geekhack
geekhack Projects => Making Stuff Together! => Topic started by: cal15022 on Mon, 10 October 2016, 05:41:57
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Having been a long-time Topre fan, I wanted to incorporate some pastel-ish colors into my HHKB.
Although I wanted to purchase some from Hotkeys, the production only starts in December.
I decided to put in some money and make my own. What do you think? The stems aren't as clean as I'd hoped, but I figured they did the job (that is, fit in, stay in, and pop out without harming/being harmed).
[attachimg=3]
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Those look really sharp. Nice job!
:thumb:
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they came out pretty nice!
Any tips? :D
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I wanted to incorporate some pastel-ish colors into my HHKB.
Have you see Gloyz's work?
https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=75950.msg2275904#msg2275904 (https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=75950.msg2275904#msg2275904)
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they came out pretty nice!
Any tips? :D
Thank you for your comment!
And oh do I have some tips for those who are trying to make keycaps:
1. Get these plastic gloves from Asian markets!
They work incredibly well and sell for dirt cheap. You can get them by the 50's and 100's for something like $2 - $3. I figured these were much cheaper compared to their latex counterpart and easier to wear & take off (cos they're huge!). (I also use disposable wooden chopsticks for mixing and other general purposes 100 pairs - $2.99)
[attachimg=1]
2. Enamel paint is cheap and works great
Yes, there are other options, but inquiring the arts store clerk about what works great for adding color to resin gave me the option of using enamel paint. Go with Testor's enamel paint (apparently used often by people doing figure heads). They're $2 a small bottle, and $12 a 9-piece set.
3. I followed doomcaps' youtube video
4. And also watched this figure head making video by Greg Sarabia (great instructional video!)
5. When making Topre keycaps, I had a much better chance filling the inside of the stem with clay before molding (while leaving the sides somewhat empty so the keycap can at least fit in).
6. If you're finding your keycap stem to be ruined by internal bubbles, make sure you press on the mold to make the bubbles come out after pouring a continuous stream of resin until it overflows a bit. Making a reservoir in the pouring hole definitely helps. Also make sure to turn the mold around and flip it over and do the same thing so all the resin can get to the smallest detail.
7. I use the small transparent plastic sauce cups (available in supermarkets for $2 - $3 for 50 ct.) for mixing resin instead of plastic drinking cups. Yes, the little cups they give you salsa and guac's in. They are short and very clear, so you waste less of the resin and can be sure you get the exact 1:1 ratio when mixing, which I found to be crucial.
I didn't have any pressure chamber or vacuum chamber as some of the others here. The whole point of my project was to keep the expenses at a bare minimum, so I could justify the expenses to my gf, whom I told keycaps cost at least $10 a piece (which is true). My whole setup cost me about $70-80 (Oomoo 30 silicone, Mann 200 mold release, smooth cast 300 resin, cups, chopsticks, xacto knife, etc.) It was very time consuming and I keep learning new things almost everyday. But I am getting exactly what I wanted as the end result. My gf loves them too, who owns a Realforce 87u that I gifted to her, because I made some for her as well. Thanks a lot for reading, and I wish you guys luck :thumb:
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I wanted to incorporate some pastel-ish colors into my HHKB.
Have you see Gloyz's work?
https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=75950.msg2275904#msg2275904 (https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=75950.msg2275904#msg2275904)
Ah, thanks mate. I have seen his works but didn't know he made Topre keycaps. Thanks for letting me know!