AND using Clojure to output the Openscad files!!

Thank you!

@@constamentaldrift7016 Thank you for providing all the materials in an easy to digest way. I've seen one other 5x7 build out there but very little info was shared. I really like your layout and I'm almost done printing out the second half. (Went with Kailh Box Browns and Navys) How do you feel about your key caps setup? Any weirdness in using 3 different profiles? Do any of the key profiles stand out to be more preferable? I'm thinking about going with all DSA or XDA or maybe a combination, but I would appreciate your feedback.

I think that all dsa would be best in retrospect. The keyboard does a lot of the profiling well enough on its own without really needing extra help from a slanted keycap.

Happy to help.

That's great to hear! I'm glad that this helped.

You're very welcome.

I though about adding a pushbutton for reset. Just wire the switch to RST and GND. Could hot glue it in behind the case pretty easily after drilling a tiny hole. Then just use a pencil or w/e to do a quick reset.

@@constamentaldrift7016 was actually just thinking about that. I don't need a USB on the right side so I could put the button on the right side and use the unused wire on the rj9 to connect to rst on the left board.

@@killahb33 So do we need to flash both the pro micros or only one?

@@sumitpagar9004 both, but that only the first time. Once they are both flashed you only need to flash the master to change the layout.

@@killahb33 Thanks for the quick response.

You are very welcome. I'm glad it was helpful!

I didn't consider it, but I'll take a look at the repo. It'd be cool to try some out/go ham with the model paints after. Thanks for the tip.

that github seems to be no more

it rotates between Commander Keen, Tyrian2000, Black Cauldron and Jazz Jackrabbit mostly.

Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it.

I did use prusa slicer to cut off the bottom 1mm of the stl file generated by openscad because of some thin geometry near the bottom as shown in the video. But the .stl files on my github are those fixed versions, so if you are using those, the only other thing that I can think of is that I'm printing at .1mm layer height. It might be that the printing service is using a thicker layer height with their slicer, which might add or remove some wall thickness. If you generated your own models using clojure, there are so many opportunities for unexpected geometry (i.e. thin features) I'm not sure where the issue might be in that case.

Mostly because the fork I went with didn't generate them. That and I didn't have threaded inserts/bolts. But my keyboard bracket mounted under my desk has two strips of foam that hold each half quite nicely, so I didn't bother.

Thanks. I'll do that.

Thanks! As it stands right now I would prefer to go with the kinesis if its in the budget. Right now my daily driver, i.e. my work keyboard (I'm a software dev) is the Advantage 2. At home I use the dactyl manuform. However, I have been working my ass off on designing a split keyboard that feels more like the kinesis. I'm getting close to something that I think I'll like the feel of. I've sank 100+ hours of CAD work, and probably close to double that printing off tests. Will definately make a video when it's all said and done. Thanks for the kind words.

@@constamentaldrift7016 thanks for the quick feedback! I always thought the thumb clusters of the kinesis look a bit weird but from what I'm hearing it sounds alright. Did you use the openSCAD/clojure approach used for the Dactyl manuform or manual modelling? Curious to see what you'll come up with. Good luck!

@@jefmasereel4956 I'm using OnShape to model it.

Thanks! It took me longer to make it than editing the video/building the keyboard combined. Glad you liked it . :)

CMD here. On my other account now, but I wrote all of the music for this video using Guitar Pro. There is a video on the ConstaMentalDrift channel with all of the music called "CMD - Midi Jams".

It is a terminal emulator called "cool retro term".

The 5x7 layout is what I'd recommend. You need a layer key set up for getting at the function keys, but it's as close to the Kinesis Advantage as I could get without getting obscenely large, and I write code on the kinesis for work all day long. Regarding the Bastyl, It looks really nice. A lot of hard work went into developing it that's for sure. The one shown on the page is not big enough for me to want it, (5 thumb buttons and only 4 keys per column means that I'm shifting layers just to type numbers and parenthesis.. no thanks) BUT, a handmade ergo keyboard for under $300 USD is a pretty good deal. I'm actually making my own kinesis clone with hot swappable sockets, probably months off, but I want it to be really easy to 3d print. I'm doing all of the CAD work and test prints now. Will almost certainly be turned into a video when/if I finish it.

I'm working on my own keyboard design recently. I'm trying to essentially re-create the advantage 2 but in a way so that you can hot swap the key switches. But the main goal is to make it super easy to 3d print. I'll likely make a video/post the stl files for it when it's all done.

@@constamentaldrift7016 I wish the Kinesis Advantage came in 2 parts. I've got an almost decade old one as my daily driver. It's OK, but I enjoy the shoulder relief I get with a properly split keyboard. Onwards to a Dactyl Manuform! :)

@@hillie47 The thing I don't like, especially coming from the kinesis is that all of the bottom row of keys are shifted to the right by 1 key to make room for the thumb clusters. Also, the way that the pinky columns are oriented, I'm always hitting caps lock instead of left shift.

@@constamentaldrift7016 Thanks, good points! I'll examine the layouts again to see whether I'll be cursing my time and money wasted or whether I'll enjoy it. :)

The clusters are quite easy to reach on this compared to the kinesis.

I plan to add a bottom later. I've got a little slab of HDPE that I plan to use, but I don't have a band saw/scroll saw at the moment. I wanted the bottom to have a bit of heft, which is why I didn't 3D print one.

To add to that, how do you use QMK toolbox with linux?

If you have the money, just do it. It might not end up perfect, and you might have speed bumps along the way, but that is how getting xp works. You'll learn something, and you'll have a keyboard at the end of it all.

@@constamentaldrift7016 Thanks! I'm gonna do it and maybe, stream it! The life it's about XP.

TL;DR: if you already got the tools, it can be as low as 60~80 USD or could be hundreds of dollars, depending on your choices. Long version: It's hard to put an exact price tag on such DIY projects. You may be reusing old / spare parts from other projects, you might be getting way more parts than you need, to build stock for future projects, and the labor you put in such projects is hard to put a price on... Speaking from a recent experience on another much simpler keyboard than this (a corne), I "saved" some money by designing and 3D printing my own keycaps, if I just stopped here... I "saved" money, as they were less expensive than a commercial keycap set. But I'm not finished yet, I'm still going to buy sandpaper, brushes and paint to try giving it a nicer look. In the end it would probably be cheaper to get a commercial keycap set and be done with it. For me, this isn't about saving money, it's about learning new skills. Another thing that I'm planning to try later is designing new keycaps to try the idea of snap-fitting parts printed in different colors to emulate the function of double-shot keycaps with backlight support. That's not something that I particularly care about, but hey, the board I got already has support for backlighting, if I get some LEDs and solder them into the board, it's a simple configuration change on the firmware to take advantage of it, and it's also another excuse to learn some 3D modeling and printing skills. It only makes sense to talk about cost to build if it's something you're doing to sell or if you just want a rough estimate of how much it may cost you to go in a similar journey, but even then, it's hard to compare as it's going to vary a lot for different people. Some people just want a minimally functioning keyboard, others will spend tons of time and money on making sure it fits their preferences just right, others are in just for the journey and the joy of learning how to do stuff. How much it's going to cost in the end depends on how much you're willing to put in the "non-essential" parts. Circling back to my corne build: so far I've spent probably 110~120 USD on it, but discounting the parts I bought and didn't use in it, it's probably around the 60~80 USD range. I could have saved some money on the PCB and case, but decided to buy them in a ready to assemble kit. I could 3D print the spacing plates for next to nothing and could order the PCBs for less than half than it cost in kit form, but I didn't want to have headaches if anything went wrong with the PCB manufacturing part, as I don't have experience with it yet. Baby steps... next time, I just might give it a try into designing and ordering custom PCBs, and perhaps even including the microcontroller on the keyboard PCB itself, rather than soldering a Pro Micro or a Pi Pico into it. Maybe a macropad or a steno keyboard? Not sure yet, I'm probably downsizing even more for my first custom PCB, this way, if anything goes bad, it's a less expensive mistake.

Kinesis is better. But it was fun to make.

@@constamentaldrift7016 Thanks!

@@constamentaldrift7016 What do you prefer about the kinesis?

hah... the price of convenience. You could probably do it in that budget, if you already got a 3D printer and basic electronics tools, the trouble is acquiring the skills, unless you're an ergonomics expert, you're not going to come up with a good design in the first try. There are tons of misconceptions about ergonomics, some stuff is way overrated, others are just plain wrong. It's a good idea to fix the basics first before entering a wild goose chase on way more complex solutions that give you diminishing returns. For example: wrist pain? Check your keyboard position relative to your chair. Is your mouse adequate for your hand size? Is it well positioned? Have you considered using a trackball instead? Maybe a split keyboard can help you solve your wrist and shoulder pain and perhaps a tented one is good enough for you, jumping straight into a sculpted keyboard is a HUGE leap of faith and not everyone adapts well... some people hate column-staggered keyboards, imagine a sculpted one! I love that there are open source solutions like the Dactyl / Dactyl Manuform, but I also feel like it's very much a niche thing, not everyone is willing to adapt to use something so different. And purely from an ergonomics standpoint, there's a lot you can fix before going all the way to a sculpted keyboard design.

@@gcolombelli 2 years since I wrote this, I can say that changing layout to Dvorak and buying a v-shaped "ergo" keyboard from local store solved 80% of the issues. I still plan on making my own ergo keyboard with my own custom layout, which consists of only 3 buttons per finger (to minimize necessary movement), and make a custom made body without a 3d printer, by making one out of clay and then building a papier-mache with epoxy resin. I also plan on using 12mm tactile switches from aliexpress. For one, they're dirt cheap, unlike the mechanical switches + keycaps. They're also smaller, which allows for less finger travel, and they have a lot less movement to press. Hopefully they won't be too noisy/crappy.

​@@eugenebebs7767 What was really giving me pain was using a regular mouse, changed for a trackball and felt a huge relief. I used an ErgoDox for quite a while and learned Dvorak in it, but it's kinda big and a bit too thick for my taste, carrying it on trips is not very convenient. I'm trying to get used to a Corne right now, the choc switches and low profile keycaps made it significantly slimmer than the ErgoDox. If it was just a tiny bit smaller, it could probably fit into hard drive cases or HP Voyager series calculator cases (like the 12C and 15C). Interesting concept you got there. I never thought about using tactile switches for a keyboard as the ones I've used in the past are usually quite stiff. Nice for hardware that needs to be rugged, but not something I would love to type a lot on... but to be honest, I haven't put any effort researching about the options out there, maybe there are tactile switches that feel more like the microswitches used in mice and trackballs. I made some mistakes with my corne build, like not realizing I got the PCB revision where the switches are soldered directly to it. I'm trying to decide if I build a second corne with hot swap sockets or if I just build another keyboard dedicated to steno, as I'm trying to convince myself to learn steno... which reminds me: have you considered stenography? It's quite a learning curve, not as simple as moving from QWERTY to Dvorak, but it also allows you to type a lot faster while moving your fingers a lot less and moving slower overall, this is possible due to chording. Looks like an interesting concept, but can be quite a challenge if you're bilingual. I think I'll stick to try learning for english only and check if I really enjoy it before trying to learn for my native language, for which there's not as much content to help with the learning process.

I like the music. Wrote it myself.

Meh, different layouts are overrated. I find a columnar layout a way bigger improvement for ergonomics than having the most used keys in the home row, or achieving a good balance of right and left hand alternations between subsequent letters. If you're already touch typing, there's not much point of moving to a different layout. But if you're not touch typing and moving to a keyboard with such a different physical layout, then by all means, learning a different logical layout may help getting rid of the bad old habits. If all you do is typing, fine, try Dvorak, Workman, Colemak-DH or something else, perhaps Malt if you're on a split keyboard with a thumb cluster? Nah, perhaps that's too far. But if most of your work is done with a mouse and hitting key combinations, that's going to be a lot of pain for no gain at all. I would never advise someone doing video editing or CAD work to drop just QWERTY.