This started as a project for a couple friends who like to play osu, but don't have the cash to buy mechanical keyboards. I can eventually make a guide with instructions on the parts I bought and how I assembled it if anyone is interested, it only cost me a couple bucks to build.

http://imgur.com/a/rT3zz

If you could provide a blueprint, a list of used Parts and some instructions how you have to solder it (simple plan of the circuit), I really goin to love ya.

uh????
http://noodlefighter.com/osukb21_make_eng.html
http://store.ppy.sh/store/product/20
t/273915

This is probably cheaper than the other links, but not by a whole lot.

I'll start with a list of materials:

1. Cherry MX reds - http://www.wasdkeyboards.com/index.php/ ... inear.html - $7 w/ shipping (don't forget to buy keycaps)

2. 16 Gauge steel hurricane tie from home depot(you can get this which is zinc coated, or just the full sheet which is $10. The Tie has SIMPSON Strong-Tie NS2 16Ga. on the front) - $0.40

3. Keyboard or keypad from Good Will(you have the option of usb or ps/2 here, doesn't matter too much) - $2-6

4. Some sort of base, mine happens to be aluminum. - $?

5. I use protoboard on the switches, if you want to go cheap, you dont have to use it. - $3 (if ordered from china)

6. Solder / wires / nuts / bolts, I used M4 bolts and 60/40 lead solder - $10 (I could have probably got this cheaper)

6. Maybe some sand paper for the base and glue, to keep it from sliding - $1.50

Total Cost - $15 - $25


Tools: I used:

1. Hand drill, for the silicon boards, and 3/16 drill bits

2. Drill Press for the metal, not required but nice to have

3. Jig Saw with a metal cutting blade

4. 3/8 drill bit to get a starter hole for cutting out the switch holes

5. dremel with a cutting / shaving blade, you can proby replace this with a hand file, as long as its less than a half in wide

6. 40 watt soldering station

So, basically you can get the specs on the switches at http://cherrycorp.com/product/mx-series/

It's pretty hard to get the switch holes, exactly to the measurements, so I started at a half inch, and shave to fit with the jig saw, once I was close I polished it off with the dremel / hand file.

A lot of your projects size / dimensions are going to depend on the controller you manage to get your hands on. Once you find a random keyboard, you will need to tear it apart pull out all the rubber stuff and the plastic sheets, and just take the controller and the cable it's attached to.

In order to find the Z and X keys, you can either trace the circuit on the plastic sheets, or just try shorting 2 pins together until it starts printing stuff on your screen. You definitely don't have to grab Z and X, as you can just remap it in game.

As far as the rest goes, the hardest part of this project is having the correct tools to cut metal. If you don't have any, then this will end up costing you more than the links posted above. You could think of them as an investment, however :p

I was considering building and selling them, but I would have to sell them for $30, which isn't exactly cheap, and why buy mine when you can buy one that actually looks good.

Thats about all the time I have atm, if you have questions let me know!

I'm planning to do the same with 20 keys for mania.... eventually.

Nice! I can't do mania at all. With that setup you might consider dropping the $20 for a teensy to get custom keymapping, and lowest debounce settings. I dunno what rubber dome controllers are usually set at but I'm sure its not 5 ms, which you should be able to get on a MX Red.

Most beautiful keypad I've ever seen.

Some extra info on soldering and how the keyboard matrix works:

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-solder/

Some important tips I can give from personal experience. Get a pencil Iron that's rated for at least 40 watts, or for a station, use lead solder and set it to about 375-400, in either case, use lead solder if you a beginner!(I'm not a beginner, and i still don't use lead free solder :p). Tin both pieces before soldering them together! What I mean by that is, melt solder onto each piece individually first, once you can get solder to stick to them, it makes putting them together much much easier. Add a small glob of solder to the tip before trying to solder stuff, and clean your irons tip often on a wet sponge.

If you are planning to remove a solder joint from the controller, you will probably need a solder sucker, and bear in mind that those joints are probably lead free solder,which means you need an iron that can get to at least 420 F. If you have your iron maxed out and still struggling, you can try adding in a gob of lead solder. If you can get the lead free solder to melt it will mix with the lead solder and become much easier to deal with.

http://pcbheaven.com/wikipages/How_Key_Matrices_Works/

Best of luck to all who dare.

Updated Photos: I forgot I had some photos of the build process, and my latest update with the capacitor removed.

http://imgur.com/a/QEo3N

I had to toss the spacers and go with nuts, and some fiber washers. There was also a section of the controller where I had to drill through a trace, and it was touching the metal bolt, so I doctored the inside up with some duct tape. The bottom of the board has fiber washers under it to prevent shorts, you can find these at home depot.