Keyboard Builders' Digest / Projects
Redpoll
Azel's Redpoll, a low-pro unibody keyboard, is made out of plywood.
Published January 18, 2024
Azel (aka Azel4231) from Germany shared this handwired monoblock board: the Redpoll.
Beside making keyboards, in this hobby you constantly study either languages (mostly Japanese) or biology. This time we are back to ornithology:
The name is derived from the bird species called common redpoll.
The case was designed with Clojure and OpenScad, much like the Dactyl/Manuform projects.
Specs
- 46 keys (basically 6x3+1, with four thumb keys per half)
- unibody split, 36 degrees opening angle
- low-profile, Choc spacing
- wireless, powered by a nice!nano v2 running ZMK
- case made out of laser cut birch plywood
- handwired
Obviously, the most interesting part of the board is the use of wood for the case, more precisely plywood: five layers of 1.5 mm birch plywood (1/16″) totaling 8 mm (1/3″) in height. The top cutout is for the controller, the bottom one for the battery.
Redpoll, birch. So I don't leave you without a new foreign word to learn, here is today's trivia:
The redpoll’s life is closely connected to birches. So close in fact, that the German name is derived from it („Birkenzeisig“) – Azel.
Resources
Published on Thu 18th Jan 2024. Featured in KBD #151 (source).
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