Preview of New Keyboard Designs!!

[Datamancer]

Those LED displays are simply amazing! I too am very interested in the occult, and would love to know what method you used to make those displays, as well as what function they each serve for the laptop. It's my policy to be as individual as possible with my own tinkering, but I'm fairly knowledgeable with the Enochian alphabet and I touchtype on QWERTY keyboards anyway so it would be a cinch for me to implement, with a somewhat different design integrated into my computer case project.

Thanks!

The LEDs on the board originally stick up at 90 degrees and have a spacer behind them, so the fisrt thing I did was unsolder them and put red leds in their place. I put a 90 degree bend in the leads so they would lay flat and flush with the faceplate. I then cut small squares of mirrored vinyl and glued them to the board underneath the LEDs to project the maximum amount of light upward. They are the standard num lock, caps lock, and scroll lock indicators.

For the glyphs.....well, at first I had all sorts of ideas like masking the shape on clear plastic in pinstriping then painting over it until it was opaque, but I was worried that the paint might eat any plastic thin enough to slip under that border (plus thats just a lot of intricate work with tons of potential for a sloppy result). Then I was thinking of cutting the shapes out of a piece of opaque plastic and glueing the outline and the little dots and other suspended pieces to a piece of plastic, but the entire design would be facing glue-side-up on the plastic.

Finally I just stepped back and said "I'm overthinking this...Keep It Simple, Stupid!" I took the vectors from the design I made on the computer, made them white on a black background and made a simple printout on the computer. Even if it didn't work, it was worth a try for all of the 5 minutes it took.

It worked great! The black printer ink is opaque enough to block the light, and the white paper is translucent enough to let the light through, but not so translucent that you see a big bright dot in the middle of each character.

Hopefully I'll have pics of the assembled keyboard tonight. I have to scrounge up some money for more 3M glue and black paint markers, then I'll slap the whole thing together and take some glamour shots.

Nice Hohenheim sig, btw

-~D~-

[Hikaro Takayama]

You know, the sojourner gave me an interesting idea for when I get around to my own keyboard project (which I'll be contacting you about after you move for making the brass oval ends and feet, since my metalworking tools are, aside from my threading set, crude at best)..... I don't know if you're familliar with Final Fantasy XII, but they use a highly stylilzed font for their writing (one can make out what is written if one looks closely) that would look nifty on a keyboard (either that or the Al Bhed alphabet, which looks kinda like Hebrew or the Yevon alphabet, which looks kinda like Arabic, both of which are from Final Fantasy X), especially since I'm a HUGE Final Fantasy fan.

Thanks for the tip on the light things... I can get Red and Green chrome edged lamp holders from the scrap bin at work from time to time, so I'll just save them up (the company I work for makes electronic control and safety systems for cranes and heavy equipment, so our circuits tend to be rather robust).

[Outa_Spaceman]

I am now looking at my iMac keyboard...
Hmmmmm.....

[Major Francis Cleverly]

.... want to modify the keyboard on my macbook....

[LanaPowers]

::fans self::

My... those are quite... something. Most excellent work Datamancer. Those are quite... stimulating. Oh purr.

::composure restored, somewhat::

Ahem.

For Carpal tunnel and other RSI sufferers, I mention that as a fellow sufferer, I am doing a (much less ambitious - because I am clueless about metalwork) modification of my anti-RSI keyboard (which looks like a normal keyboard, except the keys are all slanted towards eachother (like an 'A' shape), so that the hands are in the proper position, without the split that I find quite annoying, and after two months of working on it - nearly unusable for extended typing) Much like this one: http://www.amazon.com/Shape-Anti-Multimedia-Keyboard-Black/dp/B000RGI63A/ref=sr_1_2/105-5561227-8359628?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1184862849&sr=8-2
It looks very odd, and it took me a while to figure out how it works, but I like that it does not look different upon first glance, and the keys are very soft and responsive, with many shortcut-keys.

Since the typewriter keys will not really work, I plan on going a different direction - either Nemo-esque (the shape would lend itself well to that) or Myst-like, with organic design mixed into the steam.

So for those desiring a steamy keyboard, but who want to preserve their digital (poor pun) capabilities, there are options. For someone like Mr. Datamancer, with far greater modding capabilities than I, perhaps it is possible to design with slanted keys to have the same effect?

And then mod a trackball to match (only mouse that does not cause me pain/stiffness).

I look forward to more... detailed pictures of the lovely, lovely eye candy. It really makes my day in so very many ways.

Pardon - I believe I need to fan myself some more...
 

[Outa_Spaceman]

In my head I'm working on a plan for a "Scarab beetle" mouse..
Watch this space...

[Datamancer]

You know, the sojourner gave me an interesting idea for when I get around to my own keyboard project (which I'll be contacting you about after you move for making the brass oval ends and feet, since my metalworking tools are, aside from my threading set, crude at best)..... I don't know if you're familliar with Final Fantasy XII, but they use a highly stylilzed font for their writing (one can make out what is written if one looks closely) that would look nifty on a keyboard (either that or the Al Bhed alphabet, which looks kinda like Hebrew or the Yevon alphabet, which looks kinda like Arabic, both of which are from Final Fantasy X), especially since I'm a HUGE Final Fantasy fan.

Thanks for the tip on the light things... I can get Red and Green chrome edged lamp holders from the scrap bin at work from time to time, so I'll just save them up (the company I work for makes electronic control and safety systems for cranes and heavy equipment, so our circuits tend to be rather robust).

Hell yeah, I'm a big FF fan. In fact, Ive got 2 little plastic chocobo sculptures sitting on my bookshelf right now. They're like the FF7 super-deformed chibi style. Unfortunately I have played any of the newest ones. I dropped out somewhere around FF9. I just didn't have the time or money to keep up with the next-generation video game systems anymore. My most current machine I have is a GameCube.

Are you a fan of Amano as well?

I know the general style of font that you mean though. Yes, that could definitely be cool.

BTW, remember the transfer lettering I mentioned when you wrote me the email about your phone project? That's it on the copper keyboard.

-~D~-

[Hikaro Takayama]

Ah yes, about that.... The switches in question arrived last week, but I figured that with your imminent move, and my plans for making my own keyboard mod (with a bit of metalworking help from you), I figured that I'd wait until I got my plans set down for the keyboard THEN send the switches and get them all done at once to save time and money (for shipping....)

Unfortunately, I'm don't know what Amano is.... However, if you are into Civilization III, I'm nearing completion (well a beta release, anyways) of a Final Fantasy mod for Civ III Conquests/Complete where you choose any 1 of 31 factions from various FF games (For Intance, one time I took control of Galbadia as Sorceress Edea (From FF VIII), and was doing quite well, being #1 in population and #2 in land area, but due to an early war with Lindblum (FF IX), I fell far behind in technology, and was just about to reach the modern era when AVALANCHE (whom I managed to beat back in at least 2 wars, despite their HUGE tech edge and even conquered a few cities from them while losing none of my own) won via a space-race victory (research advanced technology and built an inter-planetary colony ship first)).  Work on that project has temporarily ground to a halt due to my current actual "hard" projects, although I'm going to start working on a new design for the generic "advanced airship" that all factions who don't have a unique one (such as AVALANCHE having the Highwind, the Vector Empire having their Sky Armor, Esthar having the Ragnarok, etc) in the next few days (I use Bryce 5 and Poser 5 to do all my unit animation and modelling).

Anyways, back on topic (sort of): I beleive you can get fonts for the Al Bhed, Yevonite and Ivalician alphabets from Eyes on Final Fantasy, although it has been some time since I visited that site.

Speaking of the Al Bhed, they are one of my favorite factions from any of the games, due to the fact that they are an entire NATION of steampunks:  They all sport goggles and pilot suits, and they all are adept with scavenging, studying, tinkering and operating "Machina" (which is what machines are called in FF X).  They even salvage and repair a badass airship during the game, which you can go gallavanting around the world on later in the game.

Oh, and one more thing: I'd like to propose "The Tesla" for the copper keyboard, seeing as copper is one of the best conductors of electricity, and it seems to have a kind of teslaic look about it (well, to me at least)....

[Datamancer]

Ah yes, about that.... The switches in question arrived last week, but I figured that with your imminent move, and my plans for making my own keyboard mod (with a bit of metalworking help from you), I figured that I'd wait until I got my plans set down for the keyboard THEN send the switches and get them all done at once to save time and money (for shipping....)

Unfortunately, I'm don't know what Amano is.... However, if you are into Civilization III, I'm nearing completion (well a beta release, anyways) of a Final Fantasy mod for Civ III Conquests/Complete where you choose any 1 of 31 factions from various FF games (For Intance, one time I took control of Galbadia as Sorceress Edea (From FF VIII), and was doing quite well, being #1 in population and #2 in land area, but due to an early war with Lindblum (FF IX), I fell far behind in technology, and was just about to reach the modern era when AVALANCHE (whom I managed to beat back in at least 2 wars, despite their HUGE tech edge and even conquered a few cities from them while losing none of my own) won via a space-race victory (research advanced technology and built an inter-planetary colony ship first)).  Work on that project has temporarily ground to a halt due to my current actual "hard" projects, although I'm going to start working on a new design for the generic "advanced airship" that all factions who don't have a unique one (such as AVALANCHE having the Highwind, the Vector Empire having their Sky Armor, Esthar having the Ragnarok, etc) in the next few days (I use Bryce 5 and Poser 5 to do all my unit animation and modelling).

Anyways, back on topic (sort of): I beleive you can get fonts for the Al Bhed, Yevonite and Ivalician alphabets from Eyes on Final Fantasy, although it has been some time since I visited that site.

Speaking of the Al Bhed, they are one of my favorite factions from any of the games, due to the fact that they are an entire NATION of steampunks:  They all sport goggles and pilot suits, and they all are adept with scavenging, studying, tinkering and operating "Machina" (which is what machines are called in FF X).  They even salvage and repair a badass airship during the game, which you can go gallavanting around the world on later in the game.

Oh, and one more thing: I'd like to propose "The Tesla" for the copper keyboard, seeing as copper is one of the best conductors of electricity, and it seems to have a kind of teslaic look about it (well, to me at least)....

Yoshitaka Amano is this awesome Japanese artist who did most of the character, mech, and location designs for the first FF games and few recent ones. He also designed "D" from Vampire Hunter D, and did some cover artwork for Sandman comics. He has this beautiful, wispy, watercolor-y sort of look to all of his artwork.

Here's Cloud and Red XIII...




Was Rikku an Al Bhed? I dig her.
Cid was always my favorite character. Yours too I guess huh?

[Hikaro Takayama]

Yoshitaka Amano is this awesome Japanese artist who did most of the character, mech, and location designs for the first FF games and few recent ones. He also designed "D" from Vampire Hunter D, and did some cover artwork for Sandman comics. He has this beautiful, wispy, watercolor-y sort of look to all of his artwork.

Here's Cloud and Red XIII...




Was Rikku an Al Bhed? I dig her.
Cid was always my favorite character. Yours too I guess huh?

OK, now I know who you're talking about... Yeah, I've used some of his drawings in attempts to get leader animations based on the older games right (since 8-bit charachters are poor subjects to try building a 3D animated graphic off of). 

And Yes, Rikku is not only an Al Bhed, but she's the daughter of their leader, whose name is..... Dun-dah-da-DUUNNN!.... Cid (not joking, either), although in the FF mod, I made Rikku leader of the Al Bhec, since she essentially takes over in FF X-2.....

Cid Highwind is indeed my favorite charachter.  Even if he wasn't a badass mechanic/pilot, he'd still have made my top 10 list of favorite charachters for one simple conversation when you first meet him:

When Cloud and co are in the house Talking to Shera, Cid busts in and says, "Shere @#$@% it! Can't you see we got guests? Make them some @$%# tea!"

To which Cloud responds, "Uh, actually we're just leaving anyways....."

Then Cid says, "Shut UP! You're gonna sit down in those chairs and drink your G-- D--- TEA!!" Best video game quote EVER!

....Which is one of the reasons I made Cid the science advisor in my Civ III mod.

[Akael]

Bah!  I haven't played a FF since 3/6 that was worth my time, with the exception of parts of 12 - because dear god almighty and holy weasels, Balthier is HOT.

Weirdly enough, I made a Final Fantasy mod for FreeCiv a while back, myself.  Great minds, eh?  Sadly though, my first mental image of Cid is always from his days when he was a scientist for the empire - and dressed like a hotdog.  It really made it rough keeping him around in FF7 - fortunately, he kicked some serious ass, physically, and I couldn't stand having mr-angst-fest Cloud in my party.  A nagging craving for hotdogs every time I played was a small price to pay for having him in my front row.

We have derailed this thread hardcore.  May the gods mods forgive us our sins!

[Tweek]

Absolutely stunning Datamancer. The Sojourner looks fantastic, especially the typography on the keys, it just sets it off.

[Datamancer]

The Aviator Mark II. This one is going to get a dark brown leather faceplate that is actually a piece of an old bomber jacket. The LEDs might be old WWI/II wings or medals or something. I'm also considering making another "wing rib" for the center of the keyboard but with the top notched out.

BTW, these pics are all coming from the page on my site as I work on the layout, in case you're wondering about the "placeholder image" descriptions.



-~D~-

[Kabuki]

DM, I have to suggest Cuprous and Cupric for names of the Copper keyboard.  For the stained glass...   Perhaps the Cathedral?  Or the Bishop of Keys?                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

[daeudi_454]

Datamancer: It looks like you are using the same double sided Alphabet Tiles for the Copper's keys as I am using...
<From "SPARE*PARTS by the Paper Studio">
Am I correct? and if so- what did you do to make the non A-Z, non 0-9 keys?
Even if not, do tell- that is exactly the look I am going for.

I am having difficulty getting copper to match   

My keys are based on these which are 1/2" circular.


NOTE: this link and pic are for the Number tiles only, the double sided alpha tiles I purchased are no longer listed- but ave a bit more 'antiqued' patina to them.

The problem is that I only have 0-9 and A-Z....

-----------------------
PS- the SOJOURNER makes me want to do a whole new case mod!!!!
Beautiful work, as always.
<Besides Enochian, I wouldn't mind a Theban based keyboard. I love that font.>

[Datamancer]

Thanks!
You are close, but the actual tiles I used were from a company called Making Memories. The font is closer to a Times New Roman. They also make them in a pewter finish that I was probably going to use on The Industrial. For the copper keyboard, I polished the 'antiquing' off of them with some Brasso and a little Dremel polishing wheel, then clearcoated them so they wouldn't tarnish. The rest of the keys were made using a raw piece of copper sheet that I cut into circles and polished to a shine. The actual text for the other keys was made using transfer lettering. After I layed the letters on, I clearcoated those too.

I used the same tiles on the laptop too, except the square versions. I used the same method for the non-a-z, 1-0 keys as well. For those, I had to experiment with the finish a little bit until I got them to match. I had to polish the tiles up a little bit, and antique the rest of the raw piece down until they met in the middle. If you look back a few pages at the topic for "Datmancer's Steampunk Laptop", I posted a photo or two of the process and resulting match.

Transfer lettering is becoming a bit difficult to find lately, as most of the companies who make them (like Letraset) are discontinuing them. The only place I've been able to find them new is the A.C. Moore chain of stores and buried in a dusty corner of Pearl Arts & Crafts in bags with yellowing paper.

-~D~-

[Lurker]

Transfer lettering is becoming a bit difficult to find lately, as most of the companies who make them (like Letraset) are discontinuing them. The only place I've been able to find them new is the A.C. Moore chain of stores and buried in a dusty corner of Pearl Arts & Crafts in bags with yellowing paper.

-~D~-

Have you considered just engraving or chemically etching you're own keys?

[Datamancer]

Have you considered just engraving or chemically etching you're own keys?

I did, but I really didn't have the time to research the processes, aquire the materials and set everything up. I was already taking time away from my commission work to sneak that copper one through, not to mention finishing my 56 pickup, selling my Cadillac, packing up all my worldly belongings, overhauling the website, planning out my marketing, etc ad infinitum. I just went for the easier solution. I definitely want to start making my own eventually though. I already have all of my font templates designed, I can just swap the colors and turn them into toner masks. Space is a factor too. As it stands, I'm basically working off of the living room floor of my cramped apartment with packing boxes stacked in every corner. My garage is all torn apart and there's hardly an available flat surface for anything!

Thanks for the suggestion,
-~D~-

[heavyporker]

 I've been pondering and pondering about how to make my own Sojourner from the very first second I clapped eyes on these photos, Datamancer.

 In reference to the mention of etching your own keys, while it might be a bit difficult to make your own copper keys with the engraving and such, after some thought, it may not be as hard as you feared. After all, there's the electrolytic machining method which would ostensibly save so much bother in cutting out each disc, and possibly with thick enough sheets and some clever masking, create the appearance of their own rings so you wouldn't have to clamp on a ring on each key.

 Also, being quite aware of glassblowing, there's always the option of me making my own jewels or items to integrate to the LEDs. As for you, what about actually cutting marbles in half for the jewels, especially agate-type marbles, for some lovely variations in the illumination?

 Now, that parchment-type paper inserts are just freaking lovely, but you mentioned using transfers for the key glyphs. Why not use an inkjet/laser printer then cut each key insert out?

 I've also given thought to each issue facing me in making my own Sojourner keyboard, but time grows short and I have to cut myself off here. Any replies that further discuss this topic would be welcome.

[Mad Salvager]

Dear FSM, Please bless dear DataMancer in his awesome en devour as the rest of us are not f++ing worthy.

Absolutely wonderful, thanks for sharing and smacking us all upside our collective heads DM. My gasts are flabbered.

[CapnHarlock]

Transfer lettering is becoming a bit difficult to find lately, as most of the companies who make them (like Letraset) are discontinuing them.

It is, indeed. I no longer have my old transfer sheets or I would gladly donate them.  A suggestion, though: call your local newspapers, and any advertising agencies/graphic design companies in your area that have been in business more than, say, 10 years. They may well thank you for "getting all that old crap out of the back room"

[Datamancer]

I've been pondering and pondering about how to make my own Sojourner from the very first second I clapped eyes on these photos, Datamancer.

 In reference to the mention of etching your own keys, while it might be a bit difficult to make your own copper keys with the engraving and such, after some thought, it may not be as hard as you feared. After all, there's the electrolytic machining method which would ostensibly save so much bother in cutting out each disc, and possibly with thick enough sheets and some clever masking, create the appearance of their own rings so you wouldn't have to clamp on a ring on each key.

 Also, being quite aware of glassblowing, there's always the option of me making my own jewels or items to integrate to the LEDs. As for you, what about actually cutting marbles in half for the jewels, especially agate-type marbles, for some lovely variations in the illumination?

 Now, that parchment-type paper inserts are just freaking lovely, but you mentioned using transfers for the key glyphs. Why not use an inkjet/laser printer then cut each key insert out?

 I've also given thought to each issue facing me in making my own Sojourner keyboard, but time grows short and I have to cut myself off here. Any replies that further discuss this topic would be welcome.

I'll certainly have to experiment with the etching a bit when I get the time. There's a lot of potential there. I'm not sure i'd be able to replace the rings though. They make up most of the structural integrity of the keys. I crimp the rings directly onto the key stems.

Sorry for the confusion....for the Sojourner, I designed my own template sheet, printed it, then cut each letter out.

For the Copper one, I used transfer lettering on the non-A-Z, 1-0 keys.

I like that marble idea. I might even be able to use the same chrome housing from the jewel lights and pop a marble right in there without having to cut it.

-~D~-

[Datamancer]

Transfer lettering is becoming a bit difficult to find lately, as most of the companies who make them (like Letraset) are discontinuing them.

It is, indeed. I no longer have my old transfer sheets or I would gladly donate them.  A suggestion, though: call your local newspapers, and any advertising agencies/graphic design companies in your area that have been in business more than, say, 10 years. They may well thank you for "getting all that old crap out of the back room"

Ah, oh well. Thanks for the thought anyway. I just tried something similar with an old typewriter repair shop that had been open for the last 40 years or so. I was hoping to buy some old tools and parts, but I apparently missed my chance by about 2 weeks. Sadly, the place had closed for business. I think the old man that had owned the shop his whole life may have passed on. I did happen to catch the new owners on thier way out the door though and put a claim in on some machinist's storage bins sitting behind the building. Score!

[Datamancer]

hahaha thanks! Who's FSM?

[Kabuki]

Copper, brass, or aluminum keys may be cast, as well...In fact, you may be able to make molds and cast up direct replacements of the posts and everything, to you can merely pop them in to the existing hole in the keyboard.