Walnut UT47

[mountainblocks]

There were a lot of firsts for me with this build. It was the first board I soldered, the first wood case I'd made, and my first full wood keycap set. It's a UT47 with a walnut case and a full set of walnut DSA keycaps.

[ArchDill]

There were a lot of firsts for me with this build. It was the first board I soldered, the first wood case I'd made, and my first full wood keycap set. It's a UT47 with a walnut case and a full set of walnut DSA keycaps.

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Interesting, typing test?

[mountainblocks]

There were a lot of firsts for me with this build. It was the first board I soldered, the first wood case I'd made, and my first full wood keycap set. It's a UT47 with a walnut case and a full set of walnut DSA keycaps.

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Interesting, typing test?

I'm not set up to record a decent quality typing test. I will say that it's not great. The combination of the fr4 plate and the open bottom make for a harsh bottom out feel and a loud sound. It's not the sort of thing I'd try again.

[SlipperyPeteED]

That looks awesome! Did you use a mill for the case?

[mountainblocks]

That looks awesome! Did you use a mill for the case?

Thanks! I only used my mill to drill the holes for the standoffs in the case. The rest was done with a router and table saw. I did CNC the keycaps though.

[rinkaan]

Would you be interested to cnc a full set of 108 at a reasonable cost? Was trying to see if there are good places to do that... But all seemed pretty expensive for the tooling... I dont mind buying the wood and sending them over haha..

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[pixelpusher]

The project is beautiful.

how long did you let this stuff dry before final form? 

[mountainblocks]

Would you be interested to cnc a full set of 108 at a reasonable cost? Was trying to see if there are good places to do that... But all seemed pretty expensive for the tooling... I dont mind buying the wood and sending them over haha..

Sent from my MI 6 using Tapatalk

Unfortunately, no. You're not going to find a decent quality full wood keycap set at a reasonable price. The materials cost is negligible, it's the time that's costly. I would have to charge at least $2500 to make it worth my time if they're all sanded and finished. Your best bet would be to get the Chinese made OEM profile ones sold at kbdfans, aliexpress, ebay, amazon, etc. It would still be expensive for a full set though.

[mountainblocks]

The project is beautiful.

how long did you let this stuff dry before final form?

Thank you! The walnut was already kiln dried and at 7% moisture when I bought it, so it was stable and ready to go right away.

[Sintpinty]

Nice Job mountainblocks!

[lightsout714]

Thats sweet, I love walnut. Surprised the caps held up at that size. I am sure you had to have some crack?

I don't have experience with CNC's but plenty with saws and routers, and know the difficulty when you try to do things small and with detail.

[rinkaan]

Yeah figured tooling cost and time is the biggest money sink... But one can always have some hope haha... Thanks for the response! Prolly buying a small home use cnc might be more worth the cost haha(not to mention the fun)! Love ur keycaps!

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[mountainblocks]

Thats sweet, I love walnut. Surprised the caps held up at that size. I am sure you had to have some crack?

I don't have experience with CNC's but plenty with saws and routers, and know the difficulty when you try to do things small and with detail.

The only ones I've had issues with cracking were highly figured woods with spalting and burl. Common kiln dried walnut has proven stable and relatively easy to machine. I've sold over 100 walnut spacebars with no complaints of warping or cracking.  The fact that I make the business end from resin helps I think.

[pixelpusher]

Thats sweet, I love walnut. Surprised the caps held up at that size. I am sure you had to have some crack?

I don't have experience with CNC's but plenty with saws and routers, and know the difficulty when you try to do things small and with detail.

The only ones I've had issues with cracking were highly figured woods with spalting and burl. Common kiln dried walnut has proven stable and relatively easy to machine. I've sold over 100 walnut spacebars with no complaints of warping or cracking.  The fact that I make the business end from resin helps I think.

how in the world do you get the stems straight?  Is there a trick or is it all by eye?

[lightsout714]

Thats sweet, I love walnut. Surprised the caps held up at that size. I am sure you had to have some crack?

I don't have experience with CNC's but plenty with saws and routers, and know the difficulty when you try to do things small and with detail.

The only ones I've had issues with cracking were highly figured woods with spalting and burl. Common kiln dried walnut has proven stable and relatively easy to machine. I've sold over 100 walnut spacebars with no complaints of warping or cracking.  The fact that I make the business end from resin helps I think.

Good to know. I have had good experience with clean walnut, but the rustic stuff, with the dark knots can be pretty brittle. But thats all wood I suppose.

[mountainblocks]

Thats sweet, I love walnut. Surprised the caps held up at that size. I am sure you had to have some crack?

I don't have experience with CNC's but plenty with saws and routers, and know the difficulty when you try to do things small and with detail.

The only ones I've had issues with cracking were highly figured woods with spalting and burl. Common kiln dried walnut has proven stable and relatively easy to machine. I've sold over 100 walnut spacebars with no complaints of warping or cracking.  The fact that I make the business end from resin helps I think.

how in the world do you get the stems straight?  Is there a trick or is it all by eye?

There's a trick. I use alignment jigs.

[invariance]

There were a lot of firsts for me with this build. It was the first board I soldered, the first wood case I'd made, and my first full wood keycap set. It's a UT47 with a walnut case and a full set of walnut DSA keycaps.

Show Image

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Interesting, typing test?

I'm not set up to record a decent quality typing test. I will say that it's not great. The combination of the fr4 plate and the open bottom make for a harsh bottom out feel and a loud sound. It's not the sort of thing I'd try again.

Rebate a thick steel plate into the base with a butyl/bitumen/neoprene sheet to dampen and lower the sound maybe?