Steampunk Keyboard Mod
Jake von Slatt — Wed, 07/08/2009 - 10:01
My goal with this project was to build a retro keyboard that was fully functional and of a sufficient quality that it could be used everyday by a touch typist. In order to achieve this I chose a high quality (though widely available) keyboard as my starting point. This is an IBM Model M "Clicky" keyboard. They were made starting in the mid 1980's and a version is still manufactured today. This particular keyboard was made in 1989 and shipped with and IBM PowerStation 530, a UNIX box the size of a kegerator.
Besides its overall quality and heft, one of the things that makes this keyboard particularly good for such a mod is the fact that it has removable key caps and the under-cap has a flat surface ideal for affixing a new key top.

Step one was disassembly and the removal of the skirts on the key caps. The skirt removal was kind of tricky, I originally planned to use a circle punch, but that nearly destroyed the first key I tried it on. After some experimentation I came up with a method using a heated, sharpened piece of steel tubing and a drill press.

Here is a short movie demonstration the process of removing the skirts from the key caps.
In the second half of this video I show a different and I believe superior method for making the keys. Kudos go out to Doc Datamancer for coming up with it!
After I removed all of the key cap skirts and cleaned the excess plastic off of the key bottoms, I reassembled them into the keyboard. At this point I started to design the Steampunk cradle that I planned to make from 1/4" thick brass plate.

I wanted a simple and clean design, the finished keyboard actually takes up less desktop real estate then the original Model M.

Next came the process of cutting and shaping the brass. Be very careful cutting brass on a table saw, if the work piece binds it can be thrown back at you with a great deal of force. Stand well to one side when doing this. Note: the blade guard has been removed for the same reason that Norm removes the blade guard of his saw in the New Yankee Workshop, that is to allow the camera a good angle. I'm sure that Norm puts them right back on after filming.
The shapes were then cut out on a band saw.

The interior cut outs on the feet were drilled and cut with a coping saw. Brass cuts very easily, the entire project could probably be done with just a coping saw. A series of files were used to smooth the contours.

I drilled 3/16" pilot holes on the drill press and then enlarged them with this step drill. The step drill left a shoulder about half way through the hole because it's step are 1/8" and the piece is 1/4" thick. I think the steps add a visual appeal so I did not drill from the other side to remove them.

The pieces were then cleaned up with several grades of sandpaper, steel wool ,and a rotating fiberglass brush in the drill press. Holes were drilled and tapped to attach the legs.

Two lengths of brass "C" channel were cut on the table saw and threaded rod was used to fixture the cradle for soldering.

The completed cradle. The next step was the preparation of the old typewriter keys I planned to attach to the key bottoms. I have an old Royal typewriter that I had planned to cut the keys off of but I made the mistake of showing it to my daughter who instantly fell in love with it. So these keys were ordered from eBay. There are plenty of people offering these since they are popular among crafters. Depending on shipping cost it is sometimes cheaper to by a whole typewriter and cut the keys off yourself.

The cheaper typewriters keys on eBay are usually removed quickly with a bolt cutter or angle grinder with a cutting disk, I needed to cut these flush before I could use them. Heres a movie that shows my method for flush cutting the backs of typewriter keys.
After they were all flush cut I laid out the keys to see what I had. I also cut a piece of felt to cover the exposed plastic of the keyboard bed. I put the entire keyboard on a copier and made an image that I then used as a template for punching holes in the felt with a sharpened piece of steel tubing.

Heres the completed felt in place. Save the "holes" you'll need a few later.

For the keyboard status lights I remove the cardboard letters from three of the keys and replaced them with translucent acetate. These were glued to short brass tubes which were in turn glued over the LEDs.
The whole frame was wiped down with denatured alcohol and sprayed with a coat of clear lacquer.

Ready to start the tedious job of positioning and gluing the new keys on

I cleaned the backs of the keys and the tops of the key bottoms with alcohol and affixed them with G.E. Silicon II Window and Door Sealant. Each key was carefully lined up by eye, the silicon sealant gives you and open time of about 10 minutes before it starts to skim over.

I also glued down the status lights at this time.

I wanted the enhanced keys to have proper labels on them so I disassembled several of the keys and printed labels on glossy photo paper. These I punched out of the sheet of paper with the same punch I used for the felt.

Two old typewriters did not supply quite enough keys for the entire project, so I ran down to Joanne Fabrics and found these brass rimmed buttons.

The backs were rounded so I attached them to a piece of wood with double-sticky tape and sanded them flat.

I printed out some more labels on glossy photo paper, punched them out, blackened the edges with a Sharpie and gave them a coat of clear lacquer. They were then glued to the tops of the buttons with the silicon sealant.

I covered the front and back of the keyboard with gaffer's tape to deaden the sound and give the keyboard a solid feel.

Here are the status lights lit up.

Remember I said to save the felt "holes" ? here is where you'll want to use them to cover the blank posts for the formerly wide keys.
I painted the keyboard cord with Krylon Fusion gloss black paint to cover the hideous beige.

And just to show that I've met my design goal, the Lady von Slatt touch types:
Starboard

Larboard

The underside


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Buy it
carocor — Tue, 11/17/2009 - 11:12Hi,
I am interested in get a Steampunk Keyboard. I´m not sure if you are based in London or in the US. I´m from Argentina but it is not an issue.
How much does it costs? Thanks and regards
Carolina
I don't mak things for sale
Jake von Slatt — Tue, 11/17/2009 - 12:03I don't mak things for sale but my friend Doc does:
http://www.datamancer.net/keyboards/keyboards.htm
His KBs are way nicer than mine too!
Steampunk Keyboard keys
orosconpollo — Mon, 10/26/2009 - 03:35I was wondering if there was a preferred site to go to for vintage typewriter keys,
Most I've found ruined them by drilling them for jewelry making.
thanks,
orosconpollo
gaffer's tape wrap before adding felt?
mnkysan7 — Mon, 10/19/2009 - 21:42Gorgeous keyboard! So did you do the tape wrap all around before adding the felt layer? And is it sticky side in on the top as well? What adheres the felt to the tape?
Thanks!
No tape on top and the felt
Jake von Slatt — Tue, 10/20/2009 - 10:58No tape on top and the felt just gets tucked down among the keys.
Steampunk Computer Keyboard
orosconpollo — Sat, 10/03/2009 - 22:45awesome! can you give a possible link to hunt down vintage typewriter keys?
I found (and bought) some in pretty bad condition, any leads would be greatly appreciated.
thanks for the inspiration...
Orosconpollo
Southern, CA
U.S.A.
Space Bar
petertheartist — Thu, 10/01/2009 - 11:50Did you paint the space bar, or replace with a vintage one? If it's paint, what kind of paint do you find holds up well?
I used Krylon Plastic
Jake von Slatt — Thu, 10/01/2009 - 13:56I used Krylon Plastic Fusion.
Amazing!
Lady J — Mon, 09/28/2009 - 15:27I'm so impressed by the amount of work that went into this project! Extremely inspiring, thank you for sharing!
This is SO cool!!! D8
Coriander Sils — Tue, 09/01/2009 - 04:11If I was more handy, had tools, and wasn't afraid of getting hurt, I'd SO try making this...even though I don't use my desktop..I could save it for later maybe x]
Spacebar
KelleySR71 — Mon, 08/31/2009 - 17:58Great site Jake. Thank you very much for sharing your experience.
Not sure how you dealt with the spacebar other than perhaps simply painting it black? And did the rectangular keys come with the set of keys you purchased or Joanna's also?
Damned fine job all in all. Do you have plans for a Steampunk mouse?
Kelley
take case off?
yourhermione — Wed, 08/26/2009 - 21:34I can't thank you enough for posting the instructions for your work. You are an inspiration! The bf and I took apart a broken LCD from his work last night to see what makes it tick so we can make plans for modding our own.
I have a question about the keyboard though - did you take the keyboard circuitry out of the case before putting it on the frame that you built? I wasn't certain about that part. (I haven't gotten a keyboard to take apart yet to see the guts up close.)
Thank you!
Yes, I did take it off.
Jake von Slatt — Thu, 08/27/2009 - 12:35Yes, I did take it off. Every keyboard is a bit different so be prepared to tweak the design as needed.
Custom Development
Danconia — Fri, 08/21/2009 - 16:52Having no skills to do something like what you've done here, I must ask where one might go to commission a keyboard? Does anyone do these for a fee? I'm located in Denver and need an assist.
Thanks,
Danconia
My good friend Rich Nagy
Jake von Slatt — Fri, 08/21/2009 - 21:26My good friend Rich Nagy (aka Datamancer) makes them. He made the one featured in Warehouse 13 and you can see his work here:
http://datamancer.net/keyboards/keyboards.htm
Inspiration & Technical Expertise
DaveClifton — Fri, 07/31/2009 - 16:51I just wanted to thank you for your amazing work - It has been instrumental in bringing the Steampunk style to a new level of appreciation. I've been fashioning my own mods for a while now and I still use your articles quite a bit for inspiration and technical guidance. Keep up the amazing work!
Dave Clifton
http://www.steampunkspectacles.com/
keyboard
nightbeck — Tue, 07/21/2009 - 21:45Is this available for purchase--if so, how much?
See: http://datamancer.net/k
Jake von Slatt — Wed, 07/22/2009 - 08:06See: http://datamancer.net/keyboards/keyboards.htm
Thanks for the inspiration!
elShoggotho — Mon, 07/13/2009 - 06:32Seems like something to do to my 1993 Cherry keyboard. Heeding your note about oddball items, I scoured my regular brass sheet supplier's website and found that brass profiles and square tubes are regular items. Now I just need to find brass stock of the appropriate size for the side panels.
Spacebar
jholley43 — Wed, 07/08/2009 - 17:41Did you use a spacebar off of the typewriter or make one?
When did SyFy by your Keyboard
Asphalt — Tue, 07/07/2009 - 22:50Just finished watching the premeir of Warehouse 13, did you build the computer set up for Arty or did they simply copy your work. I know the keyboard is your design, and there was a lot of matching periferals. coodos.
The keyboard in Warehouse 13
Jake von Slatt — Wed, 07/08/2009 - 10:00The keyboard in Warehouse 13 is one of Doc's: http://www.datamancer.net/keyboards/keyboards.htm it's a much improved version of my original design!
syfy
Asphalt — Wed, 07/08/2009 - 10:39ohh ok, well Coodos to both you AND Doc. It looked great on the show. Loved the giant Steam punk touch pad.
super cool!
oncelostjewelry — Fri, 06/19/2009 - 02:01That's such a super cool keyboard! I wish my hubby would make something like that for me. If only he would remember such things as birthdays and make something cool like that. Here's hoping for the future!
key lables
some guy — Sun, 06/14/2009 - 20:12did anyone else notice that most of the type writer keys are wrong? for example the number two is with the quote instead of the @ sign. Does anyone know a type writer model that follows modern keyboard standards or will i need to make corrections to each key.
That's a UK keymap (the "4"
RustyChainsaw — Wed, 07/08/2009 - 16:12That's a UK keymap (the "4" key probably has the £ symbol on it too). I'm sure a US keymap, with the "@" on the "2" key would be doable.
"NoteBook"
some guy — Sun, 06/14/2009 - 18:48this is a great idea and got my thinking about building my own computer. Then i was looking a datamancer.net i saw his tome-like laptop cover. so i thought i'd take it one step further and build my computer inside of a hollowed out book.... any ways, my quetion is do you know where i could get a keyboard that would work for this except it needs to be flat. (to conserve space).... if this works i'll post a link to the results. Thanks again for the amazing ideas.
Truly Amazing!
knarleysurfer54 — Sun, 04/26/2009 - 15:04Reading through this I am inspired to make my own! But with one of those ergonomic keyboards.. Have you seen any of these being done?
Indeed
Jake von Slatt — Sun, 04/26/2009 - 23:39Indeed yes!
http://www.datamancer.net/keyboards/ergo1/ergo1.htm
Wireless clicky keyboard
tehross — Sat, 12/13/2008 - 14:52Hi there Jake and all you comment posters. I loved the look of this keyboard and I would like to do something similar, but with my own little twist to it. I want to use a wireless keyboard. So, what I'm wondering is, does anyone know of a very simple, preferably cheap, wireless keyboard, that has similar tactile qualities as the IBM model M keyboards? The one I use right now is a Logitech iTouch keyboard, which while very nice, does not have the same clicky feel, and it has a lot of extra function buttons that I don't feel confident to deal with. I would also like something that includes indicator LED's, because I have a plan for them that I think would look very nice.
Thanks, and the mod looks great!
keyboard
Tomasito77 — Sat, 11/29/2008 - 21:20Hi
When i first saw your keyboard i thought WOW :) that´s something i always wanted , i just didn´t know it exists .
Wright now i got me two really old typewriters and starting making my own keyboard :D
I want to thank you for your whole work and sharing your Crazy Genious projects with peple like me . I guess Steampunk got me or shall i sey i got punked by steam ??
well anyway i got old laptop and i´m about to replace it with something newer but probbably it´ll be desktop PC this time but i was thinkig about playing a bit with my old laptop "steampunk" way , maybe covering it with old leather and copper cornerings ? or replace keyboard with something more "stylish" ?? i got some ideas in my head but no plan how to put it in to life , some things i just can´t overjump :P
well Jake (and the rest of Steampunk crew) I want to thank you for all you good job and ideas that got me turning (as my wife say) mad :) looking for materials and searching through junkyards
I hope i see some more genius ideas here
P.S. All my friends have seen this page and they say is awesome (the keyboard (or as i call it typewriterboard)) and that i´m crazy getting myself started with "destroying" perfectly working keyboard :D :D :D
Thanks (again) and good luck in further projects
The table
Shiyiya — Mon, 11/10/2008 - 17:29That looks like a nice varnished table that you made circles in cutting out the felt :P Did you ruin something there? Hehe. It's an awesome project, I'm currently working on getting the materials to make y own and so is another friend of mine :)
LOL! No, it's a scrap of old
Jake von Slatt — Tue, 11/11/2008 - 17:04LOL! No, it's a scrap of old butcher block counter top I use just for that purpose.
Haha, okay. It just looked
Shiyiya — Wed, 11/12/2008 - 00:48Haha, okay. It just looked like you made holes in something nice, and I think it's fairly typical geek to not thing of the consequences of such a thing :P
(Hint: setting wax on fire in a cookie sheet on top of a wooden check-writing extension of a desk scorches the wood to hell. And ruins the cookie sheet. And I'm not allowed to play with fire in the house anymore. >_<)
Wow! It's really awesome. You
Eathen — Mon, 10/20/2008 - 01:23Wow! It's really awesome. You have done a very creative work. I like it very much as you have added the whole required information and the steps also. ============================================ Eathen http://www.widecircles.com Link Building
I'm in UR social media . . .
Jake von Slatt — Mon, 10/20/2008 - 10:30This is kind of interesting. The comment above is complimentary and polite and has a signature with a link. Now, I would not have thought twice about publishing it save that the link text was "Link Building" so I followed it back to the source; WideCircle.com, which does "Social Media Marketing."
From their website:
Human publishers provide relevant comments on related forum, blog and other types of websites by utilizing our social signature posting method, This unique and diversified multi channel SEO, natural link building and promotion approach gives you quality long term referral traffic and true organic SEO benefits at very low cost. Since our inception we have helped thousands of websites to reach enormous exposure and organically rank high on major search engines.
I mention this because I think it's really important that people understand how marketing works and how much of a science it has become. This fellow is paid to surf the net and drop comments like this one in order to raise the search engine position of his client.
Now that in itself is not a bad thing. Hell, I've done it too promoting the Steampunk Workshop. However, the only honourable way to do this is to fully engage with the community that you are attempting to leverage, and to give value in exchange for your link post.
So, I say to the marketers: If you do that I'll let your link stand, if you don't I'll either delete, de-link or rel="nofollow" your client's link.
Jake.
Brass Channel
RadioC1ash — Mon, 07/07/2008 - 16:03This has been an inspiration! Say, where did you get the brass channel for the leading and trailing edges? I'm having an awful time trying to find some.
I use http://www.metalsource.com/
Jake von Slatt — Mon, 10/20/2008 - 14:34I use http://www.metalsource.com/ but the channel was an odd ball item, they don't have any more.
Steampunk keyboard - well done Mr. Slatt!
draeco — Sun, 08/23/2009 - 06:48Inspired me to make my own. Not being as endowed with as much spare time as Jake, I just glued the keys from two old typewriter keyboards to a current-ish model IBM keyboard - works well and looks good! I'm typing on it to post this comment!