use desoldered Cherry MX switches for building a new keyboard

googolplex · 21 Jul 2016, 17:47

Hello,

I'm interested in building a custom keyboard and have the possibility to create my own plate and case using CNC machines. I plan to do hand-wiring and use a teensy board. When it comes to find German ISO keycaps there is absolutely no choice and the prices are incredibly high. Now, I can get a "Cherry MX-Board 3.0" for a good price and could use the keycaps of it. I would like to ask whether it is possible to desolder the MX switches off the board, place them onto my custom plate and resolder them when hand-wiring. Did anybody try to "recycle" used switches before? If so, are there any possible difficulties I don't see? Thank you.

Regards,
Martin

Wodan · 21 Jul 2016, 17:59

Harvested Cherry MX switches are actually a huge market. Some people even look for very old switches because they are popular for being very smooth.

Tell us more about the CNC machine and how you make your own plates

Well seriously, just look on ebay for OLD Cherry keyboards. They sometimes come with VERY high quality ISO-DE keycaps and used Cherry MX switches. Both are highly sought after.

googolplex · 21 Jul 2016, 18:27

Do I understand correctly that it is possible to reuse desoldered switches? The thing is that those very old keyboards you talk about are rarities and therefore quite expensive. Just to be on safe side, would I be able to desolder and resolder the switches of the keyboard I mentioned before? That would be a cheap solution for me and changing keycaps in the future wouldn't be a problem as well.

Regarding the plate I intend to make an extra thread when starting with the project. I want to build an modified tenkeyless keyboard placing numpad keys above arrow keys instead of keys like "page up" and "page down".

Rimrul · 21 Jul 2016, 18:43

googolplex wrote: Do I understand correctly that it is possible to reuse desoldered switches?

Yes.

googolplex wrote: The thing is that those very old keyboards you talk about are rarities and therefore quite expensive.

They aren't as rare or expensive as some sellers claim.

Wodan · 21 Jul 2016, 20:19

It's a little tricky getting one of these board on ebay but won't take long. You'll be looking for a Cherry G80 keyboard with H keycaps or maybe Thick PBT keycaps. Check the Cherry Article Numbers entry in the wiki and keep searching ebay.

Expect to pay 30-50€ for such a board with high quality caps. Prices have gone up a little ...

If you have a proper desoldering station, that is the way to go!

You can also just get this keyboard for 175€ and find a perfect entry into custom built enthusiat boards!
for-sale-f55/ssk-nerd60-rs96-hhkb-hd650 ... ml#p321053

vvp · 21 Jul 2016, 21:26

I cannibalized two keyboards for parts (keycaps, swithes, diodes). There is no problem with that. It just takes time (about 30 seconds per switch).
If you do not have a desoldering station then a simple soldering iron and a solder sucker will do too.

googolplex · 21 Jul 2016, 22:58

Ok. Sounds good. So I will keep an eye out for a Cherry G80 keyboard having the MX board 3.0 as an alternative.

duynguyenle · 22 Jul 2016, 23:34

googolplex wrote: Do I understand correctly that it is possible to reuse desoldered switches? The thing is that those very old keyboards you talk about are rarities and therefore quite expensive. Just to be on safe side, would I be able to desolder and resolder the switches of the keyboard I mentioned before? That would be a cheap solution for me and changing keycaps in the future wouldn't be a problem as well.

Regarding the plate I intend to make an extra thread when starting with the project. I want to build an modified tenkeyless keyboard placing numpad keys above arrow keys instead of keys like "page up" and "page down".

So like a CM Quickfire TK? That's neat!