Why don't my stabilizers work on my custom plate?

[malsyned]

I just got my custom plates from Hek Laser that I designed using http://builder.swillkb.com/ with Stabilizer Type set to "Costar Only {_s:3}". Here's drawings of the plates: https://github.com/malsyned/dparticular/releases/download/laser-quoting-5/dparticular-laser-quoting-5-plates.svg

I bought these stabilizers: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07K8FFDYJ/
I bought these keycaps (until my Red Samurai come in): https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B019OAQ6VI/
I installed the stabilizers like this:







But when I push the key down, the stabilizer bar gets stuck on the inside of the keycap, and the key stays stuck down rather than popping back up again!



So, where did I go wrong? Did I install something wrong? Did I buy the wrong stabilizers? Did I use swillkb's tool wrong? Did I mess the design up in some other way? Was it a mistake to trust swillkb's stabilizer cutout placement?

Thanks

[pixelpusher]

Try flipping the inserts that go into the keycap stem the other way around?  I always forget which way they go.  Darn Costar.

[malsyned]

Try flipping the inserts that go into the keycap stem the other way around?

If I do that, the keycap won't go onto the switch stem properly at all.

[pixelpusher]

Looks like you have the plate cut right and good costar stabilizers.  Are you sure they are fully clipped in?  If they aren’t all the way in, the plastic clips will be slightly bent towards each other and cause the inserts to stick.   How thick is the plate?

[malsyned]

Looks like you have the plate cut right and good costar stabilizers.  Are you sure they are fully clipped in?  If they aren’t all the way in, the plastic clips will be slightly bent towards each other and cause the inserts to stick.   How thick is the plate?

Yeah, they feel clipped in firmly. The plate is 1.6mm. I don't think it's the stabilizer clips that are rubbing or sticking that badly. I think it's that the metal bars are jamming against the inside of the keycap. I can sortof see it happening if I tilt the board at the right angle. Plus, if I bend the bar a little bit, it makes the situation better -- some keycaps don't stick much at all, while others from a cheaper set of caps rub and stick pretty badly on the same switch and stabs.

[malsyned]

Looks like you have the plate cut right and good costar stabilizers

Btw, thanks for saying this. This is my first time doing anything like this and I'm biting off a lot, so confirmation that something looks right does a lot to put my mind at ease.

[pixelpusher]

You can test insert clearance by taking off the cap, pulling the inserts out, putting them on the wires and seeing how they move when you move the wire.  I understand the theory of the wire hitting the inside of the cap, but that usually only happens when the caps are very thick, which these are not. 

If the inserts rub, you can shave them quite a bit and they’ll still be fine. 

It’s a nice looking project.  Hopefully you’ll get it figured out.

[malsyned]

If the inserts rub, you can shave them quite a bit and they’ll still be fine. 

I did something similar to test your hypothesis, and it looks like you were absolutely right. I had the inserts and stabilizers in, but not the wires, and I was getting basically the same rubbing and sticking. I'm looking at shaving down the inserts now to see how it goes. Fortunately I have extras in case I screw it up.

It’s a nice looking project.  Hopefully you’ll get it figured out.

Thanks! It's really starting to come together now. When it's further along and I have the final keycaps I'll post pictures and a write-up.

[malsyned]

I did something similar to test your hypothesis, and it looks like you were absolutely right. I had the inserts and stabilizers in, but not the wires, and I was getting basically the same rubbing and sticking

I think I spoke too soon here. It did help, shaving down the inserts, but when I put the wire back in I'm getting a whole second sticking/bumping that I can see clearly is the wire getting stuck inside the keycap. My suspicion at the moment is that I got some out-of-spec stabilizers. Is there a vendor for costar stabs that is considered to be particularly good quality and would be compatible with my Kailh BOX switches and soon-to-be GMK caps?

[pixelpusher]

wasdkeyboards sells them.   They use them on their own boards so surely they’re decent ones. 

[malsyned]

I ordered some replacements from wasd, but in the meantime I was able to get mine to work. In the end, it required four different mods:

1) File the plate slots in the stabilizers out to 1.6-ish mm. One of them was like 1.4mm and they were bending inward.
2) File the cap inserts down some to slide more easily in the stabilizers
3) Bend the wires so that the bump on the long side was shallower, so they didn't scrape on the inside of the caps
4) Carve the insides of two of the caps, which were from this set https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07HK92NB7/ -- they were so badly molded and warped that they were rubbing against even the re-bent wires

(I tried different keys without at least one of these steps, and they all felt squishy and crappy until I'd completed all four.)

Having done all that, my stabilized keys feel allllmost like the rest of my keys. Certainly good enough to serve me until I've gotten my replacements from wasd. Thanks for all your help with troubleshooting this, I'm so much happier with how my board feels than I was a couple of days ago.

[pixelpusher]