[Order Thread] Metal (Zinc) Keycaps Round 2. [shipped to me] [Right-Shift keys avail]

[Glissant]

I had forgotten that I got the keys sent to my house in North America, so I won't be able to check them out for another couple of weeks. But they arrived safely and quickly. Thanks, feng! Can't wait to get them on my daily driver.

[Playtrumpet]

Well, can't say I didn't warn everybody.
http://geekhack.org/showthread.php?31081-Ripsters-Review-Of-Cheap-Chinese-Zinc-Keys&highlight=zinc

I became fully aware of the tight-fitting problems after my initial search for metal/aluminum keycaps months ago. I was expecting it and ready with tools. The stems were easy enough to widen.

[dorkvader]

What did you use to widen them, playtrumpet?

[Herman]

God damn I would like those cool gold arrow keys, but i was too late like always

[Glissant]

Did you send feng a private message asking him if he has some?

[Playtrumpet]

What did you use to widen them, playtrumpet?

Pliers, small hammer, heat, and a thick wire that gets wider on the end. Helpful for the bottom of the stems which were hardest to widen.

[NotDavidM]

I got mine today and I had a freaking threaded metal rod stuck up in one of my stems, thankfully i could pull it out with some needle nose pliers. Maybe it widened the stem for me?

[OPTiK]

I just added some silicon grease to the inside of where the stems go. Seems to have helped slide them on..not sure about pulling them off yet lol.

[longweight]

I just added some silicon grease to the inside of where the stems go. Seems to have helped slide them on..not sure about pulling them off yet lol.

Give it a go and report back please! What are they like to type on?

[DrunkenLizard]

sweet got my keycaps today, now if I could just find my set of hobby files

[Nunez]

Got mine today, looking good

same issues as the rest though so I haven't put them on anything yet.

[OPTiK]

Give it a go and report back please! What are they like to type on?

I pulled off a key and it def came off easier than without silicon grease. In terms of the feel, they definitely feel weighty (you'll notice it when you hold them). I'm using them on my noppoo choc mini and depending on how hard/fast you hit them you can hear a 'ding', which I actually like. Overall they're pretty unique and I'm glad I got them! Keep in mind that the added weight may have some negative effects to your springs over time. I have all my alt/ctrl/shift keys as zinc so I don't think I have to worry about it too much.

Side note: Depending on your lighting/surroundings the silver will look gold. I have a sky light over my desk so during the day they look gold depending on the angle, but at night they look silver. You may also have a side effect of inquisitive coworkers looking at your keyboard in awh due to the new bling. I'll have a pic up soon once I get one last key.

[longweight]

I pulled off a key and it def came off easier than without silicon grease. In terms of the feel, they definitely feel weighty (you'll notice it when you hold them). I'm using them on my noppoo choc mini and depending on how hard/fast you hit them you can hear a 'ding', which I actually like. Overall they're pretty unique and I'm glad I got them! Keep in mind that the added weight may have some negative effects to your springs over time. I have all my alt/ctrl/shift keys as zinc so I don't think I have to worry about it too much.

Side note: Depending on your lighting/surroundings the silver will look gold. I have a sky light over my desk so during the day they look gold depending on the angle, but at night they look silver. You may also have a side effect of inquisitive coworkers looking at your keyboard in awh due to the new bling. I'll have a pic up soon once I get one last key.

Thanks for reporting back

Please post a pic ASAP!

[longweight]

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[Glissant]

OPTiK, are you saying that your zinc keycaps fit really snugly without the grease, but you were still able to pull them off without breaking any stems? The silicon grease idea was a good one. Might try that when I get mine.

Let's see those lovelies on a keyboard, longweight .

[longweight]

A quick review I have done of them can be found here: http://forums.bit-tech.net/showpost.php?p=3063976&postcount=3

Be nice!

[OPTiK]

OPTiK, are you saying that your zinc keycaps fit really snugly without the grease, but you were still able to pull them off without breaking any stems? The silicon grease idea was a good one. Might try that when I get mine.

Let's see those lovelies on a keyboard, longweight .

I'm saying that the grease is the way to go. I wouldn't put these on without it after testing. My final one gets in today I think so I may have a pic up soon!

[oneproduct]

I had a shot at them with a Dremel with a diamond bit today like Ripster suggested and it went so-so. The bit I have is tapered and the thickness at the bottom of the bit is about right but it doesn't go that far down into the stem of the keycap, so I can only use the narrower tip. I'll have to find a different bit. I bought enough keycaps to cover a whole Poker so I have quite a bit of work ahead of me lol.

For those who have experience with a Dremel, what's the best way to go about trimming things out? Do you:
1. apply pressure to the surface with the side of the bit
2. angle the bit and go at the surface with the tip (or maybe the side of the head?) of the bit
3. other!?

Today was my first day using a Dremel so any tips would be welcome! As a side note, it doesn't really seem possible to screw up. I thought I'd go slow in case I made the stems too wide but that hasn't been an issue at all. I just worked on two keycaps and they almost fit now, but not quite. Going to wait till I get a proper bit to continue with the other 60 or so I have.

[dsjbirch]

Can anyone give me some feedback on this set who has bought it...

How difficult is it to make them fit - I have a poker, but I guess cherry is cherry.

Are they cold to the touch when typing and do they remain cold?

Some pics of plain silver (plus points for a filco or poker).

Thanks

[longweight]

I gave up and never fitted them! They do stay cold which is nice.

[dsjbirch]

Really, that's not what I wanted to hear!

Any other takers?

[Glissant]

I'm still waiting to try my keys out, dsjbirch. I'll let you all know what they are like on my poker when I get to the states again. I will be picking up some silicone grease to see if it makes it easier, but we all know by now that these are a very tight fit.

[oneproduct]

I tried dremeling them a bit, and maybe it's just my inexperience with it, but it's harder than it seems. First, it's very slow to do, second, I ended up making one of them a bit too loose since it's hard to make sure that you are dremeling the cruciform wider evenly rather than just in one direction, and third, the bit I was using broke, so that brought an end to that. So I just ended up forcing them on and it's pretty obvious that they're never going to come off.

That's okay with me however as I don't intend to change them and they do look pretty cool. I'll upload a picture a bit later. I bought a full set which covers everything except the spacebar and the enter key (he has an enter available but it hasn't shipped yet). I haven't put on a few of the keys because I have to do something first before I put them on and lose the ability to take them off.

[xquisit]

Anything for sale here that will fit on a KBT RACE?

[oneproduct]

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[Glissant]

That's a good looking setup, oneproduct =D. I am guessing you will be adding the rest when you get them? Too bad we don't have a spacebar zinc plated yet.

[dsjbirch]

(Attachment Link) 52856[/ATTACH]

Hmm, they do look very lovely.

But, I don't own a dremel, so what's plan B? I have a powerdrill. Could that work?

I saw talk of using heat and silicon grease too.

Any more success stories?

I'm gonna contact feng and ask what's still available.

[oneproduct]

Well actually, my Dremel was plan A, but I just ended up making things worse by loosening three of them too much as those three don't fit so well anymore. I sort of just gave up and really forced them on, but it's quite clear they are never coming off now. So long as you're absolutely sure you'd never need to change them, it's okay I guess...

You could probably get it right with a Dremel, but it would require crazy amounts of care and patience, which is not something viable for the amount of keys I bought. Also, since my Dremel bit broke while doing it (since it's a small bit it's more fragile) that really decided things for me.

[Playtrumpet]

That must be one loud keyboard.

[Glissant]

I didn't have to use anything to fit my modifier zinc key caps. They fit well on my brown switches and come off without too much effort. Haven't gotten my esc row key yet, so I don't know about the 1x keys.

[oneproduct]

The larger keys that were made later fit nicely. Part of the problem is that I'm using them on a Poker perhaps and the PCB is quite notorious for flexing, so when you try to take them off it makes it want to bend a lot rather than coming off nicely. Still though, they're pretty nice, but I just don't ever intend to try to remove them now that they're on.