Where to find typewriter keys

[mynameisjon]

Hello I am currently steampunking my laptop and I have come across a problem where can I find typewriter keys or something that resembles them in the uk. I have seen many laptops that have been done this way but I cant seem to find keys to use on my laptop keyboard I don't really want to break a typewriter to get them typewriters are a thing of beauty as they are so where can I find some guys
Thanks Jon
P.s yes pictures of my laptop will follow soon

[Uncle Arthur]

Watch ebay. They turn up on there off and on.

[Frolicking Johnson]

I saw some at a craft store awhile back. Not cheap. Not sure if they were authentic or replicas. I also remember reading somewhere on this forum about a way to make them using little glass "beads" and printed letters from an online source. Try searching these forums. I think your answer is here somewhere.

[greensteam]

Typewriters come up in most junk shops, thrift shops and boot sales quite often. And ebay too although they are of course hellish dear to post.

We have a house full of the things. Fortunately we are soon moving to a bigger house to accommodate them, the wind up gramophone collection, our unresolved book habit, my husband's music habit etc etc.

[Delireus]

Yes, I've seen some at craft stores and scrapbooking shops, but the problem you'll have with those is that:

1. They are replicas, thin plastic usually, and the quality may not be what you want bang on every day for typing
 and
2. they're really only for decoration or for spelling out words in scrapbooking, so you'll run into the problem of not having a key for 'enter', 'ctrl', 'alt', and the like.

I'm a props master for plays and I run across many old typewriters that are rubbish now. Yes, they were once great, functional, and it probably would kill you to tear it up at one time in it's life, but now they are so broken it's just not practical to repair. They only thing they're good for now is sitting 30 feet from an audience while looking new and useable, or for taking apart and reusing parts for other things.

Obviously, I'm not saying buy a working on and scrap it, but with some searching and asking around, I'm sure you could find a broken one (probably for cheap too, people may be happy to get rid of a broken one). Or, for the ultimate personal touch to your laptop, like Frolicking Johnson, you could make your own with whatever font you'd like. Good luck though in whatever direction you take. 

[Arvis]

 Further down on this page Von Slatt shows how he made some keys out of shirt buttons.

http://steampunkworkshop.com/keyboard.shtml