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【IC】Wood Filco TKL | Phantom case

类型: IC
作者: tubby
发布时间: 2014-06-14 03:25:08
更新时间: 2014-06-18 03:27:35
原链接: https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=59521.0


This started out as a personal project to replace my chipped Filco case and also to give my Phantom a case, but after several turn of events, a partner who’s helping me with the project and I decided to make the case available for sale should it turn out anything more than decent. And in all honesty, it appears that it might very well be =)
We have yet to get a final piece done as we still need several more tools and materials before we can complete one, but here is our progress thus far.
The case will consist of 3 layers of solid wood + a centre frame CNC’ed from a grade 304 stainless steel plate.
This was the very first trial, made from what google points out to be ‘peronema canescens’ (?)
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2nd prototype was made from teak wood..
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To attain the contrast with the stainless steel I am trying to achieve, the teak wood was dyed to a dark brown and finished with lacquer.
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Final product would be of a different wood, but with similar finish minus the tint/dye, so the natural wood grain will remain visible under the clear coat.
And this is what I really intend the case to be made of….
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Ebony wood.
Mind the studs and rough edges as the wood have not been given any sort of finishing, nor any sanding yet.


Material and production cost could be cut down should I make the bottom part 1/3 of its current size, but cost isn’t my primary concern =)

Tested with an unsoldered Phantom kit in ANSI125 layout:

Unfortunately, out of all the Ebony timber I purchased, it turned out only 3 planks are barely wide enough for a TKL case, and that is not a good odds.
Also, process time unexpectedly multiplies significantly because not only is the material significantly harder and denser, the shortage of width in the materials will require additional steps before it can be processed.
Due to the difficulty in obtaining Ebony wood that is sufficiently wide, I am considering to have the Ebony case only available upon request and pricing could be quite steep. Also, no promises on the availability of the wood, I’m afraid.
The other alternative to consider would be Indian Rosewood, but I have no experience on them to know how they would turn out.
However, before I commit to further invest on this project, I’d like to roughly know whether or not anyone would be interested in these wood cases.
The rather bitter fact is, a case made of teak costs roughly around $250-280 price range and I expect it would roughly cost the same for Indian Rosewood.
And that excludes the 1.5mm steel plate.
For use as a Phantom case, the common Phantom/Universal plate circling about is /not/ compatible with the case, so plates will have to be purchased separately. The laser-cut stainless steel plate pictured above costs around $30-40 depending on quantity, but I’m not quite pleased with the results and will be trying to source them from a different workshop.
The plate, however, won’t be required if it were to be used as a Filco case and purchases of the case sans plate are more than welcome.
Plate design was referenced from the Phantom files collated by MOZ. Thank you, Moz.
And my sincerest thanks to bpiphany, jdcarpe, WhiteFireDragon for permitting me to use their plate designs.
Tried to get permission from litster but he misunderstood it for something else, will try to reach him again.

I am also considering to sand/bead blast at least the centre stainless steel frame which I have yet to find out the place and cost for doing it.
But… for now, I’m trying to gauge interest on how many would be interested in a $250-280 wood TKL case - tentatively, material would be Indian Rosewood.
(Pricing excludes plate, metal finish, shipping/Paypal fees - shipping will be from Indonesia, preferably by EMS)
More pics:
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I’ll be needing another 1-2 weeks to finish the Ebony case, in the meantime, I’ve tested the teak case to be fully functional as a Filco case.
Here’s some photos of it in action as a Filco case.
Was perfect timing to be used as an entry in the recent PimpYourFilco contest. Failed to win a spot though =)
(N.B. Different screws will be used in the final product.)

Its adjustable feet in live action.
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Margin of error for the feet placement is pretty tight. Only 1 out of 4 feet done works as intended but the ones that “failed” still snapped back into place.
It only didn’t produce that ‘click’ when raised, but still serves its purpose well nonetheless =)
Your opinions would be greatly valued and would appreciate it if you could kindly fill in the Fancy Google Form for this IC.
For question /#2, here is a quick drawing to give an idea how each base will look like.
The small base will require moderately tall bumpon stickers just so the front section of the case won’t be pressing on the table.
The flat base will require the entire keyboard to be at least 2.7cm tall, and will be missing the adjustable feet entirely.
The ANSI”175” in question /#3 would refer to this plate. A proposed layout to (hopefully) cover both ANSI125 and ANSI150 layout. The catch is, the circled portion have to be grind off manually.
I will have to test it out first, but theoretically, it seems that it could work.

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