I did this mod on my first NT.
Getting the landing pads as thin as possible AND making sure they're all the same thickness can be a challenge.
They've also decompressed quite a bit since then.
I would not recommend reinventing this wheel.
I definitely accept the challenge, but the decompression disappoints me a little. Did you feel any difference? And what do you mean with reinventing this wheel? Your advice is to stick with the others not that much DIY solutions out there? Like the v2 and silence-x?
I can definitely notice the difference now they've decompressed somewhat. The keyboard has lost most of it's tactility (not that there was much to begin with on 45g Topre).
Silence-X and Hypershpere both work well (I think I prefer silence-x though).
v1 also worked really well if one installed them right and could get past the horrendous failure rate.
I haven't installed the v2 to compare, but I'd leave them stock rather than messing around with an iron.
I don't believe it's worth the effort if they're going to expand unevenly over time.
If you notice any decompression of the ironed landing pads, it's because your clothing iron was not hot enough, or maybe you did not iron them for long enough. I takes a few seconds at relatively high temperature and relatively strong pressure for a pads to be flattened in a permanent way.
I have several keyboards that I have modded with the ironed landing pads technique several years ago. I think I modded them in 2013. There is absolutely no decompression.
Too hot would be if the pads melted completely. This has never happened with the clothing irons I have used, even when they were set to the maximum temperature, so I suspect that some clothing irons can't even get hot enough.
Some irons also require a long time to reach their operating temperature, and sometimes we start ironing too early. It happened to me.
I understand the ironed landing pad method can be a little tricky. It works, but it's not super easy.
I have ordered KBDFans silencing rings and I will report on their effectiveness, and compare them to my ironed landing pad method.
Looking forward for the comparison.
You also said that is possible to over melt them. When you did the mod did you set a thickness target? Or went by the temperature + time pressuring?
I think one could melt them with a clothing iron, because I have approached this point. I warned about it, but it did not actually happen to me, even with the iron set at the max temp (hey, it's a
clothing iron, after all).
After experimenting with the procedure, my target is the thickness. You should aim for a sixth to a quarter of a millimeter (~0.006 to 0.010 inch), because it's possible and the result is both good silencing and no loss of tactile feedback. You get this by using the highest temperature you can, without melting them, and good pressure. So even if you do not have any tool to measure the resulting thickness, this simple rule of thumb is all you need. You make one and you try to make it as thin as possible. Then you can use this one to compare to the other ones you make, and they should not feel thicker when you hold them between your fingers.
It's really unscientific, but you don't need more than that.
With more experience, I have noticed that a third of a millimeter is acceptable (~0.013 inch). I mention it because I know it's difficult to get to a quarter or a sixth.
At this point the landing pad looks more like a thin sheet of rubber than a foam pad.
Reduced tactility starts when the landing pad is half a millimeter thick (0.02 inch) or more, approximately. It's still OK, but you start noticing it. It's good to know because half a millimeter (0.02 inch) is not that hard to measure, and when you reach that point you know that you did not iron them hard enough.
Some silencing methods claim a reduction of travel of "only" half a millimeter (0.02 inch), but unfortunately it's already too much and some tactility is lost. It may actually be OK, but if you really want to keep the original tactility you should avoid them.
