Important parts to keep of a keyboard when throwing away?

[DuckNorris]

Hey guys,

  Other than the keycaps , what are important parts of a keyboard to keep?

[Pacifist]

switches is usually top priority

plate

case

if you're desperate, diodes, resistors, wires, controller

[Defect]

switches

plate

case

Sometimes PCB, too.  Stabs as well.

[Pacifist]

switches

plate

case

Sometimes PCB, too.  Stabs as well.

pretty much everything

[divito]

All of it. Getting rid of keyboards and/or their parts upsets the gods.

[DuckNorris]

Really guys? I have a CM Storm and a TK I was about to throw away... One just gave up , the other i messed up 4 switches and the keys now wont work ( i think something was spilled on them).

[ebacho]

People aren't joking.  You never know when you need some spare switches, or a case/plate for a handwired matrix board, or even the controller for a swap between dud boards.

[Pacifist]

Really guys? I have a CM Storm and a TK I was about to throw away... One just gave up , the other i messed up 4 switches and the keys now wont work ( i think something was spilled on them).

caps are one of the things you don't want to keep. That and the PCB (its so thin)

keep the switches that work, rinse with distilled water or alcohol if they're sticky, keep the plate and case and stabs

[feizor]

TL;DR:

Keep all of the things.

[JPG]

Or just sell them as broken for parts. Someone needing these parts will probably be happy to buy it if the price is fair and the shipping doesn't kill the opportunity.

Else, at least keep the switches and keycaps and probably stabilizers. Case and plate can be interesting too. The pcb is probably not worth keeping that much.

[DuckNorris]

Thanks guys seems I may just need to store them away instead of throwing them...did not know they could be useful in the future XD

[Pacifist]

if you spilled a drink on it clean it now before its too late

[DuckNorris]

if you spilled a drink on it clean it now before its too late

Oh no I tried, it was a lost cause. Lesson learned though. Why I ended up buying my QFR Stealth.

[strict]

Of the boards I've gutted so far, the only things I kept were the switches and the stabs. I have the keysets (doubleshot wyse and cherry pbt) bagged up and I intend to eventually just give them away on here for the cost of shipping if anyone wants them ... I just need to find the time to take pictures and make a thread for them.

[Hak Foo]

It depends on the reuse desirability.

Some boards have cases and plates that aren't really useful for other projects.  For example, old Ducky boards have paper thin plates and crappy cases, and a lot of ALPS boards are plates that lock in a non-conventional layout.

[IvanIvanovich]

Indeed pretty much everything if it's a mechanical. Just because you don't know how/can't be bothered to fix it doesn't mean someone else won't want to especially if the price is right. Even basically ruined PCB may still be of use for someone that wants to practice soldering before working on their real keyboards. Even ****ed up layout plates can be useful to convert into lubing/stickering bases. Some things are best to offer for free to be sure... if even still no one will take it THEN throw it out.

[dorkvader]

I'm going to jump in on the "keep it all" stratgey:

Plate: can be re-used for another keyboard. Initially I had planned to use that rosewill plate I have for a 60%, but now I'm giving it to another GH'er who needs it for a project.
Case: You can put a phantom in a QFR case. I was unable to secure one and had to use the KB over cardboard. I would have use a QFR case if I had one.
PCB / switches / controller are all useful for custom DIY projects or to combine two broken keyboard to make one working one.

And of course switches / stabs should always be kept as they are interchangeable for most cherry keyboards and will be very useful for you or someone else to make customs out of.

I keep the caps just in case I won't have modifiers that fit, but nowadays I'm revising that as I have a few extra (nicer) sets I can use instead.

[Findecanor]

I have a CM Storm and a TK I was about to throw away...

Is the first keyboard a QuickFire Rapid? Then the case might also be interesting to some who is building a Phantom.
If the problem is in the controller, then it can be replaced with a programmable one. Probably a connector problem that could be easily fixed. If you don't want to try to fix it yourself, sell it!

[mouse.the.lucky.dog]

You know you can take the switches off the first and put them on the second?
Or probably just buy new switchs you can replace.

[hwood34]

I think the lesson here is don't throw it away

[rowdy]

If you don't feel like selling it, you can always give it tom someone.

Always plenty of people here looking for spare parts!