A few months ago I came across the amazing work of datamancer. His keyboards inspired me to try and build one of my own completely from scratch. I didn't do a very good job of documenting the build process however below are photos of some of the process. You can view photos of the final keyboard over on my flickr site. The images below should give a little insight into how I created this keyboard.


The first step in the process was to get an appropriate clicky keyboard. I picked up a Das Keyboard professional typist keyboard off ebay and disassembled the entire thing. I also cut down the individual plastic keys so that only the center stalks remained. The following image is the result.



The next step was to create the template for the wooden faceplate. I created the template out of thick card stock and tape to get a perfect match of the spacing on the keyboard.



I took this template and used it to transfer the design onto a thin piece of wood. I then started the tedious task of cutting out the pattern. I almost drove my self crazy cutting out the little squares.




I created the entire brass frame out of wood first to test the fit of the keyboard. After this was complete I was ready to move onto the brass. I did this since brass is not particularly cheap and I wanted to make sure all the design work was correct before I started on the brass. The last thing I wanted to do was have to order more. I started with 3 brass plates and cut them down into the four side pieces and 1 round brass rod for the top and bottom bars. Brass is a relatively soft metal. I was able to cut and sand it just as I did with the wooden version. I spend many many hours sanding and polishing the pieces until I was happy with the look. Below shows the pieces after they have been cut out. with the patterns attached.



After all the brass work was finished and assembled, it was down to details. I purchased 3 matching sets of vintage typewriter keys online and began cleaning and dissembling them. I had to buy 3 sets because modern keyboards have 107 keys. Old typewriters only had 45 to 50 keys. So the only way to get enough for the entire project was to buy 3 sets. I created all new surfaces for the keys and began attaching them in the correct places. Before the wooden face plates were attached they received a beautiful coat of mahogany stain. Below is an image of the keyboard close to being finished.



Below is a Picture of the Finished keyboard. If you would like to see more detailed photos, pop on over to my flickr page.