geekhack

geekhack Community => Keyboards => Topic started by: o2dazone on Thu, 09 February 2012, 18:34:06

Title: They call me the chopper
Post by: o2dazone on Thu, 09 February 2012, 18:34:06
Just need to modify the case, and I'm golden :) Arrow keys work similar to HHKB, replacing R_Function with R_Shift

[ATTACH=CONFIG]39932[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]39933[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]39934[/ATTACH]
Title: They call me the chopper
Post by: o2dazone on Thu, 09 February 2012, 18:35:08
btw the dyed keys were a biproduct of the rit dyeing test, didn't wanna go ruining nice topre keycaps :P
Title: They call me the chopper
Post by: byFd on Fri, 10 February 2012, 03:08:35
go and mod fn keys between ctrl and alt :)
Title: They call me the chopper
Post by: o2dazone on Fri, 10 February 2012, 10:03:30
haha that would own, but I woud make R_Shift shorter and put Fn to the right of it. Just so its like my beloved HHKB
Title: They call me the chopper
Post by: o2dazone on Sat, 11 February 2012, 18:27:52
Almost there...

[ATTACH=CONFIG]40180[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]40181[/ATTACH]

Still need to get some epoxy putty and bond the edges, and then sand everything down. Unfortunately, there's going to be a very blatant seam, but that's ok.
Title: They call me the chopper
Post by: elbowglue on Sun, 12 February 2012, 21:03:18
Awe.
Some.
Title: They call me the chopper
Post by: lootbag on Sun, 12 February 2012, 21:18:37
bondo, sand and paint!
blatent seam gone.
but I understand if you do not wish to paint for aesthetic reasons.
Title: They call me the chopper
Post by: lightsout714 on Sun, 12 February 2012, 21:25:11
Dude that is bad ass. So is there no pcb? Almost looks like a ribbon cable or something.
Title: They call me the chopper
Post by: hashbaz on Sun, 12 February 2012, 21:34:04
Wicked, man.  You now own an SSSK.  Do you have plans for a function layer?
Title: They call me the chopper
Post by: whiskerBox on Sun, 12 February 2012, 22:08:12
Hmm now I knew I would have use for that old model M in the closet. I can't wait to see it finished!
Title: They call me the chopper
Post by: Ascaii on Mon, 13 February 2012, 07:51:38
wow...looks clean and sleek. I like it!
Title: They call me the chopper
Post by: mekkanic on Mon, 13 February 2012, 08:08:00
very nice ....
Title: They call me the chopper
Post by: o2dazone on Mon, 13 February 2012, 09:21:19
Thanks guys

The epoxy putty was a huge failure. I obviously don't know how to use the stuff effectively, so I'll be using lots of C-clamps and regular epoxy. Something that dries translucent
Title: They call me the chopper
Post by: qwxc on Mon, 13 February 2012, 09:35:46
That looks awsome, can't wait to see the final result!
Title: They call me the chopper
Post by: silent-circuit on Tue, 14 February 2012, 07:50:39
So tempted to do this myself. Model M? Did you have to do a lot of soldering to get it working again, or just chop?
Title: They call me the chopper
Post by: o2dazone on Tue, 14 February 2012, 07:51:43
Zero soldering. Just a bolt mod and cutting discs.
Title: They call me the chopper
Post by: o2dazone on Tue, 14 February 2012, 13:22:56
(http://kb.o2dazone.com/choppedM/IMG_7188.jpg)

(http://kb.o2dazone.com/choppedM/IMG_7190.jpg)

I used 5 Minute Epoxy in this situation. I used epoxy putty on in the inside for additional bonding. Obviously I suck at lining up stuff, and I cut some lines really crooked when chopping up the frame. I didn't follow the 'measure twice cut once' rule, so I fixed what I screwed up with Epoxy putty lol. Altogether, the thing is great. I'm using AHK to emulate all my chopped off functionality, and it works surprisingly like the Poker mapped out like HHKB (RShift acting as the Function key). There is a very shallow function layer, just enough to cover the basics, arrow keys, delete, and a few others.

If anyone is going to do this project, a few things to consider:

-Get yourself a high powered rotary tool. I got a cheapo $8 job from Harbor Freight. And while it did what I wanted it to, I spent close to 3 hours chopping up the frame, and barrel plate.
-I used a carbide blade hack saw to chop the steel plate off. Also really cheap, but you don't need to splurge here. It does the job.
-MEASURE MEASURE MEASURE your cuts before making them. This applies to the barrel plate, steel plate and case (ESPECIALLY the case). If you mess up just a little bit, it can really show as you glue things back together. You can obviously sand out any unfitting areas, so you're given a bit of leeway, but it's like cutting paper, if you mess up slightly, you have to readjust, and then before you know it, there are wiggles and wobbles all over your cuts.
-Take your time
Title: They call me the chopper
Post by: o2dazone on Tue, 14 February 2012, 15:41:51
I'd love to see some examples.

It's probably the first time I've ever glued plastic. At the end I was more like "**** it I just want it done" than actually completing it to look nice. Model M's are great, but the switch is definitely not for me. Unfortunately this keyboard will probably sit on my shelf for a while.
Title: Re: They call me the chopper
Post by: neverused on Fri, 11 December 2015, 18:41:56
I've been looking at projects like this and see that the images are no longer viewable, any chance they still exist?
Title: Re: They call me the chopper
Post by: jdcarpe on Fri, 11 December 2015, 18:44:23
I've been looking at projects like this and see that the images are no longer viewable, any chance they still exist?

If you had waited two more months, it could have been a four year necro!

All the images were deleted when R00TW0RM hit.
Title: Re: They call me the chopper
Post by: neverused on Fri, 11 December 2015, 18:47:53
I've been looking at projects like this and see that the images are no longer viewable, any chance they still exist?

If you had waited two more months, it could have been a four year necro!

All the images were deleted when R00TW0RM hit.
Yes but the question is specific to this thread and the OP was last active a couple weeks ago so I'm ok necro bumping it.