Simple Wooden Wrist Rests: 14"; then a 17" for my TKL boards

[aref]

I've wanted to try a wrist rest and ordered a Grifiti Fat Wrist Rest Smooth Skin, I gather it's the company's latest iteration of it's well-known rest. I originally wanted a wooden rest, but at $50 for a Filco, or $80 for Bird Electronics' rest, I think they are overpriced. So, I made this one out of a better quality piece of pine I had leftover from some project I had done. The rest was cut from a 1" (measures 3/4") by 4" (measures 3.5") piece of lumber. I cut the wood, sanded it, and here it is. If I had bought the wood, the simple rest would have cost about $3. The, dare I call it, project took about 25 total from setup, cutting, sanding, and cleaning a bit of sawdust off the floor. I'm sure many others on GH have made their own wrist-rests.

The wooden rest feels really nice; and I'm not sure the Filco or Bird rest would have an improved feel compared with my $3 rest. So... here are a couple photos of the finished product, GH.

Note: the 17" wooden rest, below, fits my wrists far better than the 14", exact-fit rest, the left edge of the 14" was under the outside of my left wrist.

[tigersharkdude]

Highly surprised you didn't cut a slope into it.

Looks good overall

[aref]

Highly surprised you didn't cut a slope into it.

Looks good overall

I wanted to see how the rest might feel when flat across the entire top. I had thought about beveling the leading and trailing edges at different angles; but I'll try this for a bit too get a better feel for what the block may need, if anything. I think wrists rests are, like keyboards, a matter of personal preference. And figure out one's preference may take a bit of on-keyboard time for me. For now, I like the support I'm getting from the broader top. I did slightly beveled the leading and trailing edges to remove the sharp right angles. After making this, I wish I had made it about 1.5" longer so it gave me a bit more wrist-rest on the left side of the keyboard. I may have to make another one.

The wooden wrist rests you make are nice looking and nicely finished--well done.

[tigersharkdude]

Highly surprised you didn't cut a slope into it.

Looks good overall

I wanted to see how the rest might feel when flat across the entire top. I had thought about beveling the leading and trailing edges at different angles; but I'll try this for a bit too get a better feel for what the block may need, if anything. I think wrists rests are, like keyboards, a matter of personal preference. And figure out one's preference may take a bit of on-keyboard time for me. For now, I like the support I'm getting from the broader top. I did slightly beveled the leading and trailing edges to remove the sharp right angles. After making this, I wish I had made it about 1.5" longer so it gave me a bit more wrist-rest on the left side of the keyboard. I may have to make another one.

The wooden wrist rests you make are nice looking and nicely finished--well done.

Agreed on the thought of making it slightly longer than the board, I wish my personal piece was just a little bit longer but that wouldNT work with my full setup

And thanks for the compliment

[aref]

The Grifiti Fat Pad just came in and I'm giving it a go. I actually prefer my wooden rest to the Grifiti. And the thing smells like I have a new bicycle tire sitting in front of my keyboard. No more Grifiti pads; I'd rather buy another length of lumber and make another rest or two; but next time I'll cut it about 1.5" longer to compensate for the left-side hand-placement on my TKL boards.

Just went into the attic and found a 5' piece of 1x4. I'm in business: time to cut a new wooden rest; but this one will be about 17" in length, which should do the job nicely on my TKL boards.

[hwood34]

The Grifiti Fat Pad just came in and I'm giving it a go. I actually prefer my wooden rest to the Grifiti. And the thing smells like I have a new bicycle tire sitting in front of my keyboard. No more Grifiti pads; I'd rather buy another length of lumber and make another rest or two; but next time I'll cut it about 1.5" longer to compensate for the left-side hand-placement on my TKL boards.

Just went into the attic and found a 5' piece of 1x4. I'm in business: time to cut a new wooden rest; but this one will be about 17" in length, which should do the job nicely on my TKL boards.

The smell goes away after a days or so. But I've never actually gotten to compare one to the feel of a wooden rest, might have to try one sometime

[aref]

Wooden Wrist Rest--Second One. Same stock lumber, but added several inches to the overall length.

Here's the latest iteration of my $3 wrist rest. This one is 17 inches across the beam; and it feels even better with the additional length supporting my left wrist. This one may be 'the' one for me. Only time and use will tell. I beveled all the right angles and sanded top/bottom/sides.

[aref]

The Grifiti Fat Pad just came in and I'm giving it a go. I actually prefer my wooden rest to the Grifiti. And the thing smells like I have a new bicycle tire sitting in front of my keyboard. No more Grifiti pads; I'd rather buy another length of lumber and make another rest or two; but next time I'll cut it about 1.5" longer to compensate for the left-side hand-placement on my TKL boards.

Just went into the attic and found a 5' piece of 1x4. I'm in business: time to cut a new wooden rest; but this one will be about 17" in length, which should do the job nicely on my TKL boards.

The smell goes away after a days or so. But I've never actually gotten to compare one to the feel of a wooden rest, might have to try one sometime

I figure the odor will dissipate in time. But the fell of the rubber/blown foam or whatever its composition, just doesn't suite me; but a lot of people use them and like Grifiti rests.

I can say the feel of this wooden rest is more comfortable to me than the Grifiti; but not because I made it; it really has a supportive feel under my wrists. I'm a guy who likes simplicity; and having a simple wooden rest suits me. Now, Tigersharkdude makes very nice and detailed wooden rests. Check out his site, found under his posts.