldering and tinkering with electronics far down the road so I also want to make sure that I'm getting a reliable soldering station.

For sure you can try them.  If you aren't using a plate (I don't think you are from your description) then you can easily swap them out later if you find you don't like them.  Look for tutorials here where you modify the wires out of a set of binder clips to easily pop the tops off of mounted switches.

There are small rgb leds, but rgb leds require 4 leads (one + for each color and a common cathode) and the board is not wired for such beasts.  If you're worried, and really want to make sure you can match, install sip sockets inside of the switch so you can hotswap leds.  There's instructions here somewhere as well.

The RS does fit in the lightsaver, but I kind of think it's a waste because I happen to enjoy the rgb ambient glow under the board that will be mostly blocked by the metal lightsaver.

[Steezus]

Ok so my item list is currently 100x MX Blues, 120x 62g Springs, PCB Mounted Stabs, 100x Sip Sockets, 100x White LEDs, and a soldering station. The switches and springs I found at mechanicalkeyboards.com but I'm having a hard time finding a good website that sells the other three keyboard components. I found some sip sockets and on Ortholinear's website (http://ortholinearkeyboards.com/keyboard-parts/sip-sockets-for-leds) and the LEDs @ http://zealpc.net/collections/accessories/products/leds but the led dimensions confuse me a bit, is 2x3x4 the same as 3mm LEDs and will they fit fine in those sip sockets? I can't find anyplace to buy PCB mounted stabs at the moment though, the search continues. Thank you very much for all your help, I hate to barrage you with questions.

[Steezus]

I decided on going with the Weller WESD51 soldering station because I would rather buy a long lasting product of high quality if it means spending a little more. The other thing that I'm unsure of is what wire gauge should I get when working on a keyboard?