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geekhack Projects => Making Stuff Together! => Topic started by: mike52787 on Wed, 27 April 2016, 18:39:52

Title: My first custom! TKL Alps board
Post by: mike52787 on Wed, 27 April 2016, 18:39:52: Hey guys, Just had the great idea to do a custom tkl alps board out of my old power user 105. I was planning on hand wiring the switches, I cant afford to make a pcb! One problem with the power user 105 is the big ass enter and 1u backspace. I personally hate this layout and want to do the old focus layout, with the 2u backspace, big ass enter and 1u backslash next to the right shift. Can someone help me out in modding the plate? Im super new to this and really want an alps tkl on a budget. I will also be making a custom case too. I will post pictures and a work log of sorts if anyone is inerested. Again, any help is greatly appreciated!
Title: Re: My first custom (Help a newbie out!)
Post by: trenzafeeds on Wed, 27 April 2016, 18:50:41: To be honest, I think modding the plate would be pretty difficult. Can you give us any idea of the kind of tools you have available to you? You can also always use Swill's CAD creator to auto-generate your own plate and pay big blue saw to cut it. It's not super expensive, even if you only get one.
Title: Re: My first custom (Help a newbie out!)
Post by: mike52787 on Wed, 27 April 2016, 18:52:49: Quote from: trenzafeeds on Wed, 27 April 2016, 18:50:41
To be honest, I think modding the plate would be pretty difficult. Can you give us any idea of the kind of tools you have available to you? You can also always use Swill's CAD creator to auto-generate your own plate and pay big blue saw to cut it. It's not super expensive, even if you only get one.

I have pretty much a whole garage of tools to play with. How much are we talking about getting a custom cut plate?
Title: Re: My first custom (Help a newbie out!)
Post by: fohat.digs on Wed, 27 April 2016, 19:02:37: Somebody, maybe grimey, cut a Dell AT101 into a TKL a few years ago. I can never find the thread (maybe pre-r00tw0rm) but it didn't seem too hard.

Re-jiggering the Enter and Backslash is likely the hardest part.
Title: Re: My first custom (Help a newbie out!)
Post by: trenzafeeds on Wed, 27 April 2016, 19:04:05: Quote from: mike52787 on Wed, 27 April 2016, 18:52:49
Quote from: trenzafeeds on Wed, 27 April 2016, 18:50:41
To be honest, I think modding the plate would be pretty difficult. Can you give us any idea of the kind of tools you have available to you? You can also always use Swill's CAD creator to auto-generate your own plate and pay big blue saw to cut it. It's not super expensive, even if you only get one.

I have pretty much a whole garage of tools to play with. How much are we talking about getting a custom cut plate?

If you only get one, my really rough estimates are showing like $90, but then again I just expect that a custom project will cost a lot, so that may be too expensive for you.
You can check out the Swill KB Cad (http://builder.swillkb.com/) here, it uses files from Keyboard Layout editor.
I'm not so sure about modding the plate, it seems like it would be a really meticulous process that could easily go wrong, but I'm also not very good with stuff like that anyways, so I'm probably not the best judge.
Title: Re: My first custom (Help a newbie out!)
Post by: mike52787 on Wed, 27 April 2016, 19:09:10: Yeah, My budget doesnt include a custom plate then :)) I just want to do this cheap! I will post a picture of the plate with all the caps in that are pulled. that could help you geeks help me. :thumb:
Title: Re: My first custom (Help a newbie out!)
Post by: trenzafeeds on Wed, 27 April 2016, 19:10:40: Quote from: mike52787 on Wed, 27 April 2016, 19:09:10
Yeah, My budget doesnt include a custom plate then :)) I just want to do this cheap! I will post a picture of the plate with all the caps in that are pulled. that could help you geeks help me. :thumb:

I actually love that you really want to do it with the parts you have, that'll make the project more challenging, but a lot more interesting! Anyone can get a plate cut, but it'll be interesting trying to mod one you already have.
Title: Re: My first custom (Help a newbie out!)
Post by: mike52787 on Wed, 27 April 2016, 19:28:23: Here is a pic of the area of the board that will need to be modded. I apparently suck at or dont know how to embed images, every time ive tried it ends up failing. so heres the link. Btw, thats not my hair in the board, Its disgusting as I havent cleaned it after getting it at a thrift store.

http://imgur.com/i5QiXUY

On another note, Would anyone be interested in trading the original apple font alps mount doubleshot caps for a set of focus fk-2001 doubleshots? Heres a shot of the caps.

http://imgur.com/8qzz29v

Thanks for your help so far guys!
Title: Re: My first custom (Help a newbie out!)
Post by: trenzafeeds on Wed, 27 April 2016, 19:49:42: to embed images you have to use the direct link to the image, not the link that leads you to an imgur page with the image on it. When you upload to imgur it will give you a bunch of different links, but one of them will be the "direct link", which is the one you want to use for embedding.
Like this:
(http://i.imgur.com/i5QiXUY.jpg)
Title: Re: My first custom (Help a newbie out!)
Post by: mike52787 on Wed, 27 April 2016, 19:51:00: Quote from: trenzafeeds on Wed, 27 April 2016, 19:49:42
to embed images you have to use the direct link to the image, not the link that leads you to an imgur page with the image on it. When you upload to imgur it will give you a bunch of different links, but one of them will be the "direct link", which is the one you want to use for embedding.
Like this:
Show Image
(http://i.imgur.com/i5QiXUY.jpg)

Thanks! Will use this knowledge in the future.
Title: Re: My first custom (Help a newbie out!)
Post by: mike52787 on Fri, 29 April 2016, 18:39:46: Got some great progress going!
Heres an image of the cut down plate, with the only modification beig the space for the backspace key cut out.

(http://i.imgur.com/FPJYdOM.jpg)

I decided to ditch the idea of using the old focus layout with the big ass enter and just made it ansi. Heres the finished product after the plate has been modded. Just have to paint the plate, make a case and wire it all up.

(http://i.imgur.com/FbmHXhF.jpg)

(http://i.imgur.com/3jQCshV.jpg)

(http://i.imgur.com/oBDu09G.jpg)

Who says I need a custom plate :p :p :p :p