ErgoMechKeyboards
Ergonomic, split and other weird keyboards
Rules
Keep it ergo
Posts must be of/about keyboards that have a clear delineation between the left and right halves of the keyboard, column stagger, or both. This includes one-handed (one half doesn't exist, what clearer delineation is that!?)
i.e. no regular non-split¹ row-stagger and no non-split¹ ortholinear²
¹ split meaning a separation of the halves, whether fixed in place or entirely separate, both are fine.
² ortholinear meaning keys layed out in a grid
No Spam
No excessive posting/"shilling" for commercial purposes. Vendors are permitted to promote their products/services but keep it to a minimum and use the [vendor] flair. Posts that appear to be marketing without being transparent about it will be removed.
No Buy/Sell/Trade
This subreddit is not a marketplace, please post on r/mechmarket or other relevant marketplace.
Some useful links
- EMK wiki
- Split keyboard compare tool
- Compare keycap profiles Looking for another set of keycaps - check this site to compare the different keycap profiles https://www.keycaps.info/
- Keymap database A database with all kinds of keymap layouts - some of them fits ergo keyboards - get inspired https://keymapdb.com/
view the rest of the comments
These are great questions!
I'm going to break down my response into two sections:
Don't breathe flux, if you can do your soldering outside. If you can't, put an extraction fan by your workstation, so the fumes don't get inhaled. If you want to be extra safe, wear a face mask, and gloves will soldering and working with the chemicals. When you're done working on the board wash your hands thoroughly
If you know the entire build process is lead-free, I don't see any issues of touching the board during daily use. If you're not sure if it's entirely lead-free, you can put a chloroformal coating on top of the board, usually used for waterproofing, but that'll prevent you from having direct contact with any of the heavy metals. You can use hot glue as well. Chloroformal codeine can be dissolved later if you need to redo a joint
Unless you're a large manufacturing laboratory, it kind of sucks to work with lead-free solder, you have to use higher heats, it requires more technical skill. Especially if you're new to soldering, I would recommend using leaded solder anyway. Just don't breathe it, don't touch your face, wash your hands after. The lower temperature will give you a higher chance of success.
In either circumstance, get a practice old circuit board, desolder and solder things until you're comfortable with your heat management. You want to use the least amount of heat will still getting the job done