Author Topic: Lubing a pre-assembled board  (Read 5939 times)

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Offline click-clack-paddywhack

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Lubing a pre-assembled board
« on: Wed, 13 May 2020, 00:56:08 »
Hello! Like the title stated, I bought a 60% Tofu pre-assembled keyboard from KBDFans: https://kbdfans.com/products/fully-assembled-tofu-60-keyboard?variant=28985654345776
as well as some lube to go with my NKCream Switches. I was wondering if I could still properly lube the switches without having to desolder them.

I saw a video like this on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iT4BZ7477RM.

Appreciate any thoughts/advice!



Offline sth

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Re: Lubing a pre-assembled board
« Reply #1 on: Wed, 13 May 2020, 01:30:55 »
i didn't buy a preassembled tofu but i have the tofu hhkb and it came with a hotswap pcb, which means you can take the switches out without desoldering them. i imagine they all use the same pcb but you can probably check the bottom of the pcb. if the switch legs are soldered, you're out of luck. but if they have hotswap sockets you should be able to pop those suckers out pretty easily.
i did see a comment reply from kbdfans on the link you shared that said the switches are NOT hotswappable, however. so you might have to break out the iron.
this is what the hotswap sockets look like on the bottom of the pcb:
« Last Edit: Wed, 13 May 2020, 01:32:57 by sth »
11:48 -!- SmallFry [~SmallFry@unaffiliated/smallfry] has quit [Ping timeout: 245 seconds] ... rest in peace

Offline Sup

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Re: Lubing a pre-assembled board
« Reply #2 on: Wed, 13 May 2020, 03:19:50 »
i didn't buy a preassembled tofu but i have the tofu hhkb and it came with a hotswap pcb, which means you can take the switches out without desoldering them. i imagine they all use the same pcb but you can probably check the bottom of the pcb. if the switch legs are soldered, you're out of luck. but if they have hotswap sockets you should be able to pop those suckers out pretty easily.
i did see a comment reply from kbdfans on the link you shared that said the switches are NOT hotswappable, however. so you might have to break out the iron.
this is what the hotswap sockets look like on the bottom of the pcb:
Show Image


If you read the product page its the DZ60 soldered PCB not the hotswap version.  In my opinion if you are gonna lube switches you have to desolder them. I have seen videos people injecting lubrication trough the top of the switch. Man that **** makes me cringe you are putting way to much lube in and it will be inconsistent and you don't lube all the parts so its half lubed. The pole and the hole stay unlubed for a big part. These videos are meant for people who don't really want to go into the hobby and take the easy routes for what ever reason.

If you want it consistently lubed and not overlubed with the wrong lubrication yes desoldering would be necessary. But if you don't care about the long term feeling of your keyboard you can lube like the new kids do these days injecting lube from the top.... :-\

TLDR

Desoldering and opening switches lightly lubing all the parts = Good way of lubing

Injecting lube trough the top is overlubed,Not the greatest lube, not consistently lubed = Bad way of lubing

« Last Edit: Wed, 13 May 2020, 03:24:32 by Sup »
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Offline click-clack-paddywhack

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  • Posts: 6
Re: Lubing a pre-assembled board
« Reply #3 on: Wed, 13 May 2020, 03:22:34 »
i didn't buy a preassembled tofu but i have the tofu hhkb and it came with a hotswap pcb, which means you can take the switches out without desoldering them. i imagine they all use the same pcb but you can probably check the bottom of the pcb. if the switch legs are soldered, you're out of luck. but if they have hotswap sockets you should be able to pop those suckers out pretty easily.
i did see a comment reply from kbdfans on the link you shared that said the switches are NOT hotswappable, however. so you might have to break out the iron.
this is what the hotswap sockets look like on the bottom of the pcb:
Show Image


Thanks for the in-depth response on what I may possibly expect! I'll sit tight for now and wait for the board to come!


Offline Rhienfo

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Re: Lubing a pre-assembled board
« Reply #4 on: Fri, 14 July 2023, 07:02:57 »
Yeah never spray lube. Creams do benefit from extended use, making them much smoother as you use the board. If you use it for a while which should improve smoothness, that's what I did to my batch of creams and it made it much smoother than if I just used lubed them straight out of the box. The only other advice I can give you is that maybe someone you know can desolder/resolder it for you, just make sure they use leaded solder as it would be easier to desolder again if needed.

Offline Leslieann

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Re: Lubing a pre-assembled board
« Reply #5 on: Fri, 14 July 2023, 15:55:25 »
I was wondering if I could still properly lube the switches without having to desolder them.
I saw a video like this on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iT4BZ7477RM.
Appreciate any thoughts/advice!

Being new you can sort of lube through the top, but it's not preferable. Still preferable to spray lube.

Spray lube is bad.
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