Showing posts with label keys. Show all posts

Discovery: Printer at work= the god of printers. So crisp and so clean! I finished up my odd keys (along with reprinting R and Alt) and sealed them. The tiny buttons I left a white background, thinking teeny white numbers would get lost in the black. They discolored a bit, but they look a little like marble. ...Sweet? After a test with the other keys, they looked nice and almost antiquey so I'm keeping them. I wish I had gotten a shot before I went on working on the keyboard. I found some contact sticky-paper that I covered the touch-pad, mouse buttons and the negative space by the arrow keys. The contact paper doesn't interfere with the touch-pad, and it has a nice metallic grain.

Off to correct my mistakes with a different tool and a more critical eye. This time, for my frame, I cut the large strip of moulding into smaller sections: Back, front, 2 sides. After I measured everything around 8 times, maybe 9, I beveled one side, then remeasured. I did this with every piece until everything was even and perfect. Each piece was then cut in half and matched to its partner with a number (1-4, not hard stuff). I didn't construct the frame, however. Last time, I shot nails into the sides and it smushed the hell out of it. I'm going to use small L-brackets to screw in from the inside. Hopefully this won't disturb the staining along with not destroying it. I also need to drill the air vents and what-not. I hope I don't screw this up again.

So, I went through all my receipts and calculated a cool of $104.17 in total. The reason for the jump was that I wanted to leave out the costs of something til I used that something, but then I forgot what and how much that something cost. Now it's all in, 104 huh? Hmmm.....No! I mustn't waver from my Dellcinea!

• Hours: 3 - 21 in total
• Cost: 1 pair of very cute pumps, or 2 decently priced pair of boots...
  

It was too humid to finish my keys today. I was afraid the moisture would effect the sealant, so I decided to let it sit for another day. I did find some cute buttons that will fit for my F1-12 keys and what not. I punched guide holes in a new sheet of velvet (black velvet, if you please) using a scan of my comp. Helped a lot, clever idea Von Slatt, sensible too. Normal keys out of the way, I ventured to grand ol' Micheal's to hopefully find something for my Ctrl, Tab, and other odd shaped keys. I looked pretty weird to the old hobby ladies sizing up my computer keys. One lady even asked what I was doing. This time I was prepared with a response! After trying to explain 'a subculture based on the theory that instead of gasoline and whatnot, we used steam for energy. Other influences include the victorian fashion, a love for engineering, and airships' I just lost people. Instead I told this beading lady that I was making my laptop look like an old jewelry box. Way simpler, and I look way less crazy. I found some perfect, and slightly decorative, brass plates for my tabs, shifts, and ctrls. But finding a long, skinny space bar was rather difficult. I'm hoping I can solder these two pieces together and make a decent space bar.

Time for some big tools. Today, I started the frame for my laptop. 3 inches in width, I cut the strip in half (rather, my father did, as I shot) with a table saw. After cutting and beveling the edges to fit, good old fashioned wood glue held it together while I shot 1inch nails into the corners to secure it. The bottom turned out fine, the top...not so good. I wish I had a picture, I'll update it later. The moulding was very thin on top, and getting the nails in without shooting them through the sides was very frustrating. And even with the countless measuring (you know, measure twice, cut once, nyuk nyuk nyuk) the top was just a smidge bigger than the bottom. Ugh. Either I figure out how to make the two fit, or I start over with a new strip. If I do a do-over, I would probably make the whole box, then cut it in half with the table saw. Dellcinea...you are a right harlot sometimes.

I know this is a long post, but I thought I'd take some time to explain this blog. It's not a how-to, by any means, just an account of the trials and tribulations of a project. It's something I wish I had when I started this project. I read something in the Steampunk Magazine: 'If you meet a steampunk craftsman and he or she doesn't want to tell you how he or she creates her stuff, that's a poseur who should be avoided'. Brilliant stuff, and capitol reading material for you punkers-to-be out there. I think this is a noble statement. I imagine there might be some hesitation for fear of copy-cats, or 'the man', but nothing can really take away the maker's personal touch and emotion out of their creation. That said, I totally found some mass produced steampunk items! Gears! Congratulations Mainstream, you found 'steampunk'! I first laughed at this, but then I remembered I spent over an hour just looking for reasonably priced gears and found either that they were too expensive, or too small. These actually might work in a pinch.

• Hours: 2 - 16 total
• Cash: $61, and might need to tack on 16 more...