Building my first custom keyboard – looking for advice (65%)

[bdube30]

Hi everyone!

I’m looking to build my first custom keyboard. I initially considered a prebuilt, but I can’t seem to find one that combines the layout, switches, and color I like within a price range that works for me.

What I’m mainly looking for

“Basic” features

• Can be connected via a USB cable (wireless would be nice to have).
• Compatible with a reliable interface to configure the keyboard, either through software or, even better, a web interface.
• Not high-end, but also not a cheap case/housing—something that will sound decent.
• Decent build quality. I don’t want to worry about commuting with the keyboard (it will be protected in a soft case).

Case / Barebone

• I’m looking for a 65% ANSI layout.
• I just discovered split spacebars, and now I want that extra button 😛 It’s not a dealbreaker, but I would really love to have this feature.
• I’ve seen many cases where the power button is hidden under a keycap. I don’t really understand why—I feel like this could be problematic long-term if the Caps Lock or Tab keycap becomes loose. I also don’t see myself carrying a keycap puller just to power the keyboard on or off. In a perfect world, I’d have direct access to the case controls.
• I’d like some angle adjustment if possible. I haven’t seen much about that in what I’ve found so far.

I haven’t found many cases, but these are the ones I’ve come across:

• https://weikav.com/product/weikav-lucky65-v2/ (split spacebar, yeah!)
• https://weikav.com/product/weikav-nut65/
• https://www.keychron.com/products/keychron-q7-qmk-custom-mechanical-keyboard?variant=40068642996313
• https://www.gloriousgaming.com/en-ca/products/gmmk2-barebone?variant=43698921472175
• https://en.akkogear.com/product/spr-67-kit/ (this one?? not sure)
• https://qwertyqop.com/collections/display-keyboards/products/neo65-1 (not a lot of information, not even sure it’s what I need)

Switches

I’m not fully decided on switches yet. I plan to use this keyboard at work, so I’m considering silent switches, but quiet brown switches or something similar could also work.

I’m leaning toward tactile switches, but I’m not strongly opinionated about it. From what I understand, silent switches are mostly linear?

I don’t know much about which switches are good, and there are thousands of choices, so I’m open to suggestions. I often hear about Gateron, but I’m not sure if they’re a good pick or if there are better options.

Here are a few I found:

• Silent tactile (brown): https://www.gateron.com/products/gateron-ks-3x-full-black-silent-switch-set
• Another Gateron silent tactile: https://www.gateron.com/products/gateron-aliaz-silent-tactile-switch-features?VariantsId=10365
• Silent linear: https://www.gateron.com/products/gateron-ks-9-silent-20-switch-set?VariantsId=10752

So many choices 

Keycaps

I’m looking for Cherry profile keycaps that may include keys for a split spacebar. I’m mainly aiming for a dark-themed keyboard, but I might also be open to a gray set with orange or blue accents.

Here are a few sets I found:

• https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005006043548566.html
• https://mechkeys.com/collections/cherry-profile-keycaps/products/fbb-opxy-keycaps?variant=46897443668191
• https://mechkeys.com/collections/cherry-profile-keycaps/products/fbb-t52-keycaps-set?variant=47043515515103

I hope my message isn’t too long to follow, but if I’m spending a bit more money going custom, I don’t want to make beginner mistakes or forgot something obvious!

If it helps, here are some prebuilt keyboards I was considering. I know they’re mostly HE keyboards, but that’s not very important to me, and I figured that HE custom bases aren’t widely available yet (?):

• https://nuphy.com/products/nuphy-halo65-he?variant=41783229087853
• https://nuphy.com/collections/keyboards/products/nuphy-halo65-v2?variant=41414603079789
• https://www.keychron.com/products/keychron-q7-qmk-custom-mechanical-keyboard?variant=40068642308185
• https://mech.land/products/nd65-cs-he-keyboard-in-stock?variant=45785627623651

Don't hesitate to share any advice with a keyboard builder noob ( I'm still a geek who build PC and watch a lot of keyboards video on youtube )

[HoffmanMyster]

Hello and welcome! Do you have an overall budget that you're working within for the build? You mentioned having trouble finding a prebuilt that fits the budget, but to be honest building from individual components usually does come out to a higher cost than prebuilt so it would be good to know that constraint.

On the topic of switches, I do find that most silents are also linear, and it's maybe worth noting that even non-silent switches aren't necessarily "loud" (at least not annoyingly so). Clicky switches will almost always be pretty loud (that's kind of the point, after all), but most tactiles are just regular typing levels of loud, nothing worse than what everyone else in your office is probably typing on.

[bdube30]

Hi,

Good question for the budget. I had a budget of 80-150$ for a prebuild keyboard, but I am aware that a custom one will probably cost me more. I'm flexible in term of budget but 200/250$ would be a limit I would try to stick to.

I'm open to non-silent switches that are on the quiet side too. I won't go for blue switches  I Know 90% of my coworker (and myself for the moment) use a cheap low profile membrane that are quiet. Some of my coworker started to bring mechanical keyboard, so it sure, I will not stand out too much I think. I may look for the quietest tactile switch that are knowned to be reliable (?) I still don't know for sure what I will pick, since I can hardly test switches before buying them too.

[thunk]

These days there are a lot of fantastic custom builds on the second hand market that are extrtemely cheap for what they're offering. Especially with a budget of around 200 you can get exceptional builds, often with switches (and keycaps if you're lucky -or have good negotiating skills).

So basically you'll get a custom, but prebuilt for you by someone else. A point to consider is that you'll have to do your homework if you want to go this route, in regards to your requirements.

Hope this is helpful.

[nescio]

I would just copy some tutorial for the your first custom keyboard and only add changes when you are confident with the basics. I watched a guy on YouTube building a custom keyboard and it was already quite a big project. It's very easy to underestimate projects and overestimate your abilities.

The only reason I would build a custom keyboard, is if I had strong material engineering knowledge (which I don't), had research on the biomechanics of my specific hand for computing the optimal geometry of the keyboard  (which I don't), and had a good idea for the time investment required (which I also don't).

The Imprint keyboard does make keyboards taking photos from your hands as input. I have no affiliation with them.

So, objectively, building a keyboard should be seen as a hobby, a way to learn a bit about PCBs, microcontrollers, etc. Expecting a keyboard to be better, might be too optimistic.