Background for me:
This is my first post on the forum from my newly created account, but I have been "engaged" (Really, just on the outside looking in) with mechanical keyboards for around a year now. My journey started, like many, with buying a junky gaming keyboard, in my case the Corsair K65 RGB. My mistake buying that keyboard, mainly due to no keycaps available to it lead me to buying the Pok3r. I really like that keyboard, but have become more of an enthusiast and looking to purchase more than I really need, though it is an expensive hobby. I was also furthered into the keyboard community when I taught myself to type in Dvorak.
Since then, I have been ever more interested in keyboards and over the last few weeks of school, I decided to take advantage of some of the machines there and start on a diy keyboard project.
Actual Post:
I decided to start with a macro pad because I was not sure I wanted my first project to be a full keyboard, especially given how much money it cost to do so
(Ironic considering I will spend $160 on some Carbon keycaps LOL, I read back through this and my cart total came to $278.88, I decided I would regret it if I did not buy EVERYTHING I wanted, I looked at EVERY single SA group buy I could fine (I found a nice list on reddit) and decided that I liked carbon more than all of them so I would like it to be compatible with whatever my main board will be. I will likely buy other sets, but this, as of now, is my favorite and probably will remain the most extensive. I am also treating it as a graduation present) I also play a lot of TF2 and would like some binds to switch loadouts, switch classes, have medic binds, etc.
At this point, I already have all my materials and just have to assemble it, but thought it might make an interesting read.
Layout: Initial design with Commands:
Final design, same commands just flipped (Thought it would be more ergonomic if I ever decided to place the macro pad on the right side of my mouse and use the arrow keys):
Design:I used the amazing online plate and case builder (
http://builder.swillkb.com/) to build a sandwich style case with the idea of using aluminum plates on the top and bottom, with a wood piece in the middle.
Front:
Back:
Parts:1.5mm Top and Bottom Brushed aluminum
Oak wood .5" thick
Gateron Red switches
Teensy 2.0
6in Mini usb male to female (For port on back)
.75" 4-40 screws and nuts
Some adhesive rubber feet from amazon
Keycaps from my DSA Rainbow set
Machining:Plates: Originally I planned to use the CNC mill at my school and cut 1/16" aluminum (Slightly too thick, but has worked for others) and a 1/16" bit to cut out the keycap plate. This was going to be a stretch from the getgo because the radius on a 1/16" bit is greater than the cherry specification, but I thought it was worth a shot. However, some guy broke the last 1/16" bit so I never got to try this idea.
By this point, I was already pretty engaged with the idea and decided to order my plates through lasergist and cut them correctly out of 1.5mm aluminum. It was not cheap, costing around $60 with shipping for the key plate and bottom plate. However, their finished side looks very nice and everything clips in place nice.
Mid-Plate:
I cut my mid plate out of .5" oak with the cnc mill with an 1/8" bit. It is relatively simple, just with four holes for the mounting holes at each corner. I actually really struggled to source wood for this part, mainly due to how awful the websites are for hardware stores. However, one day I swung by my local home depot and saw .5" oak and decided it would have to work.
Overall, I am happy with the way this piece turned out. the edges and the holes line up well with the aluminum, even though I did not have the aluminum plates with me while sanding. The only thing that I would want different would be a cut out in the rear for the mini usb connection which is not the whole height (Will have gaps). However, I did not have a good way to work around this with my tooling (I could have made two separate pieces and glued them together, but imo this would be worse than what I did).
Staining:
I debated quite a bit what I wanted to do with the wood, and in the end I just finished it without a stain using some linseed oil.
Assembly:I used the absolutely amazing Keyboard Firmware Builder (
http://kbfirmware.com/) to give me a quick wiring diagram as well as generate the firmware. It also allowed me to choose which ports every column and row went into on the teensy. It was pretty straight forward, just make sure the diodes are facing the right way (Line facing away from switch post) and make sure there are no shorts. A multimeter was very helpful during this process to reassure that I had done things correctly.
I recommend you put more thought into the bending of the diodes than I did, because I made my first row way harder than it had to be by not bending the diodes correctly. I also recommend using solid wire on the columns, as I found it easier to strip in the middle than the stranded.
The only issues I had during assembly, other than the minor diode issue, was I had one short between a column and a diode, which was quickly fixed with some electrical tape (I accidentally burnt through the insulation on the wire).
The soldering should not be too difficult for most people. I have a good amount of soldering experience, but my hands are the shakiest I have every seen, so if I can do it, you can as well!
I do not have a lot of in progress photos for this, since I was so excited, but I will attach what I have.
As you can see, I simply glued in the mini usb cable to make a port, it feels pretty secure and seems to work well (I used a combination of hot glue and super glue). I also glued in a few of the switches because they would not clip in right.
I also placed electrical tape underneath the teensy to avoid shorts, but this probably was not really necessary, though it made me feel better.
Programming:To program, I simply used keyboard firmware builder (kbfirmware.com), and told it which ports I used for each row and column. It is an absolutely amazing tool! Then I just used the teensy flashing tool to put the firmware on, it worked first time!
Final Product:
Do not worry, I went back and fixed that popped up switch with some hot glue! It was pushed up by one of the wires going to the teensy, I do not know why it would not clip into place.
Actual final pictures with cap designs:
[img width=640 height=480]https://i.imgur.com/3FDjnIP.jpg]
[img width=640 height=480]https://i.imgur.com/g6gjTkr.jpg]
Overall, I am pleased with the final product and am excited to use it! I do not have key caps as of yet, but I order some of the x-key relegendables from bhphotovideo for $5 (
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1056679-REG/x_keys_xk_a_548_r.html, Comes with 10 per pack).
I had originally planned on using some of the signature plastics dsa relegendables, but they are $2 a cap, so I thought I could do better. Hopefully the x-keys are of decent quality.
I plan to use this for some tf2 binds for competitive 6v6 (Change classes, change loadouts, start and end demo, etc).
I had a friend who is not into keyboards, but saw what I had created and was interested in one for himself as he is an avid drawer and would like to have macro keys for commands. He was intimidated by the cost (Probably $75 before caps, $50 of which was the metal plates), but I plan to try this thing again using .25" thick wood cut on a laser cutter at my library in order to save cost (Will just glue in switches). I am interested to see how rigid this will be, as the wood will be quite thick, this may be a good way to experiment with new layouts!
Thanks for reading (Or like me, looking at the pictures). And let me know what you think! Let me know if you have any advice or questions! 
