Behind the Scenes of Issue 37

Holiday season, issue 36 follow-up, 1000 newsletter subscribers, most popular posts, developments, long term trends, to-do and priority list.

As you may know, KBD.news started as a collection of my personal bookmarks.

Even though the site is just passing the 20.000 monthly visitor and 1000 newsletter subscriber mark these days, this project is still a one-man-show.

So being on holiday leads unavoidably to a temporarily higher level of sloppiness: shorter editorial, some features dialed down, etc.

Forgive me for this.

Nontheless, I tried to keep the essential services going.

First of all, to bring you some…

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Engraved Adelais case

An amazing engraved Adelais case by dinhthai060.

More pics: on Instagram.

A quick chat with the artist here.

IBM Model M dome swap & chopjob

Turn up the radio! Today's hot single: Bitteneite's 70% Model M with choplog.

Bitteneite was very tired of being the one without an SSK, so he made one himself.

Used to be a dirt-cheap 71G4644 I got for about 10 bucks… for funsies!

The donor was a Model M 71G4644 (rubber dome version) from an eBay auction.

The board is now chopped and converted into good old buckling springs.

Here's the picture-heavy restoration log for those interested.

Charybdis - Dactyl trackball keyboard

The Charybdis by Fmcraft is a Dactyl spin-off with well-placed trackball.

With some open-sourced parts and more to come:

• PMW3360 sensor holder
• PCB for the PMW3360 sensor
• Trackball holder

For more pictures check this gallery!

MacroPact released on Github

The MacroPact by kbjunky is now open-sourced and available on GitHub

This project was already featured in KBD #33, but rPico KMK powered macropad with IPS screen is now open sourced.

Conceptualized and designed by illustrator and graphic designer Sean Yin, and built, coded and documented by kbjunky, this project can now be recreated or used as reference for your similar endeavors.

The files, BOM and build log are available at: https://github.com/kbjunky/MacroPact

Open-source Corne travel case

Consistent-Egg's cleaned up Corne travel case design is on GitHub.

The keyboard doesn't move around or press any keys underneath thanks to the little support rails on the bottom. And the hinge allows it to fold up and thrown into a backpack for transport.

It fits on top of most standard pitch keyboards, doesn't move around or press any keys underneath. And neatly folds up to be thrown into a backpack – Consistent-Egg-3419.

According to the author, there are definitely more ergonomic split keyboard setups, but this is a great compromise for laptop use and a huge upgrade from the built-in keyboard.

The case on the picture is printed with SpiderMaker Matte PLA in Iron Blue. The depicted keyboard features NuType F1 keycaps.

STL files on Thingiverse

On hand-engraving with Thịnh Trần

Thịnh Trần, the self-taught artist behind the hand-engraved Adelais answering some questions.

So that hand-engraved Adelais case that was posted by dinhthai060 the other day was inspired by this keyboard (engraved by @apsuni).

I had a few unanswered questions, so I did some background research. As a result, I've managed to get in contact with Thịnh Trần (aka benzjr), the talented artist based in Da Nang, Vietnam, who actually did this spectacular engraving work.

And the best thing? He was kind enough to answer my ignorant questions despite the vastly different time zones and the fact that neither of us have English as a first language.

Hey benzjr, thanks in advance for answering these questions. As a start, could you tell us a bit about yourself?

Sure. I was born in 1984, I'm a father of two, and my main job is IT-related. It also seems I have mechanical keyboard engraving as a 2nd job now. :)

How did all this start? How did you pick up hand engraving?

I learned about metal engraving 9 months ago, in October 2020, and it became my latest hobby. I taught myself on Youtube and built my own electric engraving machine. But I still keep learning.

In another Reddit post I saw you're a sculptor. What other techniques do you use in your sculpting work?

Well, I'm not an actual sculptor, I just like to sculpt, and I try to do things I like. I don't know how to explain it technically.

That's fine. Let's talk about that stunning engraved Adelais keyboard case. How long did this project take?

I worked on this keyboard for 5 months, about 2-3 hours a day. But I'd be able to do it faster now as I got used to the process.

Btw, are you involved in the keyboard hobby at all or was this engraving project a mere commission work?

No, I'm not really involved in mechanical keyboards. I have almost no keyboard preference. But my friend does have one, and he wanted to do something special, so I did it for him.

I presume not just the engraving but also the artwork is your original design.

Indeed, I designed this keyboard specifically.

Did you receive instructions from your friend, dinhthai060, about the artwork or did you have complete freedom about what to engrave?

I had complete freedom about what to engrave because he said he believed in me. :D

What was your inspiration?

Actually, I just try to do my best focusing on the scrollwork pattern.

What specific technique did you use in this case?

I use an electric engraving machine that I designed myself based on what I learned from Youtube.

And the starting point was that teal TGR case you posted earlier, right? You had to remove the coating first?

Haha, you're right. Yes, I had to remove the coating first.

Are there any secrets to the workflow?

I draw directly on the keyboard and then engrave it. That's it.

How do you emphasize the depth? Looking at your feet this is a quite messy part. :)

I deepened the background and used ink to create contrast. The shiny parts were polished by hand. And the reason behind my feet covered in black ink is I spilled the ink bottle. :D That's not part of the usual engraving process.

That's a relief. I'm sure many people got inspired by your work. Do you have any advice for those who just want to start engraving?

I think everyone should practice drawing before carving something.

Btw, how expensive is engraving as a hobby?

I'm not sure of the costs. Most of my tools are DIY so they are not expensive. Anyone who wants to can refer to GRS.com or Lindsay engraving machines.

Before flocks of keyboard enthusiast start engraving their keyboards: How about safety and health considerations?

Engraving affects mainly your sitting posture and eyes the most. Almost no chemicals are used. And hand-engraving doesn't produce those dangerously small metal particles.

Do you have a website with more photos featuring your artworks?

I have saved many pictures and clips of the process since I started hand engraving. They are available on my personal Facebook page at https://facebook.com/tranvanthinh.

You've done other numpads with this technique too. Do you plan on doing more keyboards? Also, are you open for commissions?

Yes, I still engrave keyboards for my clients.

Good luck with your future projects then, and thanks for the inspiration.

You can contact Thịnh at:

• https://www.facebook.com/tranvanthinh
• https://www.instagram.com/benzjr/

Warm Up - VS Code extension

A VS Code extension by Jeusto to practice and improve your typing speed right inside your code editor.

We've already seen similar project, more elaborated ones, but in case you don't want to leave your IDE, you can try this one too.

Here's the download link: https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=Jeusto.warm-up-typing-test

Nothing too crazy since it's based on typings website but I thought I would make an extension because I didn't find any that already existed – Jeusto.

Adding a mode to also practice writing code in different languages, similar to what you can do on speedcoder, is on the way.

Benign Key Logger

A secure keylogger by skibau to help understand your keyboard usage.

A simple, transparent, open-source key logger, written in Python, for tracking your own key-usage statistics, originally intended for keyboard layout optimization.

GitHub repo: https://github.com/Ga68/benign-key-logger

RTX 3080 keycap with fan

This 3D printed RTX 3080 keycap by lapinozz has a working fan!

With detailed build log: https://blog.lapinozz.com/project/2021/06/13/rtx-3080-keycap.html

It was just a fun little project, plus I'm too lazy to spend the extra effort to actually make it nice – lapinozz.

Japanese typewriters

An old write-up on the inner working mechanism and general evolution of Japanese typewriters.

I stumbled upon a rather old but interesting blog entry from 2009 on Japanese mechanical typewriters. Unfortunately, most of the outer links are long dead, but it's still worth reading.

With several thousand characters to contend with, Japanese people had to come up with something different compared to the Western typewriters, at least before the advent of digital word processing.

The story starts in 1915 with Kyota Sugimoto and his invention, the kanji typewriter (和文タイプライター or 邦文タイプライター).

This invention was deemed so important that it was selected as one of the ten greatest Japanese inventions by the Japanese Patent Office during their 100th anniversary celebrations in 1985 – GT.

GT, owner of the blog which seems to be abandoned now, continues with a description of the inner mechanism of this early typewriter. He also lists several later models with pictures.

Take a look at the original post if you are interested: https://blog.gatunka.com/2009/09/30/japanese-typewriters/

A battered Geac

Cute writing found by i_heart_lolis on a Geac 8340, an 80's library computer keyboard.

Cute writing I found on an 80's library computer keyboard takes communicating through the keyboard to the next level – i_heart_lolis.

As BillyBuerger points out, this is a Geac 8340 and there's a thread about this vintage keyboard model used in libraries on Deskthority.

The writing on the case says:

"This is like playing ATARI!"

Indeed, the arrow cluster on the right side resembles that of an Atari.

And finally, another photo with more Geac keyboards:

Motorola KDT480

An old school police keyboard spotted by ya-best-beleeDat.

"First in squad mobile data terminal" from the 1980's with beautiful caps.