The Dremel

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This was a bit of kit that I've always wanted! Basically a mini hand help drill that you can put lots of attachments on to do close, or fine work. The idea behind the purchase was to use it mainly as a cutting tool, to precision cut the typewriter keys in order to make the keys for the keyboard.

I bought mine from a Dremel dealer in the UK, however there are many other makes and suppliers that sell the same sort of thing for less if that's what you want!

The Typewriters

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This was a bit of a saga! Obviously, the idea behind the Steampunk keyboard is that it should be a modern keyboard underneath, but with typewriter keys (and a bit of brass!). Given that the average (UK) keyboard is 102 keys and most typewriters have 42 (ish) keys, then I wanted at least three typewriters, or the equivalent number of keys.

Loose typewriter keys are very hard to get hold of! In the main - apart from us mad people that want to build Steampunk Keyboards with them, apparently they've very popular for jewellry, such as bracelets and necklaces. (?) Therefore there's a bit of a dearth out on places such as EBay.

However, there are quite reasonable amounts of typwriters around in varying conditions. There are also a lot of different types and makes of typewriter too! It all depends on how you want your keyboard to look and how much you want to spend.

The decision on which typewriters to go for was reasonably easy for me - a collegue mentioned that he had an old Imperial typewriter at home that I could have. Given that I already own an Imperial 55, I like the key style, so I've gone for Imperial typewriters.

EBay yeilded three more typewriters (one spare just in case one didn't turn up!), however all arrived safely for quite reasonable costs. In fact - as a sidenote - one is in such good condition that I am going to keep it intact. It's a 1937 Imperial Good Companion and it looks wonderful!

So that's the typewriters sorted!

Keys

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Now I have my typewriters, I need to get the keys off them!

There are two thoughts here. You can either just grind the keys off with a cutting disc, or - as I did - you can strip the typewriters first and then grind the keys off.

I stripped the typewriters for three main reasons:

1) It was fun.

2) It'll be more stable to clamp the arms in a vice before grinding.

3) It'll guarantee a clean cut.

Did I mention it was fun? Also, it's provided me with no end of parts. I'll hang on to them, as they could prove useful!

 

This is the keys and arms ready to be attacked with the grinder:

Keys with Arms

Keys with Arms

The (cunning) plan is to grip the arms in a vice then grind the key off at it's base, hopefully providing the flat surface. Note that there's a green bin and there isn't! The green bin contains the "good" keys - these are the ones I will use directly (such as letter and number keys). The others I will need to "play" with to either reletter\number them, or can use for practice.