Desoldering, Mill-Maxing, And Why You Might Want To Learn Both
Thanks to StoryboardTech’s fantastic article, you finally learned how to solder! Or at least, you’re committed to learning. So, what’s next? Well, if you’re brave enough, why not learn how to desolder as well? And when you feel confident with that, how about Mill-Max? You don’t necessarily have to know or learn how to solder before learning how to desolder or Mill-max, but in my opinion, getting comfortable with soldering is a great step towards learning how to do the other two, and if you know how to solder, you can practice desoldering and mill-maxing to your heart’s content since you’ll already have the tools from learning how to solder! Well, at least most of the tools. Let’s start off with the good ol’ disclaimer section first, however. Disclaimer These are my own opinions and my own thoughts, and if I’ve learned anything in life, it’s that we all do things in slightly different ways. Whether it be deadlifting, desoldering, Mill-Maxing or even baking...
Jan 13, 2025
i'm really, truly confused that the split-spacebar/backspace configuration never really caught on. (i guess MightGrowSoft has produced a few here and there, but AFAIK they haven't been mechanical.) why would you waste so much space on a button you only need 1 thumb to press? why would you keep the backspace key so far out of the way that you need to move your hand to reach it? there are a lot of questions, but the bottom line is: for a daily driver, i don't want to compromise on this. i shouldn't have to lift a pinky to delete a single character.
i'm no stranger to soldering components onto boards and so on, but i'm a brand-new dad, so time is at a premium. basically, i'm looking for an end product of "a DAS Ultimate but with a split spacebar" or this cougar thing https://www.amazon.com/Cougar-Aluminum-Mechanical-Keyboard-KBC700-4IS/dp/B00TA4H6UO but with blank keycaps (i do want my numpad, arrows and F keys, but don't need all the other bells and whistles, like USB ports and volume controls and lighting and so on). i use only GNU/Linux, so any reprogramming i can really do from the OS side (although this isn't necessary for the NMB). the infinity ergodox looks awesome and wouldn't be a bad solution, but again, i can't make the time commitment just now.
tl;dr: mechanical keyboard (cherry MX browns), split spacebar, blank caps. does this spark anyone's imagination? thanks for any pointers.
*i realize i should post a pic of my NMB but lemme put a coat of paint on it first.