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geekhack Projects => Making Stuff Together! => Topic started by: Djuzuh on Sat, 11 August 2012, 10:28:17

Title: [IC] Blank keycaps
Post by: Djuzuh on Sat, 11 August 2012, 10:28:17
So, who is interested in cheap blank keycaps, for modding purpose? (painting, cutting, drilling, using the stem, etc…). I'm sure we can get very low prices if we do a nice group buy. So everybody can mess around !
Title: Re: [IC] Blank keycaps
Post by: jcrouse on Sat, 11 August 2012, 10:30:25
Now that is a great idea.
Title: Re: [IC] Blank keycaps
Post by: mkawa on Sat, 11 August 2012, 11:10:39
what profile? SP sells singles to all comers
Title: Re: [IC] Blank keycaps
Post by: Djuzuh on Sat, 11 August 2012, 11:16:11
what profile? SP sells singles to all comers

SP's prices do go down a lot the more you order, don't they?

The point wasn't to source blank keycaps, it's to get them dirt cheap.

But maybe we can try and get some other profile keycaps, if there is interest?
Title: Re: [IC] Blank keycaps
Post by: damorgue on Sat, 11 August 2012, 11:21:03
Old keyboards? An old broken G80 for close to nothing is easy to find and it will yield you plenty of caps, several of each row and larger keys as well?
Ofc it depends on what you are going to do with them, as black and white are the ones readily available. Were you thinking of a GB with blank keys in several colors?
Title: Re: [IC] Blank keycaps
Post by: Djuzuh on Sat, 11 August 2012, 11:26:12
Old keyboards? An old broken G80 for close to nothing is easy and it will yield you plenty of caps, several of each row and larger keys as well?
Ofc it depends on what you are going to do with them, as black and white are the ones readily available. Were you thinking of a GB with blank keys in several colors?

I was thinking of blank white keycaps, as cheap as possible.
Title: Re: [IC] Blank keycaps
Post by: damorgue on Sat, 11 August 2012, 11:29:08
Do they need to be completely white? I think that old white cherryboards will result in a low price per cap than what SP could offer, no?
Title: Re: [IC] Blank keycaps
Post by: ekw808 on Sat, 11 August 2012, 11:30:45
I just got 10 cans of montana spray paint, IM IN!
Title: Re: [IC] Blank keycaps
Post by: Djuzuh on Sat, 11 August 2012, 11:43:06
Do they need to be completely white? I think that old white cherryboards will result in a low price per cap than what SP could offer, no?

basing myself on this:

http://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=30735.0

We can get to 40 cent a key easily. Which would make your POS board to be worth less than 40$ to make it worth it to buy a POS board.

Not counting the fact that these will be fully blank, and brand new :P.

But maybe people are interested in getting other profiles? (like maybe the qwerkey ones, boy are they thick !)
Title: Re: [IC] Blank keycaps
Post by: yearn4 on Sat, 11 August 2012, 11:48:06
is white the only color?
Title: Re: [IC] Blank keycaps
Post by: damorgue on Sat, 11 August 2012, 11:49:22
Seems like a good idea. PBT to make them easier to colour?
Title: Re: [IC] Blank keycaps
Post by: Djuzuh on Sat, 11 August 2012, 11:49:34
is white the only color?

It's the easiest to paint, but if there is a lot of interest and depending on how SP (or any other compagny we might pick) prices the keycaps, we may as well do other colors.

Nothing fixed yet, everything is open.
Title: Re: [IC] Blank keycaps
Post by: Djuzuh on Sat, 11 August 2012, 11:50:01
Seems like a good idea. PBT to make them easier to colour?

I'm pretty sure ABS is easier to colour. PBT is only easier to rit dye.
Title: Re: [IC] Blank keycaps
Post by: damorgue on Sat, 11 August 2012, 11:58:01
I meant dye. I have always preferred dye to paint when it comes to plastics. I am interested, although I don't know quite what to do with them yet.
Title: Re: [IC] Blank keycaps
Post by: mkawa on Sat, 11 August 2012, 12:25:09
my suggestion: sigplastics keeps a large stock of caps in inventory, ask melissa if she has the caps you want in inventory and then make a deal on volume pricing.
Title: Re: [IC] Blank keycaps
Post by: Halverson on Sat, 11 August 2012, 18:49:54
Woud love a whole bunch of cheap white caps to play around with.
Title: [IC] Blank keycaps
Post by: i3oilermaker on Sat, 11 August 2012, 19:26:32
I have a bunch of "cue" balls I would sell for cheaps
Title: Re: [IC] Blank keycaps
Post by: Djuzuh on Tue, 14 August 2012, 14:46:45
Code: [Select]
100 pcs         $0.80 / each
150 pcs         $0.63 / each
200 pcs         $0.55 / each
250 pcs         $0.41 / each
500 pcs         $0.32 / each
750 pcs         $0.28 / each
1000 pcs       $0.27 / each

Here are SP's pricing.

They only have 100 keycaps in stock.

i3oilermaker: how much and for what price? :P
Title: Re: [IC] Blank keycaps
Post by: i3oilermaker on Tue, 14 August 2012, 16:24:21
50 cents a cap


While supplies last.
Title: Re: [IC] Blank keycaps
Post by: Djuzuh on Tue, 14 August 2012, 16:28:45
Could you add 20 of them to the next shipping I get from you (probably the vim key) ?
Title: Re: [IC] Blank keycaps
Post by: i3oilermaker on Tue, 14 August 2012, 16:41:11
Sure
Title: Re: [IC] Blank keycaps
Post by: Halverson on Tue, 14 August 2012, 16:44:38
i3oiler, could you add 10 to my vim/stepped caps order as well?

<3
Title: Re: [IC] Blank keycaps
Post by: i3oilermaker on Tue, 14 August 2012, 16:50:39
i3oiler, could you add 10 to my vim/stepped caps order as well?

You got it