How to build your own keyboard?
Step by step guides for the beginner keyboard enthusiast about keyboard building. Answers to the most frequently asked questions:
Why would you build your own mechanical keyboard? What parts and tools you'll need? How much will it cost? How to actually build a keyboard? What is a keyboard matrix? How to do handwiring? How to program your board?
Most prebuilt keyboards lack innovation. They follow obsolete concepts. You are unique, your hands and fingers are unique: you deserve your own custom keyboard and here is how you can build one:
- What's wrong with common keyboards?
- What's wrong with QWERTY?
- Tools and skills needed
- Concept to reality
- Cardboard prototyping
- Custom plate manufacturing
- Keyboard matrix
- Firmware and flashing
- Build log: Building a macropad
- Build log: Building the S.Torm46
Keyboard Sound Database
This is a keyboard sound database of 300+ samples with detailed data sheets, plus a comparison tool.
Keyboard lexicon
This keyboard lexicon is a tematic glossary of 800+ keyboard related terms. If you are new to keyboard building, this may be useful to get into the hobby.
Split keyboards
A good keyboard is split or fixed-angle. Period. Here is a list of split keyboards I'm aware of. Filter keyboards by development stage, size, features like Bluetooth, staggering etc.
The GOLEM evolution model
This is an evolution model for optimizing logical layouts in Hungarian. Letter frequency, bigraph and trigraph statistics. This was my original area of interest and the main reason to start this site.