TKL industrial look on the cheap
Posted: 24 Mar 2017, 10:08
As I patiently wait to finish my other project:
keyboards-f2/the-clic-64-custom-build-t15956.html
I decided to mod the keyboard I use as a daily driver, and since it's a rather cheap operation on a not so well know keyboard, I thought I'd share the outcome.
The keyboard is (was) a Lioncast LK20, it came with some leds underneath the WASD keys (supposedly for gaming) and it's pretty much a cheaper Filco, sold with either blue or brown authentic cherry switches, for around 80 euros if you can find a sale on amazon.de.
First thing was removing the annoying leds, they turn on automatically every time you plug the keyboard, super bright blue, I don't like leds, desoldered and the keyboard didn't even notice.
I painted the case to industrial grey with a plastic spary primer/paint, turned out better then I though, it is not scratch resistant, but for daily use it holds fine and after a bit you forget it was ever black.
Keycaps are Tai Hao Olivetti, and they are awesome, double shot dark blue on grey/greenish (can't really see the colors on the picture). Considering anything remotely vintage in this market goes for around $200, these are not bad for 40 bucks and you can find them on ebay and amazon in Europe ready to ship.
Final thing, cable: removed the super long/stiff builtin cable and just wired a soft usb I had around. It's super easy because the colors on USB cables seem to be standard, so just match that and you are good.
I attempted a hand-coil with one of the tutorial you can find on youtube, turned out to work fine and it's very practical, as the cable now just goes from keyboard to computer, stretching nicely to the right length and without running wild around the desk like a snake.
The base, the lioncast, is super solid, so with a bit of DIY it turned into something with a bit more soul, loving it! Hope this helps other people looking for a good base to start without going totally bankrupt at first shot ; )
keyboards-f2/the-clic-64-custom-build-t15956.html
I decided to mod the keyboard I use as a daily driver, and since it's a rather cheap operation on a not so well know keyboard, I thought I'd share the outcome.
- 20170324_083620.jpg (297.73 KiB) Viewed 4326 times
First thing was removing the annoying leds, they turn on automatically every time you plug the keyboard, super bright blue, I don't like leds, desoldered and the keyboard didn't even notice.
I painted the case to industrial grey with a plastic spary primer/paint, turned out better then I though, it is not scratch resistant, but for daily use it holds fine and after a bit you forget it was ever black.
Keycaps are Tai Hao Olivetti, and they are awesome, double shot dark blue on grey/greenish (can't really see the colors on the picture). Considering anything remotely vintage in this market goes for around $200, these are not bad for 40 bucks and you can find them on ebay and amazon in Europe ready to ship.
Final thing, cable: removed the super long/stiff builtin cable and just wired a soft usb I had around. It's super easy because the colors on USB cables seem to be standard, so just match that and you are good.
I attempted a hand-coil with one of the tutorial you can find on youtube, turned out to work fine and it's very practical, as the cable now just goes from keyboard to computer, stretching nicely to the right length and without running wild around the desk like a snake.
The base, the lioncast, is super solid, so with a bit of DIY it turned into something with a bit more soul, loving it! Hope this helps other people looking for a good base to start without going totally bankrupt at first shot ; )
