WASD/Costar + SP/Dolch - Should I prepare?

[KHAANNN]

I've researched a bit, one guy complained that the space key wasn't holding the cherry stabs, I was relieved a bit as WASD's have the costar stabs, after experiencing my first mechkb issue with costar stabs, I've come to like them a lot, when you lube them well, they treat you very well too (I also perfected my removal/re-addition procedures the last time I removed my keys, so that's a plus : )

Some people complain that signature plastics keycaps touch the costar stabilizer wires, causing friction / issues - in this regard, should I be prepared to sand the insides of all the stabilized keys?

I'm guessing only a small part of the middle of the key needs to be sanded, I will be glad if anyone has pictures of the process / resulting key

I really hate to use my dremel tools, they're pretty devilish, I generally end up melting what I'm working on, only using them in a very calculated manner lately

[KHAANNN]

This post suggests there won't be any issues: https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=65684.0

I guess possibly loose stabiliser inserts might be the only issue

Still would like to hear some real-life experience

[Sifo]

Costar inserts don't fit snug with SP's keycaps at least in my history. I no longer have any Costar boards but all you need to do is to stuff a little bit of tissue inside the step (1 thin square layer will do) and then put the insert in. It should hold it in place snug and not too tight. You should have no worry of the tissue getting stuck in there either.

[KHAANNN]

Thanks, it disables my newly found costar assembly method, where I insert the insert when it's already on the wire, then lube it when it's hooked, therefore eliminating the stretching that's usually needed to get the inserts hooked to the wire, but still the insert part seems easy

I'm more concerned about the wire / key rubbing possibilities and sanding requirements, some say the backspace and space keys need sanding, which is pretty interesting

As I broadly look at my spacebar, there seems to be a lot of space between the wire and the spacebar, so I'm guessing probably no issues

[hking0036]

Costar inserts don't fit snug with SP's keycaps at least in my history. I no longer have any Costar boards but all you need to do is to stuff a little bit of tissue inside the step (1 thin square layer will do) and then put the insert in. It should hold it in place snug and not too tight. You should have no worry of the tissue getting stuck in there either.

Yeah I recently got some SA from SP and the stabs for my WASD just slip out like there's nothing holding them in. Fortunately these are gonna end up on cherry stabs anyways but you might want to do something to get them to fit better (buy new inserts, do something like the tissues, etc). As for key friction I'd be willing to wager that DSA is gonna be more likely though, but I can't say because I have none.

[Sifo]

The only things I've heard regarding requiring sanding is for things like the Left shift or enter/backspace/right shift where it'll rub slightly against the SIDE or get caught, on certain housings. Overall I don't think you should encounter any problems.

[KHAANNN]

I received the keys today, they don't seem to hit the stabilisers, yet a strong stabiliser insert mod is needed, it's also easier to insert the space key, as the width is slightly larger than the oem space bar (the width between the inserts) - the key is easier to attach to the wire

One quick question, are all the SP/DSA arrow keys the same? I can't differentiate them, you can differentiate some keys from the mold angle, yet on the arrow keys the molding point is not easily detectable
A better question is: Are DSA keys symmetrical?

[hking0036]

I received the keys today, they don't seem to hit the stabilisers, yet a strong stabiliser insert mod is needed, it's also easier to insert the space key, as the width is slightly larger than the oem space bar (the width between the inserts) - the key is easier to attach to the wire

One quick question, are all the SP/DSA arrow keys the same? I can't differentiate them, you can differentiate some keys from the mold angle, yet on the arrow keys the molding point is not easily detectable
A better question is: Are DSA keys symmetrical?

I believe so but more to the point they only have one profile so they're all angled the same. If the arrow is aligned center you can probably just wing it.

[KHAANNN]

They certainly have unique shapes, but I also do believe they are symmetrical, especially the 1x1 keys seem to be fully symmetrical

Yet I'm still not sure about the 1.25 I got, it seems it might as well not be perfectly symmetrical, probably feels that way because I recently switched from DCS to DSA

Can anyone confirm that the 1.25's can be flipped? (I used a blank for the CMD key)

(If they are not symmetrical, probably the difference is <<1mm)

(It also seems that the PBT's are just a little bit smaller than the ABS's, very tiny bit)