First DIY Keyboard

[Lynix]

So I'm planning on building my own keyboard. I am a newbie, but I know I want a tenkeyless, mostly cherry mx red (with other cherry mx switches in some spots) keyboard.
There are so many different PCB's, etc. that it is overwhelming. I honestly just want to customize what switches are used. Cheaper is better, but I didn't come here to be cheap.

[suicidal_orange]

Welcome to GH

You have a couple of options if you want a standard TKL - you could buy one you like the look of with all reds then desolder some of the switches and replace them with other colours (or buy some stems and springs from someone here and swap them in) or you could build one from scratch like you were thinking.

I suspect it would be much cheaper to go with the first option, but if you do want to build your own a lot of the cost is often international shipping so for better advice letting us know where you live would help.

[Lynix]

I live in the US. I kinda wanted to add more keys above the arrows (the 5 blank spots) and use them as macros.

[Leslieann]

No PCB is going to allow you to just randomly add keys. So this either means a custom pcb or hand wired with a custom plate. Considering you want a TKL, a plate would be much better. You could also use a TKL plate and just have an extension, but pcb and wiring will still be an issue. Done this way, some solder skills and some fab skills would suffice.

Another option is that you could possibly take a full size and rewire the number keys up top. That would bypass some problems in terms of controller, but finding a board that could do this would be tough. Plus, you would need two keyboards to pull it off, fail and you ruin two keyboards. For this, you needs some at least decent electrical knowledge, understanding of keyboards and of course soldering skills.

Neither method is going to work without some skill, effort and equipment as this is not a simple job. There's more to it than I state, but that's the basics.
If you wanted a full size, you could rework a Razor Black Widow, but as a TKL, it's a bit more problematic.

[SpAmRaY]

If you can find all the parts you can build a phantom that has those extra keys.

[Leslieann]

I don't see any real advantage to starting with a Phantom.
You still need a custom case and plate and you still need to hack into the wiring layout and mess with firmware, they also do not grow on trees. It's an expensive way to partially fix a problem.