 There are literally thousands of imperfect choices for mechanical keyboards out there and You can customize them a little add some o-rings here change some keycaps there Luke actually did a guide welcome to the ultimate mechanical keyboard guy But unless you have the know-how to actually build one yourself You're at the mercy of those that do or are you? What if I told you it didn't have to be like that? What if I told you that there are more options out there than you might have realized? What if I told you that today's video is brought to you by iFixit? iFixit's ProTech Toolkit gives you the tools you need to tackle any electronics repair challenge Visit iFixit.com forward slash Linus at the link below and get yours today Do you want to build a keyboard? Use any switches that you like it could be All right so let's go over what we set out to accomplish here because when Anthony first came to me with this idea he had like these grand visions of programming microcontrollers and soldering diodes using 3d printed or laser cut chassis and a bunch of other things that are really cool, but This is our first rodeo, so we decided to focus on getting one working first So with that in mind then we narrowed our search to parts that can bolt together Relatively easily meaning though that we can expect to pay a premium looking at what's available There's a lot of 10 keyless components out there But then even more options for the smaller and simpler 60% layout so we settled on that starting at mechanical keyboards.com for some essential supplies Cherry MX Brown RGB key switches three choices of beautiful anodized aluminum cases to put everything into and then a selection of Springs that we can use to actually customize the feel of our switches So this way we could make the caps lock key or the function key more difficult to press Accidentally and then we could even reduce the actuation force of keys like WASD Or even the whole alphanumeric set to improve our speed while maintaining that Satisfying tactile bump of the cherry MX Brown like the beauty here. Whoop is that the sky is the limit For customizability, but while it's really fun to play around with a bag full of cherry MX's a Chassis and a bag of key switches a keyboard does not make So we are going to need to wire them up now some folks do this manually, but a PCB Preferably one that is well documented is much easier not to mention a lot tidier now There are swaths of options out there But for our project we turned to Banggood where we found not only this nice wooden case Actually, this thing's really nice and wrist rest, but also Satan. No seriously We found the Satan GH 60 a fully programmable keyboard PCB that seems to check all the essential boxes It's got macro support and RGB variant and it is widely used in the DIY community as a budget option So with the power of Satan and a plate to go over it we started to write I Said no soldering for this video, so we just really wanted to make that Satan joke So maybe we'll do a follow-up later with the dark prince GH 60 anyway after some more digging for a plug-and-play option We found this on a store called KBD fans the geek customized GK 64 from semi-tech This PCB is pre-built with hot swap terminals, so not only will we not need to solder anything ourselves we can much more easily pull our key switches if we want to adjust the springs or Replace them all together and it gets bonus points for using a detachable USB type-c connection and having multiple RGB modes including Check this out you guys this lit af Sound activated mode courtesy of a little microphone built into the keyboard Oh Before you ask that microphone can't be used for sound input and for good reason I mean imagine your clan mates if you put your headset Microphone right next to your cherry MX blues right anyway, so while we were talking to way over at KBD fans we also requested his stylish Tina chassis a full set of keycaps and And stabilizers and another plate to fit our GK 64 which finally completes then our component checklist oh And we also got these which I caught Anthony working on And he assured me was productive, but I will let you guys be the judge All that's left now is to put it together and see how well it works okay, so let's assemble this thing um So we start with what screwing down the PCB yes, that was relatively straightforward So spacebar in Where's the hole I can't do this so that seems to go on that way? Put the doodad on the doodad cool. This is fun All good in hood, but it doesn't even sit like evenly like it's bowed up in the middle So you're sure it wouldn't be faster to clip these into here and then put the whole thing down hmm Yeah, it's probably better to do that okay wait, but there's no there's some wiggle room. Yeah Exactly oh Yeah, if we run out of yeah here can let's grab a let's grab a stiffer one for the spacebar yeah Like a much stiffer one okay. Well here's a hundred milligrams cool. Oh Okay, cool. Yeah, let's try it Wow it's like it yeah, it feels like it's pushing you away from the table Okay progress. Let's do a quick light up test Hey Not bad Huh alright, so now we can put all the keycaps on All these aren't labeled The backspace isn't working oh isn't working How concerned out of ten should we be on that about that? Here we go And that is one bent ass pin right there Bent right over Yeah, I would recommend buying some extras if you're gonna undertake a project like this so everything is tested all in all I'd say that 60% It's gonna take some getting used to you got a super short shift over here your delete keys way down here You don't have function keys obviously but overall Pretty pleased with the with the end product here. It's compact. It's programmable It's super portable. We don't have the ability to RGB sync it with you know Asus Aura or Razer Synapse or anything, but we could change out its case anytime We wanted we can make adjustments to the force of the individual keys I mean, it's fantastic. So you might be sitting there thinking gee That sounds great Linus. Does that mean I should do it, too? well That really depends on how much you value your time And how much you value your money not only did this involve about an hour's worth of work Not counting all the research of finding all the parts and ordering them our Bulk-together approach means that our total cost topped 350 US dollars before shipping or taxes I mean many people already bulk at the idea of a hundred dollar keyboard So this is clearly a deep rabbit hole for the amateur the more adventurous among us could salvage from old keyboards or even build or 3d print their own cases But there will always be caveats no matter who you are You won't get a warranty by going totally custom So if you care about that So in the end then while this may not be hands down the best mechanical keyboard ever Certainly not for the price Nor was it quite as down-and-dirty DIY as it could have been it's uniquely ours And for some people that's gonna be worth it so let us know Would you build your own keyboard in the comments below and let us know if you'd like to see more DIY keyboard stuff in the future maybe next time I'll even let Anthony at the soldering iron Blue apron is perfect for those of you out there trying to keep to your New Year's resolutions Especially if they were eating healthier and cooking at home Blue apron allows you to create delicious chef and spy food Recipes at home by delivering all the farm fresh ingredients you need right to your doorstep in exactly the right proportions No waste and no trips to the grocery store They offer two types of plans the two-person plan and the family plan and there are eight Recipes to choose from each week now instead of six so you can pick any combination you'd like and they're always adding new dishes To the menu blue apron recipes are delivered in a refrigerated box so the ingredients will stay fresh Even if you're not at home, and they ship to most of the USA There's no commitment you can skip or cancel the service at any time and prices start as low as $8.99 per serving Check it out at the link in the video description and the first 100 people to sign up will get 30 bucks off their first blue apron order So thanks for watching guys if this video sucked You know what to do But if it was awesome get subscribed hit that like button or check out the link to where to buy the stuff we featured in The video description also link down there is our merch storage has cool shirts like this one and our community forum, which you should totally join 350 bucks this is expensive but like Listen to this thing you can kill a man