Mechanical Keyboard Sound Isn't That Simple
Figure 1: I couldn't think of a more literal way to represent this article if I tried... Looking back just a few years ago, there’s no doubt that the huge influx of people that joined the hobby at the peak of the COVID pandemic were drawn to keyboards by way of YouTube, TikTok, and other audio-visual content platforms. Even as the output from these content creators has waned in recent months, their collective impact and legacy on the keyboard hobby is rather firmly etched in the history books. As a result of all of their sound tests, build logs, and opinion videos, the message is clear to any new person joining the hobby: mechanical keyboards are all about the sound. Thock this, clack that. Whether it’s keyboards, keycaps, or even singular switches, seemingly everyone new to the hobby meticulously pores over each component of their keyboard not in an attempt to figure out how it will feel in hand, but how it will sound as they’re furiously grinding their way out from...
Mar 27, 2024
Got the part mounted. Just enough clearance to clear the wires. Too tired after work to solder it today... Work was easy... Stupid Fallout 4 kept me up late!
It fits NIIIIICE!!! It self aligns nicely, as well.
God, oak is such a pain to work with, especially with the crummy hand tools I have, but I want it to last, and oak will last. Still, I'm proving one major point with this build... It's possible to do a fairly good looking wood case with nothing but a $3.80 piece of wood trim moulding from the hardware store, sub $10 hand tools, and a Dremel. I hope it serves as an inspiration to those who want to try, but are not sure if they can. Sure, I've got a lot of experience, but I've also been stuck inside my apartment, without access to good tools this winter. I've certainly not let that stop me. :D
I think I've found my bottom plate. I was going through my storage unit and found an old piece of rack mount test equipment from the 1960s (A Phase Angle Voltmeter, for the sakes of useless trivia). Had an aluminum cover panel with a laminated plastic layer that has a faux "leather" like texture to it... BINGO! That's the bottom! :D
I'll cut two pieces, one for the keyboard, and one for the as of yet nonexistent, but planned number pad (maybe just a wide piece I can trim to specific size later). It even has a paint coat on the inside, so it SHOULD be insulated from contact with the switch matrix, even if it were pressed inward, but I'll still drop in a sheet of plastic as an internal insulator. It's really thin... 1.1mm (.043 inch), and I can punch a nice countersunk hole for each screw. I'll get wood screws for the bottom, that'll go in flush. That way, I'll only add a hair over 1 mm to the thickness once I add the bottom plate.