Costar Stabs and Thick PBT Keycaps

[awhitedev]

I've googled and searched this forum a lot and I still can't seem to find a solution to my problem.

I purchased some Leopold Thick PBT keycaps from ebay that I want to use on my QFR... and they are indeed very thick. The problem I'm having is that on most of the costar stabilized keys I'm having a problem with the costar wire rubbing against the inside wall of the keycap when the key is fully depressed. ASAIK it's only rubbing on the bump of the wire that goes over the switch.

A few people on other threads recommended:

• Sand down the inside wall of the keycap - I'm not really sure I feel comfortable doing this as I don't want to break the keycap. is there a method someone could recommend so I don't screw this up?
• Use o-rings on the keycap - This works but it reduces the travel of the keycap by 2mm... making it uncomfortable for me.
• Lubricate the bump in the wire - This doesn't work... the lube just gets pushed away rendering it useless.
• Use cherry stabs - This isn't an option for me. I want to use my QFR which is not compatible with cherry stabs.. (even if they were available here in the US outside of a group buy)

Does anyone have any recommendations? I'm kind of at a loss. 

[yomammary]

I sanded mine lightly, didn't break them but you need to be careful and test a lot until they feel good.

[Oobly]

Sell the QFR and buy a KUL? 

As I see it you have 2 options:
1. Sand the inside of the caps.
2. Do some wire bending. It's a little tricky to get right but you may be able to straighten out the "bump" in the wire by flattening the bends a bit just enough so it still clears the switch, but also doesn't foul the inside of the cap. AFAIK it shouldn't need to also be shortened afterwards like Cherry stab wires would unless the inward-facing pieces are really short, but it may become a bit more rattly.

[skuko]

you know, this is quite funny. when i first tried the thick imsto pbt caps on my filco, i had the same problem. for some weird reason, when i used a masking tape on the stabilizer inserts, it doesn't happen anymore.

i can't say why, because i don't see under the caps, but my guess is that the masking tape is keeping the stab insert from going all the way in by a fraction of a milimeter and that creates the necessary clearance for the stabilizer wire.

anyhow, it's quite ok now on both shift keys and enter key. never had a problem on the backspace.

this is using mx blacks and reds. haven't tested it on tactile switches yet...

edit: this goes for cherry profile caps, i don't think you would have a problem with OEM or DCS at all. on the other hand, the only PBT OEM caps i know are vortex.

[awhitedev]

Thanks for input guys. I ended up sanding...

The two shfit keys ended up being the worst.. I had to sand it down quite a bit before it felt any good.

Also, for some reason, the rubbing felt worse on on a clear stem. It would get really stuck on bottoming out. Reds and/or browns actually felt the best with minimal sanding.

Backspace and enter weren't so bad.. I only had to sand a very small amount to get it feeling good.

For the spacebar.. I ended up just inverting it. Problem solved! and without sanding... It actually feels better inverted anyways.

I have another QFR I plan to use with the granite set I ordered from MD. I hope it doesn't have this same problem  Does anyone know if DSA caps are a little more manageable in this regard?

[tp4tissue]

make sure it's actually the stabilizer causing the issue, and Not the cap having some warp-age

[rowdy]

make sure it's actually the stabilizer causing the issue, and Not the cap having some warp-age

Warpage should not affect Costar stabilisers.