Double Shot Keys From Signature Plastic - Pimp Your Keyboard

ripster

Believe it or not, there is a website called...

http://pimpmykeyboard.com/

It's run by Signature Plastics but has been down for as long as I have been around Geekhack. Now WHAT exactly they have been doing is a little mysterious since it's one of the funkiest websites out there. But hey, who cares about the Website - it's the KEYS that matter.

So I ordered a random assortment for like $10.

Check the sharpness of contrast you can get with this Old Skool technology.

You can see the two plastics clearly here.

The profile of the keys is a bit weird and Very Vintage. Cupped keys. High profile.

Left to Right. Filco top row, Pimpy1, Pimpy2, IBM

Ooops. Minor problem.

As you can see only the Orange Key is Cherry MX compatible. The "Panic" button is MX compatible as well. Someone should call them during business hours and see if any other keys are Cherry compatible. Edit: I got around to emailing them. ONLY these two keys are currently but they are working on getting a Red Esc key as well.

So now this turns into a mod post. I COULD do a "Nanu" - that is shown here. Steps 5 and 6 were utterly unacceptable to my perfectionist tendencies.

What to do?

Finally a vision appeared.

Norm ALWAYS says...

Wear eye protection
Any new project is an excuse to buy a tool
Make a JIG!!!!!!!!!!!!

Gather up some stuff

11/32" drill
Hardwood scrap
Some Cherry MX stems (I had a bunch after making Red Cherries using the Brown springs and Black stems)
Epoxy - good excuse to try this Gorilla 5 minute stuff
Cherry Key - I had a bunch after swapping double shots into a Kinesis keypad

Drill the hole to about a 1/4 inch depth, clip off the little "tactile bumps" off the MX stem, and insert until it is just barely flush with the wood.

What I did to ensure it set perfectly vertically was to use a key. Insert it in the stem and leave it there until it dries completely. Mark the edges of the key with the sharpie.

Time to make some stems while the glue dries. Cut down the four corners and snap off the sides of the keys.

You'll have to also cut out the inside of the keys (I just clipped them with cutters) and flatten the bottom of the key.

Cut so it fits the keys.

Rough up the stem with sandpaper and flatten the curvature out.

Time to glue. Don't push the stem all the way down yet.

Now start pushing making sure everything is level on all 4 sides and aligned with the marks you made earlier.

Weight down. Good time to glue together nickels if you haven't already.

Tada!

Miso Hapi

The jig also does double duty as a holder of keys for my sandblasting experiments.

Finally, I dedicate this pic to our Kolorful Korean KBDMania Koordinated Keyboard Kin.

EDIT:
Signature Plastics has added Red ESC keys in various configurations. ALPS or Cherry. Black or White Lettering. Eventually I believe they will add to the Pimpy site but right now you have to email them and order direct from Signature. Note that these ARE exactly the same as Cherry Corp Profile (about 1mm shorter but still work in Filcos and Das).

EDIT 2
You can also use this technique on the Geekhack key (no longer available, Sorry!) to convert it from Cherry MX to IBM/Unicomp Buckling Spring compatible.

Drill a 5/16" hole. Put a IBM key in and mark the outline.

Take a Xacto and cut down into the crosshatch stem of the Geekhack key. 4 cuts all the way down. Then take some needle nose pliers and pull off the stem pieces. Finish with a dremel or stick some sandpaper on a dowel. Do a similar process as you did with Cherry MX keys above to cut out the IBM Key Stem. Make sure you align the stem at right angles to the markings.

Glue up. Note: Glue manufacturers lie so let 5 minute epoxy dry overnight. I now recommend plastic epoxy with a noxious smell (see the Nostromo N52 mod for back of the active ingredient label pics)

It looks a little funny from this angle because the key has a Cherry versus a IBM/Filco profile.

But at normal viewing angles I think it looks quite spiffy!

EDIT 3:

A new source of Novelty keycaps is Fentek. Link here.

Different colored Panic, Escape and Trucker Girl! ALPS and Cherry MX compatible.

EDIT 4:

Geekhack Custom keys are sold out. However OCN keys are available at Tankguys.

I believe both are made by Signature Plastics. Note that they are a bit thinner than Filcos. About the same as old ALPS double shots.

Filco Esc Key on left, Signature Plastics Double Shot on Right

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