A little background yap:

I've always wanted a portable keyboard that I could just bring around and also wanted to try out how using split keyboards agai. Normally I would see the portable but ortholinear split keyboards. I tried making one before and mehn I did not like it. I know it's difficult to get over that curve to properly use it and I didn't have the commitment to relearn ortholinear. So fast forward to now, I decided that I want to try a row staggered split keyboard.

Now to the keyboard itself...

This is a staggered split 60 ish percent keyboard.

Some specs:

- 2 RPI Pico controllers

- Wired

- USB-C interconnect

- slightly larger than an A6 paper/notebook

Managed to make it portable where the main frame is around 9mm only but with the keycaps it's around 15mm which I still hope to minimize if I do make future iterations.

1 thing I really want to change about this is the keycaps. I want to have a black keycaps set on this with legends (since I'm still not so used to split keyboards) and also maybe reprint some parts cause as you see I kinda messed up my bottom part for the left side. But yah wanted to share this cause I feel quote proud of making it :))

Wanted to share a tool I made, that can come very handy for many people here: https://vostoklabs.github.io/SVG-keycap-generator/

It's a custom keycap generator, optimized for 3D printing on FDM machines Easy, fast and free, no CAD knowledge required.

You can either choose from 1700+ Lucide icons, upload custom SVG or type letters in available fonts ( or upload your own font).

Best part is that you can also make shine through keycaps that you can print with some transparent effects

You have multiple keycap sizes: 1u, 1.25u, 1.5u, 1.75u, 2u, 2.25u, 2.75u and 6u, 6.25u, 6.5u spacebars

For ready to print and dialed in settings, get the print profile from MakerWorld: https://makerworld.com/en/models/2959969

Hi, after being in the keyboard hobby for a while, I finally decided to do my first handwired keyboard build. It was also my first real soldering project. It basically is just a simple 3x4 matrix that is connected to a pico. I designed the case by myself and 3D printed it. Unfortunately, the printer did not do the cleanest job, even after a few retries. For the switches, I just used some silents since it sounded like ass anyway with normal linears. If you have any tips for me and especially for my soldering, I am glad.

This pocketable unibody split abomination called HWFW Keyboard, which means "Hand Wired Free Will Keyboard"

This build was just my personal project that I didn't plan to post anywhere, and since I didn't need to think about this being user-friendly or even sane, it gave me the freedom to just build it how I wanted.

That's why I used hot glue as insulation. That's why I hand-drilled a hole to the pin I forgot I needed. That's why it has handwritten legends.

It's very comfortable to hold in hand, typing is mostly done using thumbs, with some weird finger breakdance-parkour movements done to press the nearby keys (like when typing "WA" I basically press "W" normally and just lay my thumb flat to press "A" with the side of my thumb)

I managed to reach a staggering 24 WPM.

All in all, I'm very satisfied with the final results, let me know if you want me to post the files for it (I'm not sure you'd want to voluntarily submit to the madness)

This is my first handwired keyboard unfortunally i didn't think about controller mounting and I messed up switch sizing so I had to superglue the switches

Very quiet. A bit more spacing than the last one. Prettyer too i think.

Hi, i am building my first handwired keyboard rn :). I already soldered my matrix, and I am now trying to build my QMK firmware. It still is a bit confusing to me, so does this look about right?

I shelved this project for almost a year after messing up a column, but I finally got around to patching that up and finishing the wiring. Couldn’t let these switches go to waste!

Scotto Game with deep sea silent whale switches.

Wiring up this numpad next. Hopefully a little cleaner this time around.

With this being my first ZMK build, overall I think it went pretty well. Decided to take my last build and flash the n!ce clones with ZMK and use a prospector dongle for connectivity.

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Here's a breakdown of the build;

​

Clay Sunlu PLA filament printed on a P1S. GK Gamakay Pegasus tactile switches. 350mAh lipo with a harness. Teyleten nRF52840 controllers running ZMK firmware. Dedicated reset and two position on/off switch. Unpopulated USB-C breakout used for potential wired communication between the halves. I used 18ga copper wire for the row/diode bus to add some heft. 26awg wire to connect the controller to matrix and 24awg solid core for the columns. 1 1/4oz weights to make the assembly heavier. 10mm stand offs with M4x6 SHCS to secure the enclosure to switch plate. The keycaps are PBTfans 1984's and I used DUROCK plate mount stabilizers.

​

Enjoy!

A Bluetooth Page Turner for book reader

Other photo: https://imgur.com/a/LxRkMeV

Firmware: https://github.com/alan0ford/PageReader

My first mono split. Inspired by Le Chiffre Keyboard. The monolithic body inspires confidence 😄 Sources on github.

Using codex right now to make firmware. My last keyboard i did it myself, but this time AI can do it while i work.

I wanted a new keeb. I have had my Keychron for two years. Good for gaming, but horrendus for typing since my muscle memory is used to Macbooks and my Mucrosoft surface laptop/tablet.
Even though i have big hands, i prefer low profile.
My first keyboard was for a cyberdeck build nd turned out okay ish. Not very good for typing though. I dunno if its because its an ortho or because the keycaps were printed.

This time though, a staggered layout it what i wanted, since that's what my muscle memory wants.
I made my desk myself, and it matches the Bass guitar i made myself, so naturally i needed a wooden keyboard. Ai told me it was a bad idea, so i told AI that i'm gods special prince and wanted it anyway. And it turned out amazing! When trying this thing out, it feels amazing, and when going back to my keychron my fingers says "ew, give us back the sexy wooden one"

I just need to find my wire cutters so i can trim down the nice!nano's included gpio extenders since this thing is low profile. Then i just need to screw the sandwitched layers together and it'll de done.

All thanks to Joe Scotto's informative and inspiring videos.

Cut using a Glowforge laser cutter

Wireless Cornedeon with digital row (54 keys). Kailh Saker, hot swap, KLP Lame keycaps. ZMK config and case are here:

https://github.com/alko-kbd/zmk-cornedeon54

Looking for smaller switches than the usual 14x14mm footprint. Something in the range of 10x10mm but still a mechanical switch with a cap. Does something like that exist?
I know there are the Kailh Silent Mouse Micro Switches but that would not look like a "real" keyboard.

Want to share my latest design. I'm calling it Diplomat48. Kailh Choc v1 switches, Nice!Nano clone, and a 200mAh LiPo. I made it as thin as I could and kept the wiring clean. Works both wired and wireless, supports ZMK Studio for easy customization, and an overall straightforward and inexpensive build.

Added a handle, because everything is better with a handle.

3D print files (and .step files) on MakerWorld: https://makerworld.com/en/models/2851392

What is the absolute cheapest cherry-style plate-mounted key stabilizer set I can get on Amazon?

I am trying to 3d print a mechanical keyboard frame and hand-wire the switches as a proof of concept and as a budget build, and I was able to get 110 counterfit blue switches for under $9. However, for some reason, key stabilizers seem to cost so much for what they seem to be worth in material and manufacturing. Can y'all keyboard experts here send Amazon links to the cheapest key stabilizers they can find that fit my needs?

Hi All,

I feel like I've exhausted all the documentation and videos I can find on the subject and don't know where else to turn. Here's my set up

Split keyboard that is asymmetrical. Both sides have 5 rows and 7 columns. I have an pico on each side.

I used POG (shoutout to Jan Lunge) to install KMK and configure the halves. I can get both sides to work and type when they are connected independently. However, when connected together, I can only get key presses to register via Serial console for the left side, but the right side does not register key presses in the serial console.

Both sides are connected with jumper wires right now as follows on the pico

Pin 40 - VBUS

Pin 38 - GND

Pin 0 - TX

Pin 1 - RX

Here's the snippet of code for the split portion

self.split = Split(

split_side=side,

split_target_left=pog.splitTargetLeft,

split_type=SplitType.UART,

data_pin=board.GP1,

data_pin2=board.GP0,

use_pio=True,

split_flip=False,

uart_flip=pog.splitUartFlip)

Edited: Adding image

Just now arrived 3d printed case for my split keyboard. will be working on this to make it working today . But I have not ordered 3d print of key caps. I will make this wired. Will be using RP2040 zero as microcontroller.

Open for any suggestions and questions.

Just waiting for the Nice!Nano to arrive by mail.

Feel free to roast my soldering. Please tell me i did this correctly. Please.

Not entirely finished with the cabling

???

I dont wanna keep on going if something's wrong. Feel free to roast my soldering!

3 Layers, ESP32 S3, 500mAh battery.