Building a Custom Mechanical Keyboard: A Fun Project for Enthusiasts

As an enthusiast of mechanical keyboards, I recently embarked on a fun project to build a custom keyboard from scratch. The project was a great opportunity to explore the world of hot-swappable switches and RGB lighting. Unlike traditional soldering, which requires desoldering existing switches, hot-swappable sockets make it easy to swap out switches without having to rewire the entire board.

The advantage of hot-swapping is that I could test different switches with ease, simply by swapping them out and testing their performance. This was particularly useful for identifying which switches worked best for each key on my keyboard. The only drawback of hot-swapping was the lack of organization in terms of switch placement. Without a systematic approach to arranging the switches, it was easy to get overwhelmed by the sheer number of options.

To add some visual interest to the keyboard, I decided to use a variety of switch colors and keycaps from different manufacturers. The result was a vibrant keyboard with 61 different switches, including Cherry Brown, Cherry Clear, and Kailh Blue switches. I also used transparent keycaps to give the keyboard an extra touch of elegance.

One of the unique features of this project was the use of artisan switches, which are designed for specific applications. For example, the Kailh Blue switches were perfect for the D key, where a smooth and linear switch was needed for gaming. The Cherry Speed switches, on the other hand, provided a thicker, heavier tactile experience that I had grown accustomed to using in my previous keyboard.

The sound test was an exciting part of this project, as it allowed me to try out each switch with the transparent keycaps. The resulting sounds were quite different from what I was used to, but they added to the overall character of the keyboard.

In terms of ergonomics and typing experience, the custom board did have some issues. Without the stability provided by a fixed switch plate, it felt like there was no real "home" for my fingers. However, this was not a significant drawback, as I had grown accustomed to using custom keyboards with different switch plates.

The final result of this project was a beautiful and functional keyboard that showcased the versatility of hot-swappable switches and RGB lighting. The keycaps were a mix of colorful and neutral options, which added to the overall visual appeal of the board.

One of the advantages of building a custom keyboard is that it allows you to experiment with different switch combinations and keycap sets. This is particularly true for enthusiasts who want to try out new switches or explore different typing experiences. For those interested in joining this community, I recommend checking out online forums and social media groups dedicated to mechanical keyboards.

In conclusion, building a custom keyboard was a fun and rewarding experience that allowed me to experiment with hot-swappable switches and RGB lighting. The final result was a unique and functional keyboard that showcased the versatility of these components. Whether you're an enthusiast or simply looking for a new typing experience, I encourage you to try your hand at building a custom keyboard.

**Switches Used:**

* Cherry Brown

* Cherry Clear

* Kailh Blue

* Cherry Speed

* Master

* Pro Green

* Panda Switch

* Black Box

* Brown Cherry

* Orange Kill

* Pro Green

* True Halo

* Jade Switch

* Speed Burnt Orange

* Navy Blue

* Gray Cherry

* Royal Switch

* Chinese Red

* Clear

* Fei Matcha Cherry

* Tactile Gray Arctos

**Keycaps Used:**

* Geek Maker Oh Tim

* Box Brown

* Cherry Clear

* Creamy Pink

* Pro Green

* Master

* True Halo

* Jade Switch

* Speed Burnt Orange

* White Kill Speed

* Copper Box

* Royal Switch

* China Glaze Green

* Navy Blue

* Inc Cherry Linear Gray

* Gather On Clear

* Pale Blue Paco

* Sage Kale Speed Gold Lynn Jar

* Silver Box

* Pink Yoke Red Panda

* Geek Maker Creamy Blue Pro Sage

* Arctos 70G

* Chinese Noble Yellow

* Zillio 67G

**Tools Used:**

* Hot-swappable switches

* RGB lighting

* Keycaps

* Switches

**Estimated Cost:** $45 (without switches and keycaps)

**Target Audience:**

* Enthusiasts of mechanical keyboards

* Custom keyboard builders

* Gamers looking for a unique typing experience

**Recommendations:**

* Check out online forums and social media groups dedicated to mechanical keyboards.

* Experiment with different switch combinations and keycap sets.

* Consider trying out artisan switches designed for specific applications.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enwhat's up guys I'm random Frank P and today we're gonna be building one keyboard with 61 different switches this is the GK 61 and it's a good starting point for a keyboard kit if you want to get into you know the whole custom keyboard community this obviously a very different kind of out there project it was recommended by a few fans when I built my keyboard wall a few months ago so I figured hey why not a little fun little project and that's really all this is so the GK 61 I picked up from banggood and like I said it's a pretty good starting sort of DIY kit it comes with a nice felt carrying case a key cap puller the USBC cable the frame the plate the PCB and the stabilizers so definitely not bad the case I have here is aluminum so it's pretty solid you can also pick it up in different variants like a wooden case there's even a plastic case all for cheaper options checking it out for a 60% keyboard it's gonna have your standard layout nothing too different and the polished aluminum alloy has this sort of silver shine to it that just it does look pretty nice once on your desktop it's gonna look nice and simple on the back side there are four paths to prevent it from sliding around there are no flip-out feet but the case itself is angled slightly so the aluminum alloy frame that we have is $90 like I said before you can pick enough in different variants they have a wooden one which is $80 and there's also an ABS plastic one for 45 so again if you're getting into the whole hobby not a bad starting point are the stabilizers genuine cherry no do you typically want to use an aluminum alloy frame like this not necessarily you know you maybe you would want to go a different direction when it comes to a plate but again not too bad for just starting out now the switches since we have 61 individual slots to fill on this keyboard to complete the 60 percent layout I wanted to use 60 different individual switches which is actually pretty difficult I think I have around 80 individual ones so it worked out nicely we can just pop em in and be good to go now the name GK 61 mainly comes from the actual PCB here and the big thing about this that I like personally is the fact that it has hot swappable switches and RGB lighting built-in while I know a lot of enthusiasts out there prefer actually soldering switches the advantage to hot swapping is for a project like this where you can put in all different switches and then switch them out pun not intended as you want so if you pick up new switches swap them all out test them out and continually do that without having to solder or desolder that's why I like the hot swap sockets so then once they get them all picked out there was no real organization to I just randomly started putting them in the PCB I didn't pay any attention to where the Lanier's were in comparison to the clique ease I just wanted to make it a big smorgasbord of random colors without really there's just no thought required to this and you factor in the RGB lighting and all the colorful switches and you now have a pretty vibrant keyboard underneath the keys and if you're someone who's only used to seeing you know blues Browns and reds probably thinking yourself what are all these random ass colors well since there are 61 here I'll try to keep this concise in under 45 seconds I'll read them all down for you guys so box Brown cherry clear creamy pink from geek maker Oh Tim you blue kill box Bert orange kill Pro Green the master holy Panda kill box black data Ron Brown Jaco true halo true Gavin Ron yellow novel keys glow-in-the-dark cream switches data on black kill pro light green panda switch China inch and gray cherry green box Navy le is 70 grams zillio 67 grams China Glaze green speed burnt orange box white kill speed copper box royal switches Chinese red cherry whites kill Pro plum box Jade speed navy boat nu sky Tilley o 67 grams Chinese noble yellow cherry silent black cherry blue Jaco violets silent red pro burgundy gather on Inc cherry linear gray gather on clear box dark yellow speed silver box pink yoke red panda geek maker creamy blue pro sage kale speed gold Lynn jar switch box pale blue Paco royal clear creamy yellow geek maker box red taco clear Fei matcha cherry red kill Pro purple cherry tactile gray arctos 70 gram so 61 all different switches and I wanted to get those transparent key caps to put on this I realize I don't have any for the spacebar and all that stuff so I just repurposed some old uh switches from a master out keyboard that I'll put onto this and the moment you've all been waiting for the sound test so then from there I figured alright let's try this with gaming and I've been using the cherry speed switches in my k95 platinum over at the gaming setup so this was definitely a bit of a leap to something different because since all the switches are in just a random spot the main like you know five or six keys that I was using was mainly tactile but for the D key which is you know like moving right in game I had the speed Navy switch just definitely a thicker heavier tactile switch versus the very you know smooth and linear speed switch was it like fatiguing no not really just definitely wasn't what I was used to obviously but I mean you know what else was I gonna do with this board so in the end a fun little project to put together very different than anything I've seen out there so I figured why not but the main point about all this is just you know the fact that you can really get into building your own custom board you know put on some different key caps on here throw on an artisan cap pick up a colored coiled cable if you're used to using blue switches get something different like gather on ink so the just switch that's the whole point of this cuz in the end it's a pretty nice looking keyboard and if you wanna you know pick up you know that plastic one you're starting off at $45 and all you need is switches and the key caps now is this gonna be for you know enthusiasts and stuff no because then you're getting into more of a different plate to absorb a lot of those pings and stuff I didn't talk about looping the switches or you know band-aid mods and stuff that is all a story for a different day and yes coming very very soon I have that custom keyboard bill that I've been talking about recently it is finally going down very very soon end of July so in the end fun project with no meaning whatsoever we did it because we can if you want to check out this board and yellers I'll put the banggood link for you in the description down below as well as the novel keys links you can find tons of different switches that are available if you liked this video give it a thumbs up show your support feel free to follow me on twitter at random Frank P and lastly be have them already hit that subscribe button I hope you enjoyed have a good daywhat's up guys I'm random Frank P and today we're gonna be building one keyboard with 61 different switches this is the GK 61 and it's a good starting point for a keyboard kit if you want to get into you know the whole custom keyboard community this obviously a very different kind of out there project it was recommended by a few fans when I built my keyboard wall a few months ago so I figured hey why not a little fun little project and that's really all this is so the GK 61 I picked up from banggood and like I said it's a pretty good starting sort of DIY kit it comes with a nice felt carrying case a key cap puller the USBC cable the frame the plate the PCB and the stabilizers so definitely not bad the case I have here is aluminum so it's pretty solid you can also pick it up in different variants like a wooden case there's even a plastic case all for cheaper options checking it out for a 60% keyboard it's gonna have your standard layout nothing too different and the polished aluminum alloy has this sort of silver shine to it that just it does look pretty nice once on your desktop it's gonna look nice and simple on the back side there are four paths to prevent it from sliding around there are no flip-out feet but the case itself is angled slightly so the aluminum alloy frame that we have is $90 like I said before you can pick enough in different variants they have a wooden one which is $80 and there's also an ABS plastic one for 45 so again if you're getting into the whole hobby not a bad starting point are the stabilizers genuine cherry no do you typically want to use an aluminum alloy frame like this not necessarily you know you maybe you would want to go a different direction when it comes to a plate but again not too bad for just starting out now the switches since we have 61 individual slots to fill on this keyboard to complete the 60 percent layout I wanted to use 60 different individual switches which is actually pretty difficult I think I have around 80 individual ones so it worked out nicely we can just pop em in and be good to go now the name GK 61 mainly comes from the actual PCB here and the big thing about this that I like personally is the fact that it has hot swappable switches and RGB lighting built-in while I know a lot of enthusiasts out there prefer actually soldering switches the advantage to hot swapping is for a project like this where you can put in all different switches and then switch them out pun not intended as you want so if you pick up new switches swap them all out test them out and continually do that without having to solder or desolder that's why I like the hot swap sockets so then once they get them all picked out there was no real organization to I just randomly started putting them in the PCB I didn't pay any attention to where the Lanier's were in comparison to the clique ease I just wanted to make it a big smorgasbord of random colors without really there's just no thought required to this and you factor in the RGB lighting and all the colorful switches and you now have a pretty vibrant keyboard underneath the keys and if you're someone who's only used to seeing you know blues Browns and reds probably thinking yourself what are all these random ass colors well since there are 61 here I'll try to keep this concise in under 45 seconds I'll read them all down for you guys so box Brown cherry clear creamy pink from geek maker Oh Tim you blue kill box Bert orange kill Pro Green the master holy Panda kill box black data Ron Brown Jaco true halo true Gavin Ron yellow novel keys glow-in-the-dark cream switches data on black kill pro light green panda switch China inch and gray cherry green box Navy le is 70 grams zillio 67 grams China Glaze green speed burnt orange box white kill speed copper box royal switches Chinese red cherry whites kill Pro plum box Jade speed navy boat nu sky Tilley o 67 grams Chinese noble yellow cherry silent black cherry blue Jaco violets silent red pro burgundy gather on Inc cherry linear gray gather on clear box dark yellow speed silver box pink yoke red panda geek maker creamy blue pro sage kale speed gold Lynn jar switch box pale blue Paco royal clear creamy yellow geek maker box red taco clear Fei matcha cherry red kill Pro purple cherry tactile gray arctos 70 gram so 61 all different switches and I wanted to get those transparent key caps to put on this I realize I don't have any for the spacebar and all that stuff so I just repurposed some old uh switches from a master out keyboard that I'll put onto this and the moment you've all been waiting for the sound test so then from there I figured alright let's try this with gaming and I've been using the cherry speed switches in my k95 platinum over at the gaming setup so this was definitely a bit of a leap to something different because since all the switches are in just a random spot the main like you know five or six keys that I was using was mainly tactile but for the D key which is you know like moving right in game I had the speed Navy switch just definitely a thicker heavier tactile switch versus the very you know smooth and linear speed switch was it like fatiguing no not really just definitely wasn't what I was used to obviously but I mean you know what else was I gonna do with this board so in the end a fun little project to put together very different than anything I've seen out there so I figured why not but the main point about all this is just you know the fact that you can really get into building your own custom board you know put on some different key caps on here throw on an artisan cap pick up a colored coiled cable if you're used to using blue switches get something different like gather on ink so the just switch that's the whole point of this cuz in the end it's a pretty nice looking keyboard and if you wanna you know pick up you know that plastic one you're starting off at $45 and all you need is switches and the key caps now is this gonna be for you know enthusiasts and stuff no because then you're getting into more of a different plate to absorb a lot of those pings and stuff I didn't talk about looping the switches or you know band-aid mods and stuff that is all a story for a different day and yes coming very very soon I have that custom keyboard bill that I've been talking about recently it is finally going down very very soon end of July so in the end fun project with no meaning whatsoever we did it because we can if you want to check out this board and yellers I'll put the banggood link for you in the description down below as well as the novel keys links you can find tons of different switches that are available if you liked this video give it a thumbs up show your support feel free to follow me on twitter at random Frank P and lastly be have them already hit that subscribe button I hope you enjoyed have a good day\n"