Created by Waqqas, from The Banana Key Co.

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Hi! Welcome to the world of custom keyboards. This will be a bit of a read so strap in :). Let me
first start by talking about the parts involved in most custom keyboards or any mechanical
keyboard really. One key point to add, this guide only covers Cherry MX style keyboards and
switches. So, alps and things like hall effect switches and their related keycaps are NOT
COVERED in this guide. There are usually 4 main parts to a keyboard. Let’s look at this picture
to get an understanding of the parts to a keyboard (drawn by me on iPad. If it’s bad, I’m sorry I
failed art in High School LMAO cut me some slack)
Credit to ai03 for this picture

The Group Buy System:

Before proceeding with the explanation of all these parts, I first would like to introduce everyone
to the concept of Group Buys. This is a very important concept to understand before entering this
wonderful hobby, because most things that can be purchased are run through this system. This
hobby consists of a lot of small individual designers that don’t necessarily have the large amount
of funds necessary to keep products in stock or to have items they want to sell readily in stock in
their inventory. This is where a group buy comes in. A group buy system is basically a giant
preorder, where the group buy runner will collect funds from everyone, then place a big bulk
order with the manufacturer of their choice, to provide the lowest possible price for everyone.
This is unfortunately why you don’t see many “in-stock” options in the hobby. Vendors like
kbdfans and Cannon Keys are vendors with some in stock options, however, your best bet is to
try and nab something during Group Buy, or from the aftermarket, if you want the most choice,
at the lowest price possible. Aftermarket prices are generally quite marked up because of the
extremely limited supply and time sensitive nature of the hobby. The wait times of group buys
are never fixed. There are random delays that can occur, for example, if a prototype fails, or a
problem is discovered, the runner will have to wait for new prototypes to be delivered before
they place the final order. For keyboards generally the wait time isn’t as long (half a year to a
year is a safe bet but different projects can take longer or shorter), however for keycaps, the wait
time nowadays can be 1.5-2 years. I will talk more about keycaps in the keycaps section of this
guide.
The In-stock sale system:

This sale system is generally performed by larger vendors that can afford to have the boards they
want to sell ordered and sold in stock. An example of this is Owlabs. This system is commonly
referred to as FCFS, short for first come first serve. Sometimes FCFS boards are also Group Buy
items, but you’re competing for the Group Buy slot (i.e., limited group buys). An In-Stock sale
generally means that you must be quick to get your board if you want it, because others are
racing you to get it first, kind of like sneakers.

Pricing:
I’m pretty sure when entering the hobby, you must have always wondered why stuff in the world
of custom keyboards cost so much. The concept of this is explained below in the keycaps
section.

1. The case:

This is the enclosure of your keyboard and what it rests in. It can be made of a variety of
materials. The most common materials include, aluminum, plastic, polycarbonate (a type of clear
frosted plastic), acry lic and wood. An important thing to remember is that your material choice
will not only affect the aesthetic properties of your board, but it will also affect the acoustic
properties of your board. Let me give you an example, a wooden board will have a tendency to
give you a deeper sound than when compared with an aluminum board because wood will not
resonate sound waves inside as much. However, as you will learn in the later parts, sound is
affected by many, many factors, so please don't base your judgment purely on "oh this material
will give me a deep sound let me choose this."

This Next Part aims to show everyone the various mounting styles available for use in custom
keyboards. I will go in depth to explain a few. HUGE credit to Thomas Baart for making this
excellent diagram showing a lot of the possible mounts. Some newer mounts, like the O-ring
mount, are not covered. Click the picture for a link to the original picture for a clearer view. This
will be a little confusing to some but bear with me and try to understand it.
1. Tray Mount

This method utilizes a few screws in a few places across the PCB-plate assembly (with standoffs)
to screw the assembly directly into the case. This method is what is used in all off the shelf
keyboards and some budget friendly custom keyboards made of plastic. This method is dirt
cheap to implement, which is why it’s so prevalent. It is widely regarded as the worst method to
mount your keyboard. Acoustically, this type of mount causes the sound across your keyboard to
be very inconsistent from place to place. The areas where the screw is inserted and tightened will
have a different sound from areas that don’t have a screw. In addition, a tray mount leads to an
extremely stiff and harsh typing experience because the assembly is directly hard mounted to the
case. There are mods that can help improve what a tray mount can do, but at the end of the day, a
tray mount is a tray mount.

2. Top Mount
This method involves directly screwing the PCB-plate assembly to the top of the case. Usually
there are 8 mounting points, 4 on the top and 4 on the bottom. The plate generally has special
tabs that protrude outwards that the user can put their screws into to screw in. This method
delivers a balanced typing experience if there are no flex cuts on the plate or PCB, however,
since the plate is directly screwed to the top, and the plate tabs are all equidistant from the plate,
the sound produced in a top mount is extremely even throughout the keyboard. The special tabs I
talked about that allow the plate to be mounted to the top case also allows for the plate of the
keyboard to still retain a bit of flex, hence allowing for an overall softer typing experience than a
tray mount, however it still can’t be considered a truly soft typing experience. Acoustically, a
properly implemented top mount is goated, even if it's hella simple. Remember, a stiff typing
experience is not a bad thing, it’s just about preference!

So what is flex you might be wondering. Flex describes when the actual plate-pcb assembly quite
literally flexes downwards when pushed down on. It contributes to a softer typing experience.

3. Gasket Mount

This method has started to become a much more popular and widely adopted mounting method
for keyboards. This method involves sandwiching the PCB-plate assembly between what are
known as gaskets, that are usually stuck on the insides of the top and bottom cases of your board.
These gaskets, when the case is screwed shut, will sandwich the plate-pcb combo together, thus
completely isolating the plate-pcb combo from the case surfaces. This allows for the unpleasant
vibrations across the board to be reduced and the typing feel transferred evenly to be more even.
One misconception people have is that the softness of a keyboard's typing feel in a gasket mount
is because of the gaskets. This is a misconception even I had. The truth is however, that the flex
of a pcb-plate combo (i.e. the phenomenon that makes the typing feel much softer) is due to the
special plate that's needed for this type of mount. Just like in a top mount, there are tabs that stick
out of the plate that are compressed by the gaskets. Because of this isolation, it is actually the
flexing of the tabs that allow for the softer feel. In addition, the plate and pcb can have flex cuts
to further help with increasing flex. Gasket mounting, if not implemented properly, can mute a
keyboard immensely and cause severe case ping. Be careful not to fall for the trap of buying a
board just because it's a gasket mount. A poorly implemented gasket mount is going to be a
horrible experience *cough* GMMK Pro *cough*

2. The PCB:

This is essentially the motherboard of your keyboard and is where your switches (explained in
part 4) plug in. It allows your keyboard to communicate with whatever it's connected to. Now,
PCBs come in 2 flavors. Firstly, there are hotswap PCBs. What this means is that you, as the end
user, can replace your switches whenever you'd like simply by pulling out the switches
WITHOUT needing to do anything like soldering or desoldering. This is because hotswap PCBs
come with sockets that are presoldered. The one main disadvantage of hotswap is that you are
mostly limited to 1 singular layout, so layout customizability is extremely limited if at all. Also,
if you aren't careful, you can technically rip off your hotswap sockets, and that is not fun to fix.
This is where the second type of PCB comes in. This is my personal preference, because you get
to choose between a lot more layouts when it comes to building out your keyboard. You might be
wondering, gee, this guy keeps talking about layouts, but what does he even mean??? Here are
some pictures to show you some different layouts a PCB can have, including real photos so it’s
very clear. Cool? Yeah of course you are >:). Some pictures will show numbers like 6.25U for
example. These are keycap sizes, which I will explain in the keycaps section of the document.

Some Examples (the different colors represent different configurations of 1 key)

Solder PCBs require you to learn to solder and desolder if you are to put in or remove switches
(if you aren’t getting a board built by someone that is). But it’s super easy, so I’d recommend
anyone to learn it. It's a very useful, simple, and invaluable skill that can be applied outside of
keyboards too! The point is to use the solder to close the circuit between the metal pins of your
switches and the PCB hole, for it to function. A drawing below shows what I’m trying to say:
How do you know if you have the right amount of solder, or what should a good joint look like?
You might be wondering. Here is a great picture I found online.
3. Plate:

This is a part that can be made of many different materials. In many boards, you will need a plate
for your switches to clip into, before mounting onto your keyboard. Now, it’s important to note
that some boards will not need a plate. These are called plateless keyboards. Plateless comes
with a variety of differences, including acoustic differences and typing feel differences, but I
digress. With a plate, you can freely use 3 pin and 5 pin switches, provided your PCB supports it.
You can take the plate as the support structure, to keep switches always aligned with the PCB
and to add stability for switches. It also can heavily impact acoustics based on material. In the
hobby, some very common plate materials include Polycarbonate (PC), Polyoxymethylene
(POM), Carbon Fiber, Aluminum, Brass, and flame retardant fiberglass epoxy (FR4). The
diagram below shows you the differences in softness and acoustics for these materials. Please
keep in mind though, acoustics are affected by all the parts you choose, so take the acoustic
properties I mention in the diagram with a grain of salt. In addition, the softness of a plate, if
implemented in a board which cannot take advantage of it, won’t be felt as much. Some plates
have what are known as “flex cuts” on them, which are basically cuts throughout the plate to
allow for the stiffness to be alleviated and to get a softer overall typing feel, even on stiffer
plates. If not implemented properly, it can negatively affect acoustics.

3. Stabilizers

Stabilizers refer to a plastic contraption with a metal wire between it that goes under a few of
your big keys. Assuming a standard 60% layout, you will have a 2U sized stabilizer under your
left shift, right shift, enter and backspace, and you will have 1 singular 6.25U sized stabilizer
under your spacebar. What do I mean by U? Read the section about keycaps to find out as it's
clear there. As the name suggests, you need a stabilizer to keep your bigger keys balanced when
you press down on them, otherwise they will just teeter totter. A keycap that needs a stabilizer
will have 3 holes. The middle hole will be connected to the switch, while the other two holes will
be pushed onto the stabilizer. Stabilizers are a very important part to the keyboard’s acoustic
experience too. See, stabilizers are plastic housings, with a metal wire, and there is always some
free space due to poor tolerances. When you press a stabilizer down, the metal wire and plastic
housing contact will generate an extremely unpleasant rattle sound, which is extremely annoying
to hear. Luckily, we can use thick liquids like dielectric grease to get rid of this annoying noise,
by applying it to the wire. We also add thinner lubricants to the housing, so that just like in
switches, the stabilizer will also be smooth to press down. Here is an excellent video on
stabilizer tuning by Mr. Alexotos, a well-respected keyboard builder in the hobby that I am a
huge fan of. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxHb6CJc9V8 .

There are 3 types of stabilizers, including Plate Mount Stabilizers, Screw-In Stabilizers and
Clip-In Stabilizers. Plate mount stabilizers, as the name suggests, are stabilizers that mount
directly to the plate. The key differences are outlined here:

4. Switches:

Now we get to the fun part. Switches are what your keycaps are mounted onto. When you press
down, you actuate (press) the switch. It's basically a button. Now, there are 3 types of switches,
namely linear, tactile and clicky. Switches come in a wide variety of spring weights, and different
types of springs too! You will see a lot of people constantly talking about lubing switches and
filming them and how important it is. I will talk more about this at the end of this section.

1. Linear

A linear switch is a switch that feels the same when it’s pressed from the top to the bottom. There
is no change in feeling whatsoever. That’s not to say that these aren’t mechanical though don’t
get me wrong. Linears are genuinely recommended for people like gamers, who value being able
to actuate their switches to have their inputs registered with the least amount of resistance or
bump.

2. Tactile

A tactile switch is a type of switch in which, depending on the type of tactile you get, will deliver
either a strong pronounced bump when pressed or a smooth rounded bump. Different tactiles will
have their tactile bump at different points of the switch. For example, some switches will have a
more top loaded bump (i.e., it delivers a strong punch from the moment you press the switch).
Some switches may have it more bottom loaded (I.e., you press down far before the bump hits
your finger). Tactiles are switches I would recommend to people that type more on their
keyboard than they play. It’s because the bump really helps you the typist to know when the
switch has been actuated, so you have a tendency to type faster because you don’t have to press
the switch all the way to the bottom to know that you can move to the next switch (this
phenomenon is called bottoming out). Also the bump will definitely get tiring (depending on the
switch), for a heavy gamer.

3. Clicky

A clicky switch is basically a tactile switch, with one key difference. You see, all switches have a
certain sound to them, however clicky switches are special in the sense that they have a very
particular, click sound when pressed. Therefore, they are called clicky switches. Clicky switches
are very polarizing. Some people will really like them, but some really won’t. At the end of the
day, it’s all preference. Clicky switches generally do not need lubrication, so you can use them
stock, as the lubrication will take away from some of the characteristic click sounds and end up
muting it a little.

Switch Modding:

You will have heard of the term, switch lubing and filming, when you enter the hobby. What do
these even mean? Switch Lubing refers to basically hand “painting” lubricant inside all your
switches. Switches have 4 parts to them. The switch bottom housing, spring, switch stem and the
switch top housing. In my lubrication technique, I do not lube the top housing but lube
everything else. When lubing switches, consistency is extremely important. I will not be teaching
how to lubricate switches, and instead I will link a guide to a video by Mr. Nathan (AKA
TaehaTypes), an extremely proficient, and well-respected keyboard builder.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44Wv4OGdmu4&t=0s .

Why lube your switches though you might be wondering? Well, there are 2 main reasons. First,
the lubricant will make a markedly significant difference to your switch acoustics. Lube tends to
help with hiding the inconsistencies and bad sounds that come with stock switches. This however
also means that eventually, you will need to relube your switches. Good thing is though, it takes
a long time for lube to settle in and the need to relube will only be felt at least a few years later if
you use a thicker lube like krytox 205g0. Another reason why lubing your switches is important
is to remove any friction and unpleasant scratch that comes with the rubbing between the switch
stem and bottom housing sliders, giving you a much smoother experience. TLDR, you get a
much smoother, better sounding switch after lubing. Switch Filming is important but is not
necessary for all switches. You only need to film switches that don’t have a tight fit between the
top housing and the bottom housing. A loose fit causes what is known as stem wobble, which
will also negatively harm acoustics. A film fixes this. A film is a thin piece of material placed
between the bottom and top housing that helps tighten up the switch. It helps reduce wobble but
also helps acoustics.

5. Keycaps

This is a little bit of a complex part, but it's very important to understand. This hobby is almost
exclusively run by individual designers and people passionate about keyboards. There are pretty
much no major corporations in this hobby. This is something I want everyone to keep in mind,
because it will help in understanding how pricing works in the hobby.

There are a few manufacturers of keycaps in this hobby, the largest most common few being
GMK, ePBT (purchased by Gateron), Domikey, HammerWorks, Maxkey, JTK and Signature
Plastics. You will hear GMK A LOT in the hobby, and for good reason. GMK keycaps are
manufactured by GMK in Germany and represent one of the highest quality keycaps available to
people. For some history, GMK bought the original tooling from Cherry (yep, the people that
make the switches that are probably in your current keyboard) many years ago, so they are able
to produce the original cherry profile keycaps. Cherry profile is one of the many available
keycap heights you can purchase. These heights are called profiles. A picture below will show
you a few keycap profiles that are available on the market. There are tons more not shown, like
the DCS profile from Signature Plastic. Different profiles may have different “sculpts” too. Your
generic razer keyboards and off the shelf boards will use what is known as OEM profile keycaps
most of the time. These are slightly taller than the cherry profile. Sculpt refers to how the keys
are curved in or outwards. Some keys will scoop inward more than others. Profile refers
specifically to the height of the keys. Please see the photo below.

The R in front of R1, 2, 3, 4 refers to the row of keys on your respective keyboard. R1 refers to
the row of keycaps your esc key is on. If your board has a function row (i.e., f1-f12), both the
row with your numbers and the function row count as R1. Be careful when purchasing keycaps
because sculpting can be different in different profiles. In addition, keycaps come in a wide
variety of sizes, based on different layouts (I talked about layouts in Part 2, when I talked about
the PCB). Most of your keycaps are of 1U size. For example, all your alphas (alphabet keys) are
1U. In a standard 60% layout with no arrows, your left shift will be 2.25U, your spacebar will be
6.25U. Your right shift will be 2.75U, enter key will be 2.25U and the backspace will be 2U.
Different layouts will have different keycap sizes for keys like the spacebar. Before purchasing
keycaps, ALWAYS MAKE SURE TO CHECK THE KEYCAP SIZINGS YOUR LAYOUT
USES!

Keycaps that run through a group buy generally take quite a while to produce and ship out to
customers with current lead times. Taking GMK as an example, current sets that are in queue can
take upwards of 3 years to be done producing and to be shipped out. In addition, these are limited
runs, so if the designer chooses not to, these sets will not run again, leaving you no choice but to
try and find some extras from some vendors, like Daily Clack and Novelkeys, and many vendors
will also purchase extra Group Buy slots that they sell for a markup called pre orders. These slots
open after a group buy has ended so people have a chance to still join the group buy after the GB
has already ended. One other place consumers can find GMK keycaps in stock is in the
aftermarket. More specifically, the hobby uses a place called r/mechmarket on reddit as one of
the main places people can buy and sell keycaps. A lot of the time however, the prices are very
heavily marked up. GMK Keycaps are made of a material called ABS. There are mainly 2 types
of materials keycaps can be made of, including ABS and PBT. A table here will show you the
key differences. The term shine refers to the natural breakdown of keycap plastics overtime, and
they start to collect your finger oils, causing them to “shine”. I’ll attach a picture of this below as
well:

(Keycap Shine on ABS. Credit jdcarpe on Geekhack)

Most keycaps available use the doubleshot process for manufacturing. According to
mechanicalkeyboards.com, this keycap type is produced when two layers of plastic are molded
into each other. No printing necessary. The result is a key legend which will never fade or chip
off. Domikey and JTK also offer triple shot, which means that their keycaps can have up to 3
colors per key.

So why are GMK keycaps so expensive then? There are a few reasons. Firstly, the limited nature
of these keycaps makes them such that GMK charges designers a hefty price to even produce
them, so there must be markups by the designers to offset the cost. Secondly, designers must pay
a lot of money out of pocket in the color matching and prototyping stage before getting the
keycaps produced. What color matching means is that some keycaps are produced by GMK as a
sample and sent to the designer, who checks to see if the color is accurate to their renders.
Usually, it requires a few goes. This is an expensive and time-consuming process, so prices must
be marked up for offsetting it. Thirdly, vendors that help distribute and sell the keycaps also take
cuts from the designer’s overall profits, so there’s even more cost that needs to be offset. Overall,
this is why the keycaps end up being so expensive. But once you try GMK, you won’t go back.
The legends on them are extremely consistent (they aren’t necessarily the “best” so to speak, but
they are really damn consistent) , and the texture is amazing. Pair that with the hundreds of
beautiful designs contributed by the amazing individual designers in the hobby, and you’ve got a
winning product.

Now you might be wondering. Golly, I want to be able to use my keyboard now, without having
to wait 3 years, or pay aftermarket prices for GMK. What can I do? Well, you’re in luck! Enter
the world of in stock keycaps! I want to give a huge shoutout to kbdfans, a well-known keyboard
parts vendor that has a TON of affordable, ethical*, and in stock keycaps available for purchase
all the time. They have a huge catalog, be it their collection of ePBT keycaps, or their other
cherry profile and other profile keycaps, kbdfans is a great option if you’re looking for in stock
keycaps. Granted, these aren’t as high quality as GMK for sure. In recent times, there has also
been a new player that has entered the cherry profile market. Meet Domikey. Domikey was
previously only in the SA profile business. SA profile, however, is an extremely polarizing and
hard to enjoy profile. It is very tall and demands the use of a wrist rest a lot of the time. It does
provide unique acoustics though because of the amount of hollow space inside the SA keycaps,
but I digress. Domikey’s cherry profile options are very good quality for the price they charge
(go to AliExpress and search Domikey cherry profile, you’ll see quite a few options). They have
triple shot options too, and quite a few colorways. For the price, it’s difficult to go wrong with
their sets. In addition, if you live in the US, vendors like Cannon Keys have their own branded
nicepbt keycaps and Kinetic Labs have their Polycaps. However, I PERSONALLY don’t like the
quality of these keysets, and I recommend Domikey and epbt over them any day, but that’s just
me. I only suggested nicepbt and kinetic labs because they have a lot of aesthetically pleasing
choices and come back in stock quite often. Another new option that has come to the market is
from 21KB. They sell decent quality PBT keycaps for dirt cheap, and are a great budget option.
CRP is also an excellent choice, they make amazing PBT keycaps.

*Ethical refers to designs that are original, and are not ripped off from designers in the hobby.
Ripped off designs are known as clones and are heavily frowned upon in the hobby. You should,
to the best of your abilities, not purchase clones as it takes away a lot from original designers,
like money and passion. Imagine designing stuff just to know that it will be ripped off right away
and people will buy the fake since it’s cheaper and can be got faster. How would you feel? All
your hard work is just gone because the copycats have more money then you and won't suffer
repercussions for their actions (since you won’t have the money to fight them). .*

Conclusion

I really hope you, the reader, have been able to learn something about this wonderful hobby from
my guide and I really hope this helped you. If you have any suggestions on what I can add or
have any questions you want ask, please feel free to get in touch on my email:
thebananakeyco@gmail.com or on my discord: thebananakeyco#5403. Have fun!