I managed to destroy the chip on an Xtrfy K4 with a pair of tweezers while porting it to SonixQMK. Note to self: Do a bootloader button first thing :D
The plate on that board is 1,5mm thick, so switches sit well in it. So what should I use it for? Handwire a TKL? Do a macropad? Uhh, a columnar, staggered macropad maybe? The next thought was a split, so here we are.
A commenter on this reddit post mentioned that "there was a similar, quite influential build by Oobly in 2013". That build is way cooler!
Figure out finger placement:
I've since drawn the used keys up using Keyboard Layout Editor:
Get the hacksaw, saw the plate over the kitchen sink:
Get some thick wire from the wall of the apartment I was renovating at the time:
Ignoring insulation for now, solder hotswap sockets, diodes, thick wire for columns, thin mutable hobby-wire for rows:
I split an old ethernet cable for its wires, and wired the two halves to a ProMicro. I used something that big because I wanted enough pins for a joystick.
I then insulated the matrix used some of my daugthers cheap acrylic paint. It's plastic-based.
Build done:
Photo shot:
