I Built My Dream Keyboard from Absolute Scratch

The Caldera keyboard, a completely custom, from scratch DIY keyboard I've been working on building for months. This shows the process, as well as a high level tutorial on how to build your own completely custom keyboard
Let me know if you have any input on the video (I'm new to this!), or questions I can answer, I'll try to answer everything in the comments!
Links:
Caldera 3D printable case files: makerworld.com...
Caldera files: github.com/chr...
Parts list: christianselig...
nice!nano footprint: github.com/Gir...
Convert JSCAD to STL: neorama.de
FlatFootFox Ergogen tutorial: flatfootfox.co...
Ben Vallack Ergogen tutorial: • Design Your Own Keyboard!
Pinecil soldering iron: pine64.com/pro...
Twitter/X: / christianselig
Mastodon: mastodon.socia...
Threads: www.threads.ne...

[@ringofdeath13]

damn I'm glad youtube is working on promoting smaller channels. This dude hasn't made a video in like 10 months and comes back like he took a monk training for youtube, nice.

[@cselig]

Lmao, this comment actually made me laugh out loud. Thank you

[@bred-ingrident]

Is there a hall of fame for comments? If so you are probably in it

[@JagaSantagostino]

200% agree

[@mastervideos4121]

First

[@DarkChaosMC]

I like how hes explaining what to do as if ill build my own keyboard

[@cselig]

That’s exactly why I am! You genuinely can do it! I believe in you! :p

[@boomboxkat]

​@@cselig ive been wanting to do this (but with a standard 75% layout) so thank you very much!

[@DDryTaste]

@@cselig I've been on the fence of doing this for years, your video might finally make me do it. I've been too lazy in sorting out the firmware, contemplated on just using off the shelf IC's and not a microcontroller.

[@cselig]

Trust me you can handle the firmware. And if you ever get tripped up the ZMK Discord is super friendly

[@goshaman1100]

@@boomboxkat if you don't need a rare layout, I would simply buy a good keyboard. I have personally bought a Qwerty Keys QK75 from a group buy

[@WiryCrow]

I don't code. I don't solder. My typing speed is atrocious. The words "git", "push", "PCB", and "microcontroller" strike fear into my heart. But I do love aesthetics, and I love a truly well-made, careful, accurate, playful piece of content. Dude, this was a stellar video, and you may have convinced me to spend my after work hours learning some new hobbies. IDK how KZbin has built their algorithm, but damn, this was such a good click!

[@cselig]

Okay well if this was a stellar video this was an even more stellar comment, you have a very nice way of writing! And yeah you should totally take a swing at this, it's a really rewarding hobby and can open up the doors to a bunch of other really fun hobbies (great first project). You got this!

[@WoolyCow]

i love it when you find a random small channel like this, just doing random stuff, then and your just like, 'yeah i made apollo' :D

[@cselig]

I've been very fortunate to make a few cool things over my career :D

[@jannesvandenboogaert6689]

OMG I HADN’T EVEN NOTICED BY THE NAME

[@vellfire_9938]

@@jannesvandenboogaert6689 I was thinking "thats a familiar name..." before realising!

[@Sic_Infernum]

not really a small channel lol

[@Mirtual]

@@Sic_Infernum it is a small channel lol

[@djraptorx]

"and if you use Linux, I'm sure you know how to open a terminal." Dead. Subbed.

[@cselig]

Hahah I originally had a bit on how to do it in Linux but was like "Oh come on they know"

[@GregTheGuitarist]

I subbed instantly as well after that line. Amazing project. Thanks from a beginning IT student using a standard keyboard (yet).

[@AdyanshSahai]

This has to be the best joke anyone has made in 2024.

[@Timisenman]

This was an unreasonably good video

[@cselig]

Just like how you make unreasonably good apps!

[@snazzy]

Of course you’re insanely multi-talented. 😒 The Caldera looks great! (I cannot endorse the use of lead-free solder, however).

[@cselig]

I think it's that I've never used leaded solder (or paint, or gas 😛) so I don't know what I'm missing out on. Also why I lock my games at 30 fps

[@TheWebgecko]

⁠@@cseligplease tell me you’re joking about 30fps LOCK

[@cselig]

@@TheWebgeckoI am not proud of it but it works

[@graealex]

Pretty sure you can't buy it in the EU anymore if you're a hobbyist.

[@vikingursigurdsson]

​@@cselig What do you mean it works? That's the saddest thing I've ever heard

[@robertholtz]

I will never again complain about the price of the keyboards I buy now that you’ve opened my eyes on what a process it is.

[@cselig]

Hahah it’s definitely more than I expected when I started out too 😛 I bet mice are similar!

[@Fakeddd]

@@cseligmaking mice sound like hell..

[@MRWKFClark]

Woo, good to hear from you. I’m here because of your email. I went to add this to my watch list but I found it hard to stop to watch it later. In other news, I still dearly miss Apollo. Thanks again for everything.

[@cselig]

Thanks my friend ❤ I miss Apollo too, kinda blew me away when I realized it had already been a year since it closed down. Pleasure for "everything" was genuinely mine

[@Kummahndough]

Holy shit, I didn't even realize you were the Apollo dev. You did such a great job with that app, and it's a damn shame what happened to it.

[@josemzgz]

I don't miss Apollo because I keep using it. I miss the regular updates, though.

[@rabbidpig3480]

Wait you made the Apollo app?? Small world lmao

[@stuffing09]

@@cseligI’m still using the Apollo app! Using a tweak called artemis

[@jackp2088]

this is one of the the most random underrated video I ever clicked on, ended up watching till the end and love it

[@cselig]

Yay that's what I want to hear :D Thank ya

[@alelondon23]

Excellent! The writing, concise AND detailed. the pace, the density of info, the well structured reasoning, the choices justified, the examples, the humor spicying up and giving "air" to keep the focus. I feel you've cared for our time: not slow-mo ranting or inteligence-insulting patronising advice. Sharing a very useful log of a complete experience. Inspiring. Thank you!

[@cselig]

I made this face at my phone reading this comment: 🥹 thank you for such a thoroughly kind compliment ❤️

[@alelondon23]

@@cselig 🙇‍♂

[@CloudCoderChap]

Great video Christian. I remember all the joy you provided with Apollo and now you’re back bringing joy, but in a different way. Love it.

[@cselig]

I really like this. My new goal is for my profession just to be Joy Deliverer

[@krumble1]

@@cseligYou’re succeeding already!

[@slash.9882]

I just watched the entire video without knowing that you're the Apollo dev. Great video

[@cselig]

Should I have mentioned that more? :p

[@st1220]

same here

[@jkpayne]

I clicked and subbed before I wanted because I recognized he was the Apollo dev.

[@username9774]

I am slowly being lured into building my own keyboard by KZbin. Great video

[@cselig]

Seriously, like ten years ago it felt like you needed a PhD in electrical engineering to do any of this stuff, now thanks to a bunch of neat software making it easy you can basically learn it in a weekend. DO IT

[@vaisakhkm783]

@@cselig 🥲 and i am wasting all money on building keyboards...

[@AdyanshSahai]

@@cselig My plan for the summer :)

[@alexmlogan]

so many new hobbies unlocked with one video 😭

[@cselig]

We are truly in the golden age of humanity for being able to pick up new hobbies hahah

[@kellymoses8566]

@@cselig I pay $5 a month for Relay for Reddit. Why did you shut down Apollo instead of letting people pay for it?

[@cselig]

There's a sticky in the Apollo subreddit where I go over frequently asked questions!

[@edensdreams2890]

I will always miss Apollo - I've yet to find an app that feels as 'native' as it did. If there's one bright side to it being sunset, I'm glad you have the opportunity now to focus on other projects and create stuff like this! I saw in another comment you saying you like the idea of being a "joy deliverer" - I can certainly vouch for getting some joy out of this video! I guess I am just echoing other comments but seriously - great production value, great explanations of each process. When you're not too busy with Juno, I'd love to see more little project videos like this! :)

[@cselig]

I really appreciate you taking the time to comment this, that’s a very nice comment :) I miss Apollo bunches, but I also feel very fortunate to have been able to work on such a cool and loved project for so long, so it’s hard to be down on the situation all things considered. And as you said, the bright side is that I get more time for little projects like this that have been a lot of fun to make. Thanks again :)

[@Red49er85]

wow I totally didn't even look at the author of this video til I saw your comment. somehow you just made an amazing video even more awesome. christian, we all loved your app -- I hope you have some cool plans for new products in the future!

[@sumguy01]

“I know this looks scary but it’s not even programming.” Proceeds to type things and do things that look like magic to a non-programmer like me

[@cselig]

Hahah sorry. I promise that if I said down and made a video dedicated just to that part, you'd see that it's honestly not that hard, heck you can play with the website I mentioned in the video now to kinda see how what you type directly manipulates the keyboard. It's more like a text-based adventure game than traditional programming :p

[@Ellyc2929]

​@cselig not that hard to someone who understands numbers and stuff. Some of us have dyscalculia 🤷‍♀️

[@JustVoylin]

0:55 Love that cat species, they don't climb on everything, they don't make sounds, and their food is also a lot cheaper :p

[@cselig]

Just gotta watch your fingers :p

[@JustVoylin]

@@cselig hahah tell me about it, I had 4 of those XD

[@RoamingAdhocrat]

Gonna make a companion video, "I Built My Nightmare Keyboard From Absolute Scratch", where you painstakingly build a replica of a 2002 membrane keyboard aquired from a supermarket where there's Standby, Restart, Shutdown keys where the Prt Sc trio go, and Prt Sc etc and the home key cluster are shoved down touching the cursor keys

[@cselig]

Hahah you joke but I’d honestly be curious if it’s even possible to build a membrane keyboard as a DIYer. Some (very few) of them are nicer to type on than they have any right to be

[@BloodZangetsu]

7 ak8?oo{oool8oo⁸88oooooo888ooo{22

[@RoamingAdhocrat]

@@BloodZangetsu well I can't argue with that

[@BloodZangetsu]

@@RoamingAdhocrat LMAO how did that even happen?

[@RoamingAdhocrat]

@@BloodZangetsu looks like a cat standing on a keyboard to me

[@OwoAshes]

2:39 OMG OMG I HAD FLASHBACKS

[@cselig]

Hahaha he transcends time!

[@MintLeaf536]

@@cseligbill wurtz reference, right?

[@alakazam482]

This is the exact video ive been looking for. For the past 2 years at my job ive wanted a regular qwerty keyboard with the numpad mirrored, on the left side, and with the num lock button replaced with the ' button for my work in autocad. im definitely gonna give this a shot

[@cselig]

Lemme know how it goes! That’s a cool keyboard and totally possible :)

[@KyleOfTheBeard]

A well-shot, concise, funny, and engaging 21-minute long video about something I only have a passing interest in and experience with? Sign me the hell up!

[@cselig]

I'll try to keep that pattern going! 😛

[@Hackingprince]

Goddamn this video was 21 minutes long? Didn’t even realise until your comment

[@denesban]

So glad to see Ergogen being useful! Congratz on the awesome build! 👏Also, this vid is insane production quality, and is kind of the missing tutorial to the program that I still haven't made... Cheers!

[@RoamingAdhocrat]

oh, you made Ergogen? it looks incredibly powerful!

[@cselig]

Thank you so so much!!

[@beristainbear3924]

Ive watched a lot of these beginner videos for soldering, but honestly you do an amazing job comforting the viewers insecurities. That's what's missing a lot and you're doing an amazing job!

[@cselig]

Oh geez thanks, that means a lot! Soldering genuinely scared the crap out of me when I was starting out, so I really wanted to try to convey that it's not that bad at all haha

[@kendallredmon2086]

Damn bro I hope KZbin comes back to this. People showing things they genuinely care about and have passion for! great vid bro.

[@cselig]

The reception to this video has been beyond my wildest dreams, genuinely! Thank you so much for the kind words :)

[@iatheman]

Such a good vibe on this video: learning, chilling, building.

[@cselig]

That's honestly the best compliment I could get haha

[@PurpleCarrot222]

I have been looking for ages for a budget friendly keyboard that matches all my special tastes and requirements, and I don't know why it never occured to me to design my own pcb and 3d print my own case for it. You have enspired me for my next project. Amazing video, and thank you! (I don't think I'd enjoy a split/ortholinear layout, but I do have to admit it looks incredibly slick).

[@cselig]

That's the beauty of custom keyboards, you can build whatever your heart desires and it's so satisfying! Good luck with it, you totally should :)

[@coltongerber1879]

20:53 I'm sorry, did you tie half of your keyboard to a drone and fly it 100+ feet in the air???

[@cselig]

Had to perform a flight test, and thankfully it did well

[@oogleoo]

this made me feel so inspired. i was one of those people who thought they couldn't do math, and now when i'm not working my corporate job i'm building keyboards and learning how to code for fun. thank you so much for making this info feel so accessible

[@80s_Gamr]

#1 issue to getting rid of wrist pain, and carpal tunnel, is to not prop the keyboards up in the back - leave them flat. Had issues in my 20's because of that (I'm 51 now) and that one change not only made a huge difference but has been used for every keyboard I've ever used since. Love that sound BTW.

[@cselig]

Totally agreed, that’s been my experience too! Not sure why so many keyboards do that, it’s like the opposite of long term comfort

[@Mushiwushii]

this is an awesome project and as a keyboard enthusiast i'm almost tempted to make it myself. thanks for sharing everything for free!

[@cselig]

You totally should! It’s a lot of fun and very rewarding :)

[@waiitwhaat]

This video is one of the best things I've seen on KZbin. I am not the kind of guy to subscribe to a channel after watching just one video by it, but my man you fucking earned it. Please keep this kind of content coming.

[@cselig]

That really, truly means a lot. I have some ideas for some more videos and I hope you like them just as much! I think they're the same kind of DIY style idea and I'll continue to put a bunch of effort into them!

[@AcrobotMovies]

Hey mate, also here because of the e-mail. Really miss Apollo, I've actually stopped using Reddit because of it. Subbed immediately, because I'm also a keyboard nerd :D

[@lorinrivers2498]

Me too and my life has improved as a result

[@cselig]

Between Apollo and keyboard nerdery you sound like you have excellent tastes, thanks for watching my friend :D

[@alexmart3931]

Well, you didn't make it look easy. But you did break it down and make it look doable. Great job, man.

[@PeabodyBrewingCo.]

Not only is this video super well done, but I've been looking to make my own keyboard for a few months and you sir have checked every box I was looking for but couldn't find anywhere else. Looking forward to making one of these myself. Thanks so much for sharing this with the community!

[@Branflakesuhbdjhjfnnshbxjbug]

Are you from canada? “Its not accualy that haeeared” 0:36

[@cselig]

This actually made me laugh out loud hahah, yeah you got me there :p

[@naught0]

The white moonlander from ZSA I feel like almost fits the bill, but not quite. I'm quite happy with mine though! Awesome video 🔥

[@cselig]

Love the Moonlander, not the biggest fan of MX keycaps/switches just because they make the board so tall, so the ZSA Voyager really tempted me when it came out, but once you go wireless it's really hard to go back to having wires everywhere haha

[@IPODsify]

Dude, FINALLY I do not get the obsession with SEEING the controller at all! Like is this to keep a diy aesthetic or something? I already think it's wack enough that no one seems to ever remove the chips from their development boards

[@cselig]

I think it’s a few things. On some boards it looks pretty cool, almost like an early Iron Man suit or something, but yeah I prefer the more minimal look personally. It’s also a fair bit harder to hide the controller so if your main goal is just to get something cool working it’s a bunch easier to not have to hide it

[@strad1024]

Long time Apollo user and new subscriber here, glad to see just as much attention to detail in your KZbin videos as in your apps. Awesome stuff, keep it up!

[@cselig]

Hahah, I love when people notice the little details what can I say :p Thanks my friend

This project is so perfect for someone who want to get started with PCB design, small electronics project like me. Thank you for sharing

[@cselig]

That’s one of my favorite parts of it for sure. Great exposure to soldering, PCBs, even the tiniest bit of programming. My pleasure :)

[@kayashkel3862]

Apollo gang rise up, missed you Christian, really do, hope you're doing well!

[@cselig]

Genuinely miss you folks too

[@CommandoChem]

I just get upset whenever I see a keyboard with no numpad.

[@cselig]

Haha, the reason a lot of folks don't is that the wider your keyboard is the further it pushes your mouse away which is less comfortable/ergonomic on your shoulders. But with keyboards like this you can simply add a numpad on a different layer, so that you can tap a key then the numpad is basically active on the right half of the keyboard for instance, kinda like how caps lock works as a "mode"

[@UsernameAwesomeSauce]

Mac user immediate dislike

[@cselig]

Sorry to hear that's a big deal for you :(

[@NautilusMakesMusic]

16:05 ya, you've definitely earned it, i subbed. You are super underrated you need to be mainstream. Keep at it man

[@cselig]

That's incredibly kind of you to say haha, thank you my friend, I'll keep at it!

[@MitchWare]

This video is incredible: so much detail, super easy to digest, great explanation of not only what you did but the motivation and "why" behind every piece. Fantastic work Christian. I'd love to learn more about your software setup on your machine: do you avoid using a mouse & lean on keyboard/software tricks for navigating around? What's your window management look like? What keeps you productive on the split keyboard? Could be a good topic for a future video!

[@cselig]

Oh geez what a thoroughly kind comment, this genuinely was very nice to read :) I do exactly as you said haha, I try to use my keyboard for app navigation and window management (plus text editing) as much as possible. A video or at least a blog write up sometime would be fun

[@Bloomandmelt]

wow, I don't know 90% of the words used in this video, but you have such a calm voice and such a communicative way that it captured me in the video in a surreal way. keep it up.

[@mrgoos]

i love how this video is showcasing a project while also being a tutorial at the same time. you dont usually see that these days

[@max_hairloss]

This came out awesome. My favorite part was the final assembly; there isn't anything quite like the the sense of accomplishment that comes from watching the last few screws smoothly thread into something you designed yourself. Well played sir, I hope to make something nearly as clean as this someday.

[@cselig]

Yes!! It's so satisfying once you finally get to put everything together, it's like taking a fresh loaf of bread out of the oven and getting to finally eat it haha. And I believe in you, you can totally do it!

[@Moooniz]

This video had no business being this good. I like building my keyboards but this, this is on a whole nother level. Keep up the great work man, awesome video!

[@cselig]

Thanks my friend :) if you like building keyboards this is an awesome next step to take that I think you’d have a ton of fun with. And I shall try!

[@LoopyChew]

I just got you in my recs and I instantly subscribed. I then discovered that not only can you make killer apps and keyboards, but your videos are impeccably edited and timed. Save some talent for the rest of us!

[@cselig]

That really means a lot, as I had no idea how this video would be received and video editing is something I'm still super new to haha. But it's a lot of fun! You sound like an awesome person!

[@DoodlyShark]

@@cselig i agree with him bro

[@WillianMolinari]

This is a great video showing the whole process of how to build a mechanical keyboard. It's relatively short, detailed, and simple. I would love to have watched this a few years ago, when I was building my first keyboard. Congratulations, great content! 👏

[@cselig]

Thank you so much! That's really great to hear, because "video I'd have liked to have known when I got into custom keyboards" is exactly the vibe I was going for! :D

[@DadDistracted]

I wish I had the time to wrap my head around whats needed to do things like this. I have an idea for a mouse that you can adjust its orientation quickly depending what side of a table top screen you are working from but have no idea where to start other than a totally mechanical solution. but to know there are such resources out there just for keyboards is encouraging.

[@cselig]

Ooo interesting, yeah I don't know too much about the mouse side of this hobby but it wouldn't surprise me if there's something out there. A lot of folks take apart an existing mouse and use its internals as the basis for theirs, then 3D print a new case around it or something. Optimum did a neat video on it

[@danielea.3740]

I was wondering about creating my own keyboard from scratch, your video just encouraged me finalize my project! Seems so much more feasible after this!

[@cselig]

@@danielea.3740 That makes me so happy to hear 🥹 Good luck with the project and let me know how it goes!

[@LeeAnnC]

Excellently done video. The way you laid everything out, the way you broke it down into simple pieces, and the visual demos to go along with each step, were all superb. And the finished product looks Beautiful too. When i was finished I thought this video would have at least 100k views it deserves so much more love and attention!

[@cselig]

That’s such a kind comment, thank you! Especially about the visual demos, those were tricky to learn and a fair bit of work but I’m really happy with how they came out!

[@LeeAnnC]

It 100% shows! I'm definitely interested to see what you make next :D

[@nair_kid3203]

This vid is awesome, Ive seen some colleagues with custom keyboards like these and i didnt have the faintest idea of how they even did it. this vid really inspires me thank you

[@cselig]

Yay, that's really awesome to hear! The easier route (and what your colleagues may have done) is just ordering an off the shelf split keyboard that's already assembled, like a Corne, Lily58, Dygma, etc. or maybe even a kit to make assembly themselves a bit easier. You really only have to go down the route in this video if none of the existing split keyboards out there quite do it for you, which was my case haha

[@vkmi5776]

Two questions and a comment: - How long did all of this actively take? - Approximately, how much di the project costs? Everything else is really really clear and I love how the whole process is described step by step, it made something that looked impossible and doable only by veteran engineers, look doable and possible. The only thing I would have done differently, maybe, is do the firmware part, flash the controllers and test them before fully assembling the keyboard, so that if anything was wrong, I wouldn't have to disassemble the thing to check.

[@cselig]

Oo great question. For how long it took, I'd say about two weekends maybe? That's learning the tools, using the tools, and then assembling it. For cost, you exclude tools you might already own or could use for other projects (soldering iron, etc.) I'd say a bit under $200 USD or in that ballpark. Not the cheapest keyboard in the world, but pretty great for a fully custom keyboard made just for you. And thanks for the kind words, that's a good point on the firmware too, that could have been a bit more of a pain potentially for sure, I'll adopt that for next time

[@vkmi5776]

@@cselig absolutely a bargain considering it's your dream keyboard. I really want to give this a try now, thanks!

[@dnitemarez]

loved it! I've been procrastinating on making my own keyboard for a long time and your video might finally make me go for it! I love the way you are catering to people with basically no electronics experience to pretty decent level with your explanation. Great job end to end!!

[@cselig]

Yay, thank you! I’m glad I hit that balance haha, I wanted to try to make it a good resource for anyone interested in trying this out :)

[@brownranger1797]

Never thought of making a custom keyboard this was a really cool project. Definitely on my radar now. Thanks for sharing!

[@cselig]

Yay, my pleasure. I hope you’re able to create something really cool :)

[@maxnagler6530]

Very entertaining video. Good mix of the hard subjects and still a good story. Hardest part of being an engineer and tinker is being able to not bore my friends about things like this.

[@cselig]

Hahah right? I've definitely bored a fair few people, but at least with making videos you can watch it back and re-edit parts that feel really boring/long and try again :p

[@lukashibchen6866]

Hey, I ended up making a keyboard of my own using Ergogen thanks to your amazing video. It was so helpful in helping me understand how Ergogen syntax works, and the video has incredible quality to it. Bravo!

[@cselig]

@@lukashibchen6866 Oh my gosh, that means so much to hear! I hope you and your new keyboard have many happy typing sessions together :)

[@somnvm37]

The video editing and the little jokes are absolutely amazing, I myself am soon planning on getting a corne keyboard, very excited. I've already spent like several hours making the perfect homerow oriented layout [btw, you can fit everything with just 2 layers, base and extra, but i used 3 so that it's more intiutive and homerow is used more.]

[@IvanKostrubin]

What an amazing work you've done! I'd like to repeat this experience, but I never don't these kind of things before, and I don't thing I have time for this. But you've explained all steps so clear that I think it is possible for me now) Thank you! Especially for making this video, with all these explanations.

[@cselig]

Even if you've never done it before it's honestly a great first project, I think you'd have a lot of fun with it if you give yourself time and patience, it's a really handy skill to have under your belt :D I wish you luck and the pleasure is genuinely all mine :D

[@GuyManley]

Really like that look of this. I just might have to use your files and make my own version. I really appreciate uploading everything. A case study is my preferred way to learn something new.

[@cselig]

Thanks so much, and the pleasure is all mine! I hope you do make it and it serves you well!

[@MaxGGs]

This was such a good video :D I am a casual enjoyer of keyboard content & do not usually enjoy the software side of it (usually I'm into the physical building process) but your explanations really simplified it and made it entertaining to me. Hoping to see more videos like this from you, express your array of talents king!! You got my sub :P

[@cselig]

That's really awesome to hear, was hoping to create kind of a holistic video showing the whole process so glad the software part was good too :) I'll definitely keep making some videos, and very much appreciate the sub :D

[@mcheddadi]

I dabbed in keyboard making using some funky alps like switches ("little purple build" on reddit) but i've been mostly using existing things and modifying them. flashed firmwares to add qmk, did light hardware modifying of pcb, had some custom plate cut, modded cases, etc but you did the whole thing from scratch! very inspiring stuff! the feeling of using something you made is the best! thumbs up for your skills and determination!

[@cselig]

Oh my gosh don't cut yourself short, sounds like you're 95% of then way there honestly! Give the other 5% a shot, I bet you'd crush it and have a pretty darn cool keyboard as a result. And thank you :)

[@802Garage]

Really awesome! I do hate how much we are stuck with outdated keyboard designs based on decisions for typewriters.

[@cselig]

Same my friend, makes me wonder how many other aspects of our lives are similarly affected

[@802Garage]

@@cselig It's a lot... From our electrical grid to our telecommunications and of course many outdated laws hahaha. Great work.

[@Slimmeyy]

I've been thinking of making my own keyboard for a while as I want a very specific set of keys in something that isn't much larger than a 60% keyboard. This video helps SIGNIFICANTLY with making something that originally looked extremely complicated a lot easier!

[@cselig]

YAY, that's the goal :D You should totally tackle that, sounds like a good project and only having one half would make it even easier to tackle than the keyboard in this video! Nothing beats typing on something you yourself made :p

[@xLuciidz]

amazing video man! usually I don't understand technical stuff but how your explained things made it a lot simpler and easy to understand. hope more people find your channel soon!

[@cselig]

Oh wow thanks, that's honestly the perfect compliment. I really love the idea of making unknown subjects easier to understand :D

[@ejay3k]

Awesome video. I've always wanted to create a custom split keyboard, quite similar to this one. Love having the whole process laid out like this.

[@cselig]

Glad you liked it, and you should totally try it out, it’s a lot of fun

[@JustinGeigley1]

Fantastic video 🙂 loved the info as someone just getting into QMK and mechanical keyboards and loved your presentation style too

[@cselig]

Yayyy, that honestly means a ton to hear. I hope QMK goes really well for you, best wishes :)

[@KeithMoon1980]

Thank you for making a video about building a custom keyboard, for people who aren't massively down the mechanical keyboard rabbithole.

[@cselig]

The pleasure is all mine! Totally agreed that the hobby can feel like a bit of an intimidating rabbit hole for folks new to the hobby, was hoping this video could kinda serve as a one stop shop to cover a bunch of the subjects so folks could see it's actually not that bad and know where to start from :)

[@Mikeyy___]

I am very high rn, it's 3 am, and this video has fascinated me. it has quite literally forced me to learn and i just kept being mind blown,by how because of how well you explained stuff, i just couldn't help but understand all of it extremely easily, even while distracted sometimes, id still get all of it with enough confidence to go and try it myself, and this comes from someone with absolutely 0 experience and frankly interest. I mean all of this in the absolute best way possible if you managed to captivate someone with 0 interest and making them learn something, i cant even imagine what you do for ones who are interested and even searching for help. You're doing an amazing job, in my opinion it is certainly something to be very proud of, hell i dont even know you and im proud of you! keep up the awsome work man, props to you 😌

[@cselig]

Wow I’ve read and responded to a lot of comments on this video but this one might take the cake. Thank you so much for such an amazingly kind comment, I’m gonna print this one out and put it up on the wall haha. Seriously, this is my first video I put a bunch of work into so this means the world. Thanks for making someone’s day you are an awesome person :)

[@jhefaranal]

wow! this is a very good introduction in creating your own keyboard, even if it's not ergonomic like yours. Great job! 👍👍

[@cselig]

Thanks my friend! And yeah the options are limitless, you can truly build the least ergonomic keyboard imaginable if you want :p

[@anonymouscommentator]

honestly a great, well rounded and yet not bloated video with all the necessary information, love it! thank you so much!

[@cselig]

Yayyy! I was trying to balance those so glad it worked out! Thank YOU!

[@__8120]

Damn, I handwired a dactyl manuform about a year ago and it came out technically mostly functional. Seeing how a custom made keyboard can actually turn out makes me want to give it another shot

[@cselig]

My friend if you handwired a Dactyl this should be a walk in the park for you, definitely try it! Dactyls look so cool

[@PJZ]

It's always fun peeking inside a creative brain. Production value on this was great...totally tracks that it's from the creator of my favorite iOS app of all time. Keep up the great work!

[@cselig]

That’s genuinely an honor to hear, thank you so much :)

[@PJZ]

@@cselig I'll say this, man....I've had a cellphone since 2001 and have been using iPhones since the 5 and nothing has enhanced that experience quite like Apollo. There was a cleverness and whimsy that you just don't see in applications. Very Willy Wonka. And you know how Reddit can get...Apollo was the first tool that let me curate the dumpster-fire-y-ness into something palatable and *useful*. It's sitting in my Reading apps folder as a little In Memoriam shrine and it will continue to on every future iPhone that lets me download the app again. That App icon, a few pins, stickers, a pillow, a mug, etc....all little reminders that inspire me to keep creating and to try and be a little cheeky / have fun while I do. If you decide to release anything in the future...I'll be in the front row.

[@cselig]

In 9 years of building Apollo that might be one of the nicest compliments I've received on it lol. I'm tempted to print that out

[@vonR0X]

Would love to have the time to build this, it looks fun! I don’t understand why more companies don’t make split ortho-staggered keyboards-it’s such a no-brainer nowadays. I prefer more robust and premium-feeling products, so a 3D printed one isn’t for me. If Keychron or a similar company built this, it would be amazing. Great video, BTW. Keep it up-chilled vibes, just the right amount of humor, informative, and great pacing. Love seeing people combine meaningful hobbies and interests with something practical.

[@cselig]

I think it's one of those things where a lot of consumers don't know what they're missing out on, so it's hard to market to them. And for a more robust design, you could totally go fancy and get it 3D printed (or shaped) in aluminum or something, would be a pretty cool project. Would just have to modify it a bit to have a plastic patch so the Bluetooth signal could be send properly. And thank you so much for the kind words, that's such a delightful compliment!

[@小粒]

I've built 2 custom keyboards, one soldered split 7sPro, one hotswap QK75N with ws morandis. I found it interesting how you built it all from scratch, definitely would be on my to-do list for high school!

[@cselig]

If you've built two custom keyboards already this is totally in your wheel house, give it a try!

[@TheMaskedGamer]

Wow, you're such a big fan of the ✨ emoji that you gave it its own key! That's dedication! In all seriousness, most of your desired requirements sound absolutely awful to me, but I've been interested in a custom keyboard for years. I'm pretty impressed with the amount of work you put into this describer. I definitely think that where you say "you don't need to be a programmer for this", that's a real blind spot that you have from being a programmer. Even as a programmer myself, I suspect that would be an absolutely daunting process for someone who isn't a programmer.

[@cselig]

I kinda love the idea of an emoji specific hardware keyboard actually hahah. And for requirements that’s totally fair, the best part about being able to do this is you can do it however the heck you want, so your dream keyboard can deviate immensely! For the programmer part, I’ll push back a smidge there actually. Is it easy? No but it’s basically just a config file, you’re not doing complex logic or anything. I think with a separate video just on those slightly more technical sections I could definitely make it clear to just about anyone, it’s just a bit harder in a high level overview video haha

[@Darth377Zethlyn]

I didn't notice until 3/4 the way through that this was Christian Selig. One of the greatest to ever do it

[@cselig]

Hahah I dunno about that but thank you very much :p

[@the_paranoid_duck]

Learned about the interesting "Keyball" and the concept of split ergo keyboard just earlier this month. Been looking at building a Corne for the past few days but wanting to make some modifications even if I'm completely new to this. Stumbled upon this video and totally enjoyed it and what do you know, it's Apollo developer himself. Now i'm seriously thinking about how I can build one from scratch too. Thanks! (And for Apollo too!)

[@cselig]

Aww yeah! You have great taste in videos and apps :p And you totally should. I love my Corne and it’s really what got me wanting to tweak it some into my perfect keyboard haha

[@festasalvatore_]

Hands down one of the best video/guides about building your own keyboard. Congrats, keep the good work up

[@cselig]

That's very kind of you to say, thank you so much! I shall try my hardest!

[@lizzie360]

got through maybe 1/4 of the vid before my brain simply shut off, my goal is to rewatch until it all makes sense and then maybe tackle the project of making a keyboard myself lol. Really great video!! Held my attention the whole way through :)

[@cselig]

Hahah thank you, it admittedly is a bit to take in at times, in fact sometimes it takes me a few reads/watches for something to really click, but I know you can do it :p Maybe combine it with FlatFootFox's written guide in the description which is also an awesome resource, arguably much better than mine lol

[@LordHonkInc]

I built my first keyboard two years ago. I'm in the fortunate position to own a 3D printer so the case was pennies' worth of filament, and I bought the cheapest mechanical keyboard I could (it was like $20) to harvest the cheap cherry blue knockoffs and keycaps; that plus a packet of diodes and two STM32F401s and I got a totally custom, split keyboard for under $40 in parts. It was my first real soldering project, too, and it went a lot more smoothly than I feared; troubleshooting basically just meant reflowing some solder that didn't make proper contact. By now I've upgraded to actual Gateron Milky Yellow switches and a proper TRRS cable to connect the halves (previously they were hardwired) and the difference is noticeable, but the main point is that custom keyboards don't have to cost an arm and a leg (like, I get that proper manufacturing and comparatively low sales volume makes ones like the Glove80 pricey, but I had severe sticker shock the first time I saw what those cost).

[@cselig]

Agreed! Yeah it's a surprisingly affordable hobby, being able to build these things completely custom and come in under $200 or so is pretty awesome, especially when you see how expensive some off the shelf custom keyboards can get!

[@fentmaster15]

as a person that does custom keyboards if you want a more muted sound you could take the back of the pcb with painters tape and add foam to the bottom case. Amazing build I love it!

[@cselig]

That's a great idea, hoping to do more with acoustics for a version 2 of this keyboard

[@torymiddlebrooks]

Hey, @JLPCB, sponsor this person already. I have no interest in building a keyboard or designing one but after 21 minutes I am sorely tempted to trying SOMETHING like it! Excellent job.

[@cselig]

Those folks are so kind and already reached out actually! At this stage though I think I just want to grow the channel a bit before I start integrating sponsors though, I'm just having too much fun haha

[@torymiddlebrooks]

@@cselig That is incredible to hear! Well done, @JLPCB. Your work is super interesting, I'm just an amateur Fusion designer but seeing what is possible, and how to take it to the next step with electronics, is really inciting so i look forward to your builds.

[@cselig]

Thank you so much :) Learning Fusion has been a real hoot, I feel like I learn something new each time I open it haha

[@lioralynx]

All this amazing work for free!? You are the GOAT! I've always thought about doing this but didn't know where to start, thank you for the amazing video!

[@cselig]

Yay, thank you so much! Answering the question of how to even begin tackling such a thing was exactly the goal of this video :D

[@libertyjensen5241]

Thank you for linking to everything/making it available, and the thorough explanation. I would love to try doing this sometime soon - I didn’t realize making your own keyboard was an option but it makes total sense that it would be😂

[@cselig]

Right?? I suppose it's always been "possible", but it's really only the last few years that a bunch of tools have popped up that make it a fair bit easier for us normal people. (And my pleasure!)

[@EvilTim1911]

Sub count is obviously no measure of content quality, but this legit feels like content from a channel with millions of subscribers. Fantastic

[@cselig]

That is seriously so nice of you to say haha. Maybe one day!!

[@Wreckageforever]

First video of yours I've seen and I'm looking forward to more. I'm a big believer that interested people are interesting and you are proof of that. Excellent video quality, excited to see what else you have in store!

[@cselig]

I love "Interested people are interesting", that puts into nice words something I've thought for awhile, so thank you for that and for the kind words!

[@AdamHaas]

7:04 Oh man, that's brilliant. I never thought of how that worked.

[@mrsfantastic4702]

such a high quality video, i know im never gonna build a keyboard but that was rly cool!

[@cselig]

Hahah thank you my friend. But if there's ever an apocalypse and there's no keyboards to buy anymore you'll be back. YOU'LL BE BACK

[@TrionerExpeliozias]

Video: In depth guide on how to make your very own custom keyboard Me, completely content with a $20 2010 keyboard from the store down the road: Interesting

[@cselig]

If you're perfectly satisfied with what you have that is awesome! Practicing appreciation for what we already have is something we could all do more of :D

[@isobarkley]

didnt even want to build my own keyboard before this vid was recommended. amazing video, calming, well paced, great humor

[@cselig]

Awww, thank you, I’m still so new to video making so those compliments mean a ton haha. You should totally build your own keyboard now!

[@JerseyTheNew]

bloody amazing. Love it. Just saw a college kid build an aluminum keyboard from scratch the other day- a bit more complex given the components, but equally amazing. Love it man!

[@cselig]

Thanks my friend, I'd love to do an aluminum case sometime, I think I'd probably request help from a machining shop though haha

[@jordanchesley3278]

I've never been so invested in a video I barely understood! Appreciate your work!

[@cselig]

Hahah I'll take it, and sometimes it's more clear on the second watch through :p

[@hcmcnae]

I've wanted to build my own keyboard for a while and your video gave really good insight into the project and things to consider before diving in 😄

[@cselig]

That's music to my ears. If you tackle it be sure to lemme know how it goes!

[@JacksonHayes]

This is insanely cool. I started tinkering with keyboards but this takes it to a whole new level. Great, wildly thorough video!

[@cselig]

That's great to hear haha, I was afraid it was too light on details in some parts but it's hard to balance not making it over an hour long ;_;

[@solarflame5]

Your production quality is top notch, I'm a huge fan of your work on Apollo!

[@cselig]

Thank you so much! It truly means the world to have people appreciate the stuff you create, and you like two of mine! :D

[@__dane__]

I was an Apollo Pro member and it’s so satisfying to see you making KZbin videos

[@cselig]

Thanks for having supported Apollo and supporting me again now with watching this :)