Author Topic: Pewter Model m keycaps (Read 17726 times)

osrix · « **on:** Sun, 27 January 2013, 18:32:29 »

The keys have really come on well Thanks to the support and encouragement of all who commented

Quality and consistency are such that I am happy and the results speak for themselves
So i present to you, V4!

History and development: Links below

V2 pics below http://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=39673.msg786930#msg786930

UPDATED : V3 - http://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=39673.msg805484#msg805484

I could still do with some advice on engraving or some way to get really nice letters and symbols, so if anyone has any ideas, please let me know.

I any case I hope this is of some interest to someone, I love my Model M

fohat.digs · « **Reply #1 on:** Sun, 27 January 2013, 18:51:28 »

That is truly BAD-ASS

I get tired of everything interesting being Cherry stuff, it is nice to see this for a change.

Start off perfecting your art on "Escape" keys, or arrows, or WASD or GH or something, and you may sell a few and make a few bucks.

If they feel good (and I don't even know how to guess about that) you may go places with them.

AKIMbO · « **Reply #2 on:** Sun, 27 January 2013, 18:56:39 »

Pretty cool. I'd take one without any engraving....I don't recall anyone making metal buckling spring caps.

osrix · « **Reply #3 on:** Sun, 27 January 2013, 19:00:20 »

Thanks Man, I'm gonna try with different alloy that flows better and is slightly harder, Although the finish looks worse in a photo cos the flash picks up every pit. Ive got to get a bit better with the engraving too!

samwisekoi · « **Reply #4 on:** Sun, 27 January 2013, 19:21:24 »

This is awesome!

Keep going and keep posting please.

There are many here who would love a metal Escape or G/H on their M's.

Thanks for sharing!

- Ron | samwisekoi

Leslieann · « **Reply #5 on:** Sun, 27 January 2013, 19:25:07 »

Nice work, very cool!

The_Beast · « **Reply #6 on:** Sun, 27 January 2013, 19:26:24 »

Could you case aluminum?

I'd love a non-engraved aluminum cap, but I'd also really like a pewter one as well

litster · « **Reply #7 on:** Sun, 27 January 2013, 19:29:00 »

have you tried putting it onto a BS stem? the plastic caps are flexible and can be easily inserted onto the stem. How flexible is your metal cap?

mkawa · « **Reply #8 on:** Sun, 27 January 2013, 20:56:26 »

just chiming in to say that this is cool!!

osrix · « **Reply #9 on:** Mon, 28 January 2013, 06:07:47 »

Thanks for all your encouragement! I'm gonna get on and order some new metal and go for v2 when it arrives.

Great ideas for escape, GH and arrows....maybe i'll get really motivated and do a space bar!

koralatov · « **Reply #10 on:** Mon, 28 January 2013, 06:27:51 »

Pewter is pretty heavy compared to aluminium. What’s the weight on it like? Does it compress the spring when it’s sitting on the keyboard, or does it sit in line with the rest of the caps?

osrix · « **Reply #11 on:** Mon, 28 January 2013, 08:20:38 »

True, pewter is heavier than aluminum, but in such small quantities the difference is negligible.
.
It hasn't depressed the key at all although I guess maybe the larger keys may show some difference. the metal i'm using is mostly tin as
its lead free so isn't quite as heavy as the old stuff and also not so toxic!!

BunnyLake · « **Reply #12 on:** Mon, 28 January 2013, 10:17:35 »

a spacebar would be sick

and dont get too worried about the engraving yourself, these will be awesome plain

absyrd · « **Reply #13 on:** Mon, 28 January 2013, 10:23:08 »

I think this is pretty nice. I especially like how it looks a bit worn/battered with the little dimples and what-not. That effect on all the keys + maybe a paint job on the case would look sweet.

oluf · « **Reply #14 on:** Mon, 28 January 2013, 10:25:18 »

Very cool! I really like the imperfections... Really gives that hand made look. Thank you for sharing your work!!

boost · « **Reply #15 on:** Mon, 28 January 2013, 10:27:36 »

That is pretty sweet.

Alessandro · « **Reply #16 on:** Mon, 28 January 2013, 10:43:08 »

Awesome! The model M was solid enough before you added metal caps!

snoopy · « **Reply #17 on:** Mon, 28 January 2013, 10:46:13 »

want one!

CPTBadAss · « **Reply #18 on:** Mon, 28 January 2013, 11:20:00 »

It boggles my mind that you made your own casting. That's so badass. Can't wait to see a cap that meets your expectations.

osrix · « **Reply #19 on:** Mon, 28 January 2013, 17:10:45 »

Quote from: litster on Sun, 27 January 2013, 19:29:00

have you tried putting it onto a BS stem? the plastic caps are flexible and can be easily inserted onto the stem. How flexible is your metal cap?

Yeah they go on fine and just as importantly come off ok too! the metal flexes just enough to allow it.

Leslieann · « **Reply #20 on:** Mon, 28 January 2013, 17:27:27 »

Quote from: osrix on Mon, 28 January 2013, 08:20:38

True, pewter is heavier than aluminum, but in such small quantities the difference is negligible.

Model M's also use pretty stiff springs.

noisyturtle · « **Reply #21 on:** Mon, 28 January 2013, 18:04:00 »

I gotta ask, why F10? Looking good either way though.

ishumprod · « **Reply #22 on:** Mon, 28 January 2013, 21:52:46 »

^ your picture... disturbs me... ARGH HE'S IN YM HEAD !!!

n the topic, nice job men, it's very nice look she has =)

rowdy · « **Reply #23 on:** Tue, 29 January 2013, 03:48:04 »

Love the look - it really suits an old industrial Model M

osrix · « **Reply #24 on:** Tue, 29 January 2013, 16:21:17 »

Quote from: noisyturtle on Mon, 28 January 2013, 18:04:00

I gotta ask, why F10? Looking good either way though.

Thought Id use a key I dont use much to test..f10 saves bios..
Just ordered some new metal today so casting at the weekend...or maybe before.

Gonna do some plain and maybe make a new mould for something new!!

fohat.digs · « **Reply #25 on:** Tue, 29 January 2013, 16:34:08 »

Do make an Escape, that is the most-often seen "strange" key.

Personally, after that (besides the arrows and WASD that everyone else will want), I am looking for a "Refresh" symbol to replace F5, and some kind of "Windows" key (since that is what I re-assigned to the lonely F10), but that is just me.

You should concentrate on producing a great blank key before moving on.

PS - if you have "artistic" desires beyond "craftsmanship", make that blank deep and spherical, for its own sake as well as glue-ins, before doing the Darth Vaders!

osrix · « **Reply #26 on:** Thu, 31 January 2013, 10:04:42 »

Quote from: fohat.digs on Tue, 29 January 2013, 16:34:08

Do make an Escape, that is the most-often seen "strange" key.

Personally, after that (besides the arrows and WASD that everyone else will want), I am looking for a "Refresh" symbol to replace F5, and some kind of "Windows" key (since that is what I re-assigned to the lonely F10), but that is just me.

You should concentrate on producing a great blank key before moving on.

PS - if you have "artistic" desires beyond "craftsmanship", make that blank deep and spherical, for its own sake as well as glue-ins, before doing the Darth Vaders!

Thanks, yeah will do that, I'm not sure what you mean by " blank deep and spherical"?? glue ins sound interesting too but can't find any reference of them...

Anyway, Ive ordered the new metal which i hope to reach a new standard with but still retain the pewter look, just waiting for it to arrive. I'll probably make a new mould for the escape with a raised ESC or possibly sacrifice a KC for the greater good and engrave one for the new mould.

Thanks All you guys here for the encouragement Ive been really blown away by it!!!

fohat.digs · « **Reply #27 on:** Thu, 31 January 2013, 10:14:08 »

I had a thought recently that I posted in another thread this morning.

Getting the clips "just right" for IBM key caps to work with key stems must be a challenge.

Stems are plentiful and cheap (I probably have dozens of extras laying around) so why not just make the cap fit the stem without clips and simply glue them on?

It must make the fabrication a lot easier, and more forgiving. A relatively soft bed of glue would dampen sound and keep the cap from rattling at all, and not make any difference anywhere else, since all 1x keys are the same.

Almost all modern keycaps are "cylindrical" that is, a cylinder would lie in them flat.

Old-school typewriters (think IBM Selectric) often had "spherical" caps which meant that they would fit a marble rather than a cylinder.

I was just thinking that if you had a deep "well" to work with, you could put something in the bottom and maybe do something such as pour a layer of lucite on top to protect it.

Krogenar · « **Reply #28 on:** Thu, 31 January 2013, 12:40:23 »

Quote from: fohat.digs on Tue, 29 January 2013, 16:34:08

Do make an Escape, that is the most-often seen "strange" key.
...
You should concentrate on producing a great blank key before moving on.

First off, awesome idea -- BS keyboards needed some pimp magic. As fohat and others have stated, don't worry about engraving, just focus on a plain, blank keycap for starters. That alone would be awesome enough.

osrix · « **Reply #29 on:** Sat, 02 February 2013, 19:19:08 »

So My new metal arrived today..great. It is harder and a little shiner, but it doesn't cast easily at all. I had to totally redesign the mold but now I think i have it right, just got to play around with it a little more to make them easier to work after they are cast.
..so here it is V2 after many hours of toil and burned thumbs

Still not perfect but getting there.

fohat.digs · « **Reply #30 on:** Sat, 02 February 2013, 20:42:01 »

Great!

And, they are cool with that "battle worn" look, or could easily be buffed, I assume?

Do they clip on or will they need to be glued?

Thanks!

Alessandro · « **Reply #31 on:** Sun, 03 February 2013, 05:40:34 »

Ooh! I love that! It looks amazing with the industrial case!

osrix · « **Reply #32 on:** Sun, 03 February 2013, 06:42:31 »

Quote from: fohat.digs on Sat, 02 February 2013, 20:42:01

Great!

And, they are cool with that "battle worn" look, or could easily be buffed, I assume?

Do they clip on or will they need to be glued?

Thanks!

They clip on! same fit as the normal ones, thats the beauty of a casting, with the right mold you can make an exact copy.
I have redesigned the mold again, learning alot from my previous attempts, so i'm hoping this will be the One.

Quote from: Alessandro on Sun, 03 February 2013, 05:40:34

Ooh! I love that! It looks amazing with the industrial case!

Thanks dude!

Hubbert · « **Reply #33 on:** Sat, 16 February 2013, 21:02:24 »

Wow, that's amazing!

It looks like you're the world's leading expert on metal Model M keycaps now. While I do have some keycap thoughts, my main interest lately is in making a few custom cases for my personal use.

1) How well would your method be scalable to an entire case?
2) Can weak materials be used for the pattern? I.e., could I start with an off-the shelf plastic case and modify it with a combination of glue, Plasticine, wax, plaster of Paris, and make a mold of the overall agglomeration?
3) Is it possible to do this in an apartment, without access to a garage or basement?
4) Could you share publicly or by PM about your method and materials and some resources for getting started? Wikipedia has a nice taxonomy of casting, but it would be helpful to get some pointers about where to start, what type of heater to get, safe materials to use, etc.

EDIT: I agree with the others who say to focus on making blank keys first. Taking it further, I think your next step should be abstract texture patterns: WASD offers horizontal ribs, vertical ribs, crosshatching, swirls, and dots IIRC. I think I would prefer the dots to be arranged in a circle or like a golf ball, rather than in neat rows.

Leslieann · « **Reply #34 on:** Sat, 16 February 2013, 22:22:49 »

Quote from: Hubbert on Sat, 16 February 2013, 21:02:24

1) How well would your method be scalable to an entire case?
2) Can weak materials be used for the pattern? I.e., could I start with an off-the shelf plastic case and modify it with a combination of glue, Plasticine, wax, plaster of Paris, and make a mold of the overall agglomeration?
3) Is it possible to do this in an apartment, without access to a garage or basement?
4) Could you share publicly or by PM about your method and materials and some resources for getting started? Wikipedia has a nice taxonomy of casting, but it would be helpful to get some pointers about where to start, what type of heater to get, safe materials to use, etc.

1. Osirix could answer better here, but my understanding is that the trouble is amount of material and how fast it cools. It should be doable, but I'm far from an expert on this as I'm still researching, while he is doing.

2. Yes, that is how they are often made. Some even use wax, then pile sand over it, and pour the metal in, the wax dissolves. This si good for delicate parts.

3. Simple answer. No. For keycaps you might get away with a torch on an apartment patio, but if you want to do more, you really need a furnace, and those really should only be used on dirt or concrete. If one were to fail on an upstairs apartment patio, the results would be disastrous. That is if you don't set the roof on fire from the heat.

4. Search home aluminum (or pewter) casting on Google and Youtube, you will find everything you need.

Safety is a big issue with all of this as you are working with not only molten metal, but a LOT of heat. If your crucible breaks, metal can splash onto you or anything nearby. Home furnaces can fall apart. The amount of heat coming out the top of a furnace is similar to a blow torch, any roof overhead can be ignited. Then there is the chemicals and gasses involved, depending on what you use to heat.

Remember, the heat involved here means that using water to extinguish a fire could lead to flash boiling/steam or even an explosion of molten metal.

Oh, and do NOT try casting zinc... it's very risky to do.

osrix · « **Reply #35 on:** Sun, 17 February 2013, 01:45:56 »

Quote from: Hubbert on Sat, 16 February 2013, 21:02:24

Wow, that's amazing!

It looks like you're the world's leading expert on metal Model M keycaps now. While I do have some keycap thoughts, my main interest lately is in making a few custom cases for my personal use.

1) How well would your method be scalable to an entire case?
2) Can weak materials be used for the pattern? I.e., could I start with an off-the shelf plastic case and modify it with a combination of glue, Plasticine, wax, plaster of Paris, and make a mold of the overall agglomeration?
3) Is it possible to do this in an apartment, without access to a garage or basement?
4) Could you share publicly or by PM about your method and materials and some resources for getting started? Wikipedia has a nice taxonomy of casting, but it would be helpful to get some pointers about where to start, what type of heater to get, safe materials to use, etc.

EDIT: I agree with the others who say to focus on making blank keys first. Taking it further, I think your next step should be abstract texture patterns: WASD offers horizontal ribs, vertical ribs, crosshatching, swirls, and dots IIRC. I think I would prefer the dots to be arranged in a circle or like a golf ball, rather than in neat rows.

Im away at the moment, so only a quick reply from my phone. The quick answer is no for a case body. The materials for for casing keycaps lend themselves very well to casting small amounts, but for a case you would have to use aluminium and a sand mould, which as leslieann points out becomes a highly industrial operation! Not impossible at all and yes you could build up the pattern with wood and i would probably use a car body filler. But pewter would be unsuitable and to cast aluminium you need a small furnace and 2 moulds for the front and back parts.

I have been busy and have reached mould version 5 in my exploits with the keycaps, but am now producing some satisfying results at last with the new metal, I will post some pics of my growing collection when I get home from my trip. They are all blank for now, as I have been perfecting the mould design before moving on to patterns, textures, esc, etc.
I may at some point write a how too but for now i am still learning.

The_Beast · « **Reply #36 on:** Sun, 17 February 2013, 01:47:40 »

That isn't an industrial case, it's a black cased Unicomp. Unless I'm wrong?

osrix · « **Reply #37 on:** Sun, 17 February 2013, 07:12:33 »

Its Not a unicomp! Its an original (not industrial) with no label that I dyed black with vinyl dye

kboardvintage · « **Reply #38 on:** Tue, 19 February 2013, 06:53:59 »

coolcaps!

SmallFry · « **Reply #39 on:** Tue, 19 February 2013, 07:21:38 »

Quote from: The_Beast on Sun, 17 February 2013, 01:47:40

That isn't an industrial case, it's a black cased Unicomp. Unless I'm wrong?

WRONG!

I thought it was a Unicomp or an M13 as well.

osrix · « **Reply #40 on:** Fri, 22 February 2013, 11:12:20 »

Hi all here they are my final version of the pewter caps!

Well 3 of them anyway.

I have made 14 so far but the last 8 have been the best. Ive managed to hone my technique and with a new mold design and getting the temperature just right they are now pretty nice.

I think this is going to be the best I can get them without investing in some seriously expensive equipment!

They look great on the board and as an added bonus give a lower pitched solid "clunk" when pressed

So here they are, let me know what you think, i've run out of mold material again so only plain caps for now.

I am thinking about selling some to fund the rest of the project. if anyone is interested maybe i'll make a new thread in the relevant section?

Tym · « **Reply #41 on:** Fri, 22 February 2013, 11:15:21 »

Beautiful
I'm interested and in the UK

And also for 4

snoopy · « **Reply #42 on:** Fri, 22 February 2013, 11:28:26 »

I'm interested in 4 of them

osrix · « **Reply #43 on:** Fri, 22 February 2013, 11:46:02 »

Quote from: snoopy on Fri, 22 February 2013, 11:28:26

I'm interested in 4 of them

Thats great! I have work out pricing and forum rules etc. but I'm sure i'll work it out. Let you know

fohat.digs · « **Reply #44 on:** Fri, 22 February 2013, 17:16:03 »

I sent you a private message.

Leslieann · « **Reply #45 on:** Fri, 22 February 2013, 17:52:45 »

Those look fantastic!

DavinDidIt · « **Reply #46 on:** Sat, 23 February 2013, 22:28:13 »

Great job, awesome craftsmanship!

lazerpointer · « **Reply #47 on:** Sat, 23 February 2013, 23:05:52 »

I like it how it is - rugged looking and most obviously metal. Do want!

tricheboars · « **Reply #48 on:** Sun, 24 February 2013, 00:20:42 »

holy **** that model m is dope as ****. that is really awesome mang. you should be mad proud. detonate that, **** is **** wet nice. ya know!

i would be seriously interested in a esc keycap.

osrix · « **Reply #49 on:** Sun, 24 February 2013, 17:01:09 »

Quote from: tricheboars on Sun, 24 February 2013, 00:20:42

holy **** that model m is dope as ****. that is really awesome mang. you should be mad proud. detonate that, **** is **** wet nice. ya know!

i would be seriously interested in a esc keycap.

Thanks man! only blank caps for now though until i get some £ for new molds

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Author Topic: Pewter Model m keycaps (Read 17726 times)