Hello all. I'm pretty new here. Only posted a couple times. I started my first custom board in August of 2021. 7 months later I have found these forums. This has been my journey so far...
It all started when a Taeha Types youtube video found itself in my suggested videos. I assume this happened because I had been watching a lot of LinusTechTips, KyleBitWit, Jays2Cents, etc etc and many viewers who watch things like Taeha also watch Linus and the rest. I had been using a Corsair K70 with Cherry Reds. I did know what Cherry Reds were at the time. I just bought the only K70 walmart had.
I started watching a lot of Taeha which lead to discovering creators like Apiary, AndyN, Glarses, Hipyo, Hamaji, etc etc. I wasn't 100% sold on going fully custom yet. I didn't fully understand Group Buys yet or why I couldnt find any of the fun boards I would see Taeha build on. So I went and bought another Corsair but this time a K65 Mini with Cherry Speed Silvers. I still didnt know what hot-swap verse not hot-swap was. At this point I jumped in too quickly. What I did manage to do was get some syringes and dielectric grease to push some grease into the stock dry stabs. I removed the PCB/plate and added some weight and foam to the case. Then changed out the keycaps for some Puddings because ya know... still in that noob status. But I loved them. Bought an expensive Pipboy artisan from MMI and loved that board for a lil while.
I started digging more into the custom keeb world and realized this was a rabbit hole I wanted to find myself lost in. I started researching kits and decided my first custom should be a budget board done right. I didnt want just a Gk61 with cloned caps. I learned about the TM680 and found it for $59 on AliEx in white. That was the first kit I bought. What follows IMO is my last big MISTAKE due to moving too quickly. I found a cool set of caps on Etsy with a narwhale and some other cool arctic novelties. Paid too much for them and was happy with them until I learned people clone keycaps. Coming from car tuning as my other money pit hobby, I cant stand fake parts. Fake wheels and other parts is a big issue in the tuning world. And Im so tired of having saved up and bought quality wheels for a great price only to have some weirdo with replicas (cloned) wheels that they paid half the price for tell me "must be nice to be rich". So I wasn't happy about the cloned caps. Especially since the creator went out of their way to name them something "unique" while still stealing all the artwork. Had they called them clones I would have past.
Upset with that I bagged those back up and they sit in my closet as a reminder of a lesson learned. SLOW DOWN.
So I went back to piecing together a quality budget build. This is what I ended up with... some prices have changed since then:
TM680 kit from AliExpress for $59
Gateron Milky Yellows from Divinikey for $16
Durock Plate Mount stabs from RingerKeys for $9
Aluminum knob from AliExpress for $2
Happy Planet pbt caps from Drop for $32
Put me at $118 before shipping or tax. Which I was very happy with.
Mouse is the Ergo wireless from Pwnage. Cable is from MechCables.
I really enjoyed this board and the bug for custom keebs was biting hard.
After a little while I felt the itch to get something a little higher quality. The budget board was nice and honestly I dont think Ill ever change it unless I find better parts for cheaper. I did pick up some Boba U4Ts to test out tactile switches. I installed them and fell in love with them. I'm tactile for life now. All it took was the U4Ts. So I decided to put the Milky Yellows back in the TM680 and save the Bobas for another build which I started looking around for.
I decided on another 65% and went with the Tofu65 in Acrylic. I ordered the DZ60 RGB Ansi kit, acrylic case, and poly plate with both case and pcb foam. I ordered the cherry profile Simple Green caps to go with it. I put it all together and... while I liked it. It wasnt perfect like my budget build was. About this time I saw the missed GB for Azure Dragon switches by Gopolar. I fell in love with the color combo and saw some people liking the tactile feel. Comparing them to Bobas in 2 ways... both had long pole stems and both had a top based curve with a nice bottom out. So I picked those up as my first mechmarket buy. I got those and put them in the tofu and wow. These became the second switch I lubed. I had lubed the Milky Yellows and loved them. I was told not to lube the Bobas and still loved them. I decided to use Tribosys 3203 this time since I used Krytox 205g0 on the Milky Yellows. I really liked the feel this gave the Dragons and they are actually now my favorite tactile. I also ordered a new cap set, Simple GREY this time and in the DSA profile. I liked the Happy Planet caps in XDA profile more than the cherry profile Simple Greens. I learned DSA was very similar to DSA. Only real difference being the height. So I put these on the Tofu65 with the Azure Dragons and finally I felt the board was perfect. It is the board I am currently typing on and I love it.
I have been using this board the most. Since then Ive "won" a raffle for a chance to pay for an artisan... LOL. And grabbed one of those GameBoy artisans. I think they match the board very well.
I have built one more custom and rebuilt the K65 Mini I got from Corsair.
First the rebuild. I desoldered the Speed Silver switches and lubed those. Clipped and tuned the OEM stabs. Spacebar was legit melted, I assume from factory, so I replaced it with the extra Durock plate mount I had. Added some stab pads to remove stab wobble. Painted the case a nice teal and replaced the pudding caps with a gradient set from Drop for only $45. Very happy with this lil 60% now.
Finally I put together a 5 Degree case. I dont love it. So this guy is likely not in it's final form. I love the case design, and I love these caps... but not sure if they belong together. Right now it has some Azure Dragons in it but I believe when my Nom60 comes in I will use this pcb/plate combo for that then swap out the Dragons for Durock T1s and swap out the IFK Ports for IFK Delights.
I have a few more builds on the way current in GB.
I have a "light" build planned with a white LW-67 and GMK Analog Dream caps. I plan to do a "dark" build with GMK Terror Below but have to decide on a case still. I have the Tai-Chi kit coming which I think I'll pair with GMK DMG. And the Aozora kit that I think Ill pair with ePBT RamenShop.
I also have GMK AD Digital Nightmares coming which I think Ill hop onboard the Space65 R3 for. If I go through with the Space65 then the last case I need will be for my "dark" theme. I want to patina this case for a sickly rotting look to go with the GMK Terror Below. I have my eyes on that Spectacle 65%. I think that in a black with some rust/green patina would look really nice. Opinions welcome!
I'll finish this thread off with a few photos of some mentioned and some not mentioned caps and my collection...
Edit: This Tuesday I will get in a clearance 60% case in teal. I lubed some HaluHalos last night and I think I may order the GMK Belafonte. Those were a set of caps Ive wanted for a while and think that will be a fun spontaneous build. Still on the fence if I want to buy GMK Belafonte "just for fun" though.
