126 Photos - Aug 2, 2010
Photo: Here is the clicky keyboard that I used for the guts of my wood one, made by Unicomp, Inc. CLICK ON THE << SYMBOL AT THE UPPER RIGHT TO SEE THE FILE NAMES, WHICH EXPLAINS WHAT IS IN EACH PICTUREPhoto: Plank of cherry wood, curves hand-drawnPhoto: I traced the Unicomp keyboard's cover to make a paper template to draw cut-out boarders on the woodPhoto: Rough dimensionsPhoto: Begin shaping with drum sander after cutting off ends and planingPhoto: Using drill and router to remove lots of woodPhoto: Holes all routedPhoto: I filled some cracks with wood puttyPhoto: 1st prototype keyPhoto: Photo: Removing the keys from the Unicomp board for their stalksPhoto: Punch I made to cut stalks from the plastic keysPhoto: It was hard to get the stalks out until I also cut a slot in the punchPhoto: Punching out a key stalk against a lead diskPhoto: punched-out keyPhoto: That original aluminum punch was too soft. Ordered a stainless steel tube from McMaster for the good one.Photo: popping out the stalkPhoto: Photo: Photo: key stalksPhoto: keys, sans stalksPhoto: Needed to cut off tops of stalks. My first attempt at a hot knife.Photo: 2nd lame hot knifePhoto: This one had much more heat, but bent too easilyPhoto: A real hot knife. Needed to use variac to boost the voltage to make it hotter.Photo: stalks with tops cut offPhoto: Routing out the undersidePhoto: carving out space for the keyboardPhoto: fixing up the edges of the cut-out areasPhoto: Finished hollowing out the bodyPhoto: Keyboard inserted into body (bottom view)Photo: Keyboard in bodyPhoto: cutting and hand-drilling the Function keysPhoto: cut hole with special flat-bottom hole cutterPhoto: Shopping for wood dye at Highland Hardware, a fantastic woodworkers' shop nearbyPhoto: Testing out glues for the stalks. Stick Fast Thick won.Photo: Needed more vertical holes in the keys than I could drill by hand. Tried using router--too trickyPhoto: Scrabble tiles for the letter keysPhoto: Comparing the tilesPhoto: They're maple, end grainPhoto: Chose the best looking onesPhoto: Drew circles to sand off cornersPhoto: Corners sanded offPhoto: Cutting round keys from maple dowelPhoto: Our lathe in the Neurolab made it easy to drill very straight holes.Photo: Photo: Glueing tiles to keysPhoto: Clamping glued tilesPhoto: Rough and sanded keys wth Scrabble tiles glued on topPhoto: Finishing with clear water-base lacquerPhoto: Before...Photo: ...afterPhoto: ...and with more coats. Eventually used about 10 coats.Photo: Cutting a hang glider batten to make a stalk glueing jigPhoto: Bird's eye maple veneer for the tops of non-letter keysPhoto: Printing clear labels to put under the lacquerPhoto: Labels for the special (non-round) keysPhoto: Glueing veneer to special keysPhoto: Special keys are those that don't type a characterPhoto: Sanding off veneer overhangPhoto: Wood dyes for the function keysPhoto: Mairead helped me prepare the dyesPhoto: Neurolab's lathe has a drill press that was never assembled. I did that and it works great.Photo: Drilled out special keysPhoto: Wet keys to raise the grain, then sand and finishPhoto: Lots of finishing at various stagesPhoto: Photo: Dyed and lacquered Function keys, and the resistor color code I used.Photo: Each key was dipped in hydrocote water-base lacquer, dried, and sanded 8-10 times.Photo: Photo: Photo: Photo: Seeing if keys bump into each other. (they don't have their stalks yet)Photo: Photo: Key stalks lined upPhoto: Some were too short. Had to raid another antique clicky keyboard for more.Photo: Chopping more tops off stalks with hot knifePhoto: Drilling a thick lucite ruler to make a stalk-glueing jigPhoto: After a tedious attempt to fix a broken key spring, I had to use a zillion screws to re-attach the base. But that didn't work well.Photo: I listened to 80's New Wave music on my internet radio while working. "Flashback Alternatives"Photo: Photo: Vertically oriented keys were very hard to get to work until I used two-stalk insertsPhoto: Enter key and its insertPhoto: Photo: Zero key and its insertPhoto: Very tight fitPhoto: Keyboard frame after a LOT of shaping and sandingPhoto: More sandingPhoto: Checking the clearance of keys and doing more sandingPhoto: Nice rounded endsPhoto: All keys move freely nowPhoto: Wetting to raise the wood fibers before sanding and finishingPhoto: I hate accidentally hitting Caps Lock, so I put foam bumpers under this keyPhoto: How to light up the Caps Lock key...Fiber optics?Photo: The idea was to glue fiber optics to the existing LED on the keyboard's circuit, and embed them in the Caps Lock key. But the LED was too dimPhoto: Old headphones have very nice flexible wirePhoto: Wire soldered to keyboard controller, where Caps Lock LED used to bePhoto: Drilling hole for new blue LEDPhoto: LED installedPhoto: Photo: Scraping insulation off fine wire under microscopePhoto: Photo: Key soldered to wirePhoto: Caps wire installedPhoto: Blue LED to make it obvious when Caps Lock is onPhoto: It also serves as a nice Home Row bumpPhoto: Testing out the stainPhoto: Stained cherry body, showing the grain's figurePhoto: Love that wood grain!Photo: First coat on bodyPhoto: Photo: Testing key function after tedious repair of electronics destroyed by grinding the metal base. All working!Photo: Sanding 1st coat smoothPhoto: Sanded 1st coatPhoto: Paint sprayer for finishingPhoto: Spraying on hydrocote finishPhoto: One of my old hobbies...Photo: Photo: Hi-gloss finish, driedPhoto: Buffing for smoother, satin finishPhoto: Used Sugru hardening rubber to hold keyboard into bodyPhoto: Filled base with modeling clay to damp vibrations and weigh it downPhoto: Flattening the clayPhoto: Mahogany and Maple veneer I laminated onto my MacBookAirPhoto: Marquetry of ApplePhoto: FINISHED AND WORKING!!! MAY 12, 2011 Now, it's time to write a grant...