Hi, it appears you may be new to this subreddit! Please check out the wiki for general information about mechanical keyboards and consider posting questions in the daily sticky post at the top of the subreddit for any smaller questions. Be sure to also read the rules before posting or commenting.

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

The thumb cluster position can be tightened. I haven't had an issue with it moving down when pressing the keys.

I want a non-ortho 50 so bad.

I had to make it myself. If you search Amazon for "Othmaro White pom plastic sheet" you can order a sheet of 5 mm * 200 mm * 200 mm. I used a belt sander to whittle it down to roughly 2 mm thick. Then the steel plate was my template. I used a fine tip soldering iron to carefully cut the sheet. It took a lot of time and sanding to get it to size. It was a huge pain. In hindsight, I should have used a laser cutter, but I didn't have access to one at the time.

As for the case, yes, that is the aluminum case. I color matched the Swift65 as best I could and airbrushed the entire thing with a metallic paint and then a few layers of clear coat. It isn't perfect, but it is close enough that under normal light they look nearly identical.

I'm really proud of how it all turned out. I ordered the GMK Dracula v2 set and when it comes in I will use it on the Swift so they both match key sets as well.

I noticed the same “factory tape mod” myself. Mine came today. Opened the case to add some poron case padding and add some tape to the PCB. Keychron saved me a step.

Great build! Are you using a kuro plate? It baffles me that Rama didn't do contrasting case/plate combos for thermal r2 considering the exposed plate through the grills. Guess it's easier to sell extra plates that way.

Alright, I gotta ask, where did you get the POM plate for the iris? I have the stainless steel and the FR4 plate and been using the stainless steel one for a while now. I love POM and I would love to get one for my Iris (rev6).

And is that the aluminum case as well? Damn thing looks so good my man!

Yup!

• Barebones Silver Q12
• Gateron North Pole
• Monokei Series 1 White on Black

Yet to arrive/do:

• Switch pads
• Lubed Durock stabilisers
• Blue Tack under space bar, enter key etc

I may yet installed Gateron CJs as I’ve used them in a previous Q series build and liked the sound and feel of them a lot when combined with some damping and nice thick keycaps.

Interestingly the Q12 has arrived with a “tape mod” pre-applied by the factory in the form of some thick card/paper adhered to the back of the PCB.

Specs?

That mousepad is amazing, where did you get that ???

Hey - no metallic noise whatsoever. I used all included foam, the PC plate, gasket mount, with Gateron Pro Silver 2.0 switches.

Blanc*

Bit late to reply, but great and informative post!

About 40s, I wrote often about it and this one I hope can be informative enough. Look into my posts/comments history as I mostly wrote about 40s and sub-40s (which I currently main).

Heck yes on the middle layer! Per key RGB was a bit tricky and I think I understand it, but the entirety of my code is in my repo. Definitely reference that. With the assumption that you have QMK set up:

1. Enable RGB matrix lighting and optional tap dance for some shortcut fun in rules.mk
2. #define SPLIT_LAYER_STATE_ENABLE, #define EE_HANDS, and #define RGB_MATRIX_KEYPRESSES in config.h
3. State your safety net for max/min led range so it doesn't loop infinitely and use rgb_matrix_indicators_advanced_user to set up some if statements.

An example - on my layout, I have E, S, D, F as my arrow keys on my second layer.

if (i == 8 || (i >= 14 && i <= 16)) {

RGB_MATRIX_INDICATOR_SET_COLOR(i, 250, 55, 55);

}

With this if statement, i represents the key codes I'm targeting (see image below). || separates each range as "or". So if my range is (8) or (≥ 14 and ≤ 16), i then is defined with that RGB color code. Basically pink. Or you can say (i, RGB_PINK) or any other defined RGB string you can find in the QMK documentation.

Everything after the RGB LED Setup divider in my code is just there for per key rgb on any layer above 0, plus my simple tap dance command to double tap the shift key and turn it red when caps lock is enabled. DM me if you have any questions!

Edit, also! Here's the LED map for each key for when you define your ranges. Hope this helps.

https://preview.redd.it/yvldam3nthja1.png?width=640&format=png&auto=webp&v=enabled&s=4fbb9a7ebfe0110cfd55a34678d4fec909a2305c

How sturdy is it when you're actuating any of the thumb keys with it tented using the tripods? Have you ever had any issues with the keyboard wanting to tilt down from pressing those keys?

Ah I didn't realize they sold middle layers under the `Iris PE (Phoenix Edition) Case/Plates` item in the store, so I had only seen the 3D printed middle layer! I'l definitely have to pick this up! I've been running mine without a middle layer for a long time, but I want to improve the look and sound a bit. Thanks!

Side note, how did you set the per key rgb? I've only been using the underglow RGB because I couldn't figure it out haha.

$50! :) it cleaned up nicely and looks to be fully working too, so I’d say it was a good deal

That is one beautiful looking Iris my friend.

Once you force yourself to learn to touch type, you'll be 100X more productive. If you really, really want to get better quickly, swap them keycaps to blanks!

[removed]

Thank you! I got the white acrylic plates and frosted acrylic middle layer. They still have them! I was thinking of waiting for another release of the white aluminum case, but it really does look awesome having the light shine through the middle with the frosted layer.

It's cheap plastic volume controller. I broke my nice DB1 Pro when I was trying to reassemble it after anodizing. 😔

• Gateron North Pole Switches
• Monokei Series 1 White on Black

No mods as yet, there’s self-adhesive paper backing the PCB, and force break between the two case halves, from the factory. Combined with the North Pole switches it is very quiet and clean sounding.

The layout will take some getting used to but it’s lovely to type on so far.

ANY content that features products, services you sell, your prototypes in progress or items you were sponsored to post MUST use the Promotional flair, with disclosure of who you represent.

When posting your build, please provide a description of the build, preferably as a Top Level Comment or Reply to this Comment, with the following information:

• Your keyboard featured and its layout

• The Switches, Keycaps, and Other Accessories Featured

• Any notable mods you performed

• Other helpful information such as low profile, lesser known firmware, etc.

Example: Unobtanium Southpaw 1800 with DSA Salt with MorningCaps Artisan and Alps Rainbow Switches, modded with Sorbothan Foam on KMK

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

I'm more curious about the big ass knob

Left:
Swift65
pom plate
Durock T1 tactile switches
GMK Monokai Material caps

Right:
Half Iris Ergo Split
POM plate
Durock T1 tactile switches
GMK Dracula caps

DeltaHub Small felt desk-pad