Realforce 87u with NovaTouch Sliders?

[OnceThinkTwice]

Greetings, GHers

For formality's sake I would like to introduce myself. My name is Wilson and I'm new to GeekHack

I've been in this hobby for a few years, collected quite some Topre board on the market and currently I'm using Realforce 87u Uniform 55g as my daily driver.
 
Recently I just got a second-hand NovaTouch TKL and I decided to harvest the Novatouch "MX Compatible Slider" for my Realforce board *Topre keycap is kinda hard to find and not much option to choose .

After doing some research and read through Ripster's Novatouch review, I found that the 'Spacebar' spacing for Novatouch is different from Realforce http://i.imgur.com/gvhwmc1.jpg , and the stabilizers' housing is not the same *with two extra hole (for : 'Delete', 'Enter' and 'Shift' key) : http://i.imgur.com/03grHkK.jpg

My questions are :

1. By using the Novatouch "MX Compatible Slider" on Realforce board, will the MX Compatible Slider affect/change the stock typing feel/sound of the board? (compare with the original Topre Slider)

2. Since the stabilizers are different, do I need to drill 2 hole on the Realforce's stabilizer in order to put in the MX Slider / swap out the stabilizer housing or just swap out the slider will do?

3. Novatouch is equipped with 6.25u Spacebar with '+' sign stabilizer and Realforce comes with 6u Spacebar with '-' sign stabilizer *CMIIW . In this case, what's the best solution for the spacing issue and should i swap the stabilizers as well? (Keycap shouldn't be a problem as the keycap set I bought comes with 6 / 6.25 and 6.5 spacebar *Cherry MX Stem

4. Would I be able to use SA Profile keycap on the Realforce board with Novatouch Slider? Will rattle be an issue if I use SA keycap on the MX Compatible Slider?

Hope to be able to acquire some knowledge and some guidance from all the master in GeekHack, most importantly to prevent myself from screwing up my board  )



*Just sharing my humble pristine board before modding it (:



Thank you for reading this topic !

[sony]

I have a novatouched realforce so I can answer some of these.
1) I've noticed that my novatouched rf was not as snappy, but I've heard that lube helps this a lot.
2) You can just use the Topre spacebar or a pbt Topre spacebar.
3) most people just use the Topre spacebar. I don't think I've heard of anyone modding it to use 6.25u spacebar because it would interfere with the other caps. The 6u mx and topre spacebars have different stem positions so the 6u mx spacebar isn't usable even if you change the slider.
4) I have not tried SA on my realforce but I don't think that wobble would be an issue.

[OfTheWild]

4) I have not tried SA on my realforce but I don't think that wobble would be an issue.

What I understood was that the stem depth was an issue and thats why they did the weird bulbous slider setup for the Hi-Pro RF


(fwiw, i'm in the process of setting up a 104uw with mx sliders)

[sony]

4) I have not tried SA on my realforce but I don't think that wobble would be an issue.

What I understood was that the stem depth was an issue and thats why they did the weird bulbous slider setup for the Hi-Pro RF


(fwiw, i'm in the process of setting up a 104uw with mx sliders)

I know people that use the Hipro caps on regular Topre sliders (all the Hipro hhkbs) and they're fine. I can't say for certain what wobble is like on the mx Stems.

[OfTheWild]

cool good to know. I'd love to put my Chocolatier SA set on my RF.

[OnceThinkTwice]

I have a novatouched realforce so I can answer some of these.
1) I've noticed that my novatouched rf was not as snappy, but I've heard that lube helps this a lot.
2) You can just use the Topre spacebar or a pbt Topre spacebar.
3) most people just use the Topre spacebar. I don't think I've heard of anyone modding it to use 6.25u spacebar because it would interfere with the other caps. The 6u mx and topre spacebars have different stem positions so the 6u mx spacebar isn't usable even if you change the slider.
4) I have not tried SA on my realforce but I don't think that wobble would be an issue.

Thank you for your reply ! How about the larger key with stabilizer like 'Backspace', 'Enter' and 'Shift' key? *http://i.imgur.com/03grHkK.jpg . How do i solve this issue? :O

[sony]

I have a novatouched realforce so I can answer some of these.
1) I've noticed that my novatouched rf was not as snappy, but I've heard that lube helps this a lot.
2) You can just use the Topre spacebar or a pbt Topre spacebar.
3) most people just use the Topre spacebar. I don't think I've heard of anyone modding it to use 6.25u spacebar because it would interfere with the other caps. The 6u mx and topre spacebars have different stem positions so the 6u mx spacebar isn't usable even if you change the slider.
4) I have not tried SA on my realforce but I don't think that wobble would be an issue.

Thank you for your reply ! How about the larger key with stabilizer like 'Backspace', 'Enter' and 'Shift' key? *http://i.imgur.com/03grHkK.jpg . How do i solve this issue? :O

You swap the whole housing from the novatouch.

[OfTheWild]

I have a novatouched realforce so I can answer some of these.
1) I've noticed that my novatouched rf was not as snappy, but I've heard that lube helps this a lot.
2) You can just use the Topre spacebar or a pbt Topre spacebar.
3) most people just use the Topre spacebar. I don't think I've heard of anyone modding it to use 6.25u spacebar because it would interfere with the other caps. The 6u mx and topre spacebars have different stem positions so the 6u mx spacebar isn't usable even if you change the slider.
4) I have not tried SA on my realforce but I don't think that wobble would be an issue.

Thank you for your reply ! How about the larger key with stabilizer like 'Backspace', 'Enter' and 'Shift' key? *http://i.imgur.com/03grHkK.jpg . How do i solve this issue? :O

You swap the whole housing from the novatouch.

...and since i didnt use a novatouch and ordered the sliders from ctrl/alt GB i will have to just drill out the black RF one? Thats my plan anyway.

[sony]

I have a novatouched realforce so I can answer some of these.
1) I've noticed that my novatouched rf was not as snappy, but I've heard that lube helps this a lot.
2) You can just use the Topre spacebar or a pbt Topre spacebar.
3) most people just use the Topre spacebar. I don't think I've heard of anyone modding it to use 6.25u spacebar because it would interfere with the other caps. The 6u mx and topre spacebars have different stem positions so the 6u mx spacebar isn't usable even if you change the slider.
4) I have not tried SA on my realforce but I don't think that wobble would be an issue.

Thank you for your reply ! How about the larger key with stabilizer like 'Backspace', 'Enter' and 'Shift' key? *http://i.imgur.com/03grHkK.jpg . How do i solve this issue? :O

You swap the whole housing from the novatouch.

...and since i didnt use a novatouch and ordered the sliders from ctrl/alt GB i will have to just drill out the black RF one? Thats my plan anyway.

The ctrlalt ones don't require drilling.