I Built My Dream Keyboard from Absolute Scratch 

damn I'm glad youtube is working on promoting smaller channels. This dude hasn't made a video in like 10 months and comes back like he took a monk training for youtube, nice.

I like how hes explaining what to do as if ill build my own keyboard

I don't code. I don't solder. My typing speed is atrocious. The words "git", "push", "PCB", and "microcontroller" strike fear into my heart. But I do love aesthetics, and I love a truly well-made, careful, accurate, playful piece of content. Dude, this was a stellar video, and you may have convinced me to spend my after work hours learning some new hobbies. IDK how RU-vid has built their algorithm, but damn, this was such a good click!

i love it when you find a random small channel like this, just doing random stuff, then and your just like, 'yeah i made apollo' :D

"and if you use Linux, I'm sure you know how to open a terminal." Dead. Subbed.

This was an unreasonably good video

Of course you’re insanely multi-talented. 😒 The Caldera looks great! (I cannot endorse the use of lead-free solder, however).

I will never again complain about the price of the keyboards I buy now that you’ve opened my eyes on what a process it is.

Woo, good to hear from you. I’m here because of your email. I went to add this to my watch list but I found it hard to stop to watch it later. In other news, I still dearly miss Apollo. Thanks again for everything.

this is one of the the most random underrated video I ever clicked on, ended up watching till the end and love it

Excellent! The writing, concise AND detailed. the pace, the density of info, the well structured reasoning, the choices justified, the examples, the humor spicying up and giving "air" to keep the focus. I feel you've cared for our time: not slow-mo ranting or inteligence-insulting patronising advice. Sharing a very useful log of a complete experience. Inspiring. Thank you!

Great video Christian. I remember all the joy you provided with Apollo and now you’re back bringing joy, but in a different way. Love it.

I just watched the entire video without knowing that you're the Apollo dev. Great video

I am slowly being lured into building my own keyboard by RU-vid. Great video

so many new hobbies unlocked with one video 😭

I will always miss Apollo - I've yet to find an app that feels as 'native' as it did. If there's one bright side to it being sunset, I'm glad you have the opportunity now to focus on other projects and create stuff like this! I saw in another comment you saying you like the idea of being a "joy deliverer" - I can certainly vouch for getting some joy out of this video! I guess I am just echoing other comments but seriously - great production value, great explanations of each process. When you're not too busy with Juno, I'd love to see more little project videos like this! :)

“I know this looks scary but it’s not even programming.” Proceeds to type things and do things that look like magic to a non-programmer like me

0:55 Love that cat species, they don't climb on everything, they don't make sounds, and their food is also a lot cheaper :p

Gonna make a companion video, "I Built My Nightmare Keyboard From Absolute Scratch", where you painstakingly build a replica of a 2002 membrane keyboard aquired from a supermarket where there's Standby, Restart, Shutdown keys where the Prt Sc trio go, and Prt Sc etc and the home key cluster are shoved down touching the cursor keys

2:39 OMG OMG I HAD FLASHBACKS

This is the exact video ive been looking for. For the past 2 years at my job ive wanted a regular qwerty keyboard with the numpad mirrored, on the left side, and with the num lock button replaced with the ' button for my work in autocad. im definitely gonna give this a shot

A well-shot, concise, funny, and engaging 21-minute long video about something I only have a passing interest in and experience with? Sign me the hell up!

So glad to see Ergogen being useful! Congratz on the awesome build! 👏Also, this vid is insane production quality, and is kind of the missing tutorial to the program that I still haven't made... Cheers!

Ive watched a lot of these beginner videos for soldering, but honestly you do an amazing job comforting the viewers insecurities. That's what's missing a lot and you're doing an amazing job!

Damn bro I hope RU-vid comes back to this. People showing things they genuinely care about and have passion for! great vid bro.

Such a good vibe on this video: learning, chilling, building.

I have been looking for ages for a budget friendly keyboard that matches all my special tastes and requirements, and I don't know why it never occured to me to design my own pcb and 3d print my own case for it. You have enspired me for my next project. Amazing video, and thank you! (I don't think I'd enjoy a split/ortholinear layout, but I do have to admit it looks incredibly slick).

20:53 I'm sorry, did you tie half of your keyboard to a drone and fly it 100+ feet in the air???

this made me feel so inspired. i was one of those people who thought they couldn't do math, and now when i'm not working my corporate job i'm building keyboards and learning how to code for fun. thank you so much for making this info feel so accessible

#1 issue to getting rid of wrist pain, and carpal tunnel, is to not prop the keyboards up in the back - leave them flat. Had issues in my 20's because of that (I'm 51 now) and that one change not only made a huge difference but has been used for every keyboard I've ever used since. Love that sound BTW.

this is an awesome project and as a keyboard enthusiast i'm almost tempted to make it myself. thanks for sharing everything for free!

This video is one of the best things I've seen on RU-vid. I am not the kind of guy to subscribe to a channel after watching just one video by it, but my man you fucking earned it. Please keep this kind of content coming.

Hey mate, also here because of the e-mail. Really miss Apollo, I've actually stopped using Reddit because of it. Subbed immediately, because I'm also a keyboard nerd :D

Well, you didn't make it look easy. But you did break it down and make it look doable. Great job, man.

Not only is this video super well done, but I've been looking to make my own keyboard for a few months and you sir have checked every box I was looking for but couldn't find anywhere else. Looking forward to making one of these myself. Thanks so much for sharing this with the community!

Are you from canada? “Its not accualy that haeeared” 0:36

The white moonlander from ZSA I feel like almost fits the bill, but not quite. I'm quite happy with mine though! Awesome video 🔥

Dude, FINALLY I do not get the obsession with SEEING the controller at all! Like is this to keep a diy aesthetic or something? I already think it's wack enough that no one seems to ever remove the chips from their development boards

Long time Apollo user and new subscriber here, glad to see just as much attention to detail in your RU-vid videos as in your apps. Awesome stuff, keep it up!

This project is so perfect for someone who want to get started with PCB design, small electronics project like me. Thank you for sharing

Apollo gang rise up, missed you Christian, really do, hope you're doing well!

I just get upset whenever I see a keyboard with no numpad.

Mac user immediate dislike

16:05 ya, you've definitely earned it, i subbed. You are super underrated you need to be mainstream. Keep at it man

This video is incredible: so much detail, super easy to digest, great explanation of not only what you did but the motivation and "why" behind every piece. Fantastic work Christian. I'd love to learn more about your software setup on your machine: do you avoid using a mouse & lean on keyboard/software tricks for navigating around? What's your window management look like? What keeps you productive on the split keyboard? Could be a good topic for a future video!

wow, I don't know 90% of the words used in this video, but you have such a calm voice and such a communicative way that it captured me in the video in a surreal way. keep it up.

i love how this video is showcasing a project while also being a tutorial at the same time. you dont usually see that these days

This came out awesome. My favorite part was the final assembly; there isn't anything quite like the the sense of accomplishment that comes from watching the last few screws smoothly thread into something you designed yourself. Well played sir, I hope to make something nearly as clean as this someday.

This video had no business being this good. I like building my keyboards but this, this is on a whole nother level. Keep up the great work man, awesome video!

I just got you in my recs and I instantly subscribed. I then discovered that not only can you make killer apps and keyboards, but your videos are impeccably edited and timed. Save some talent for the rest of us!

This is a great video showing the whole process of how to build a mechanical keyboard. It's relatively short, detailed, and simple. I would love to have watched this a few years ago, when I was building my first keyboard. Congratulations, great content! 👏

I wish I had the time to wrap my head around whats needed to do things like this. I have an idea for a mouse that you can adjust its orientation quickly depending what side of a table top screen you are working from but have no idea where to start other than a totally mechanical solution. but to know there are such resources out there just for keyboards is encouraging.

I was wondering about creating my own keyboard from scratch, your video just encouraged me finalize my project! Seems so much more feasible after this!

Excellently done video. The way you laid everything out, the way you broke it down into simple pieces, and the visual demos to go along with each step, were all superb. And the finished product looks Beautiful too. When i was finished I thought this video would have at least 100k views it deserves so much more love and attention!

This vid is awesome, Ive seen some colleagues with custom keyboards like these and i didnt have the faintest idea of how they even did it. this vid really inspires me thank you

Two questions and a comment: - How long did all of this actively take? - Approximately, how much di the project costs? Everything else is really really clear and I love how the whole process is described step by step, it made something that looked impossible and doable only by veteran engineers, look doable and possible. The only thing I would have done differently, maybe, is do the firmware part, flash the controllers and test them before fully assembling the keyboard, so that if anything was wrong, I wouldn't have to disassemble the thing to check.

loved it! I've been procrastinating on making my own keyboard for a long time and your video might finally make me go for it! I love the way you are catering to people with basically no electronics experience to pretty decent level with your explanation. Great job end to end!!

Never thought of making a custom keyboard this was a really cool project. Definitely on my radar now. Thanks for sharing!

Very entertaining video. Good mix of the hard subjects and still a good story. Hardest part of being an engineer and tinker is being able to not bore my friends about things like this.

Hey, I ended up making a keyboard of my own using Ergogen thanks to your amazing video. It was so helpful in helping me understand how Ergogen syntax works, and the video has incredible quality to it. Bravo!

The video editing and the little jokes are absolutely amazing, I myself am soon planning on getting a corne keyboard, very excited. I've already spent like several hours making the perfect homerow oriented layout [btw, you can fit everything with just 2 layers, base and extra, but i used 3 so that it's more intiutive and homerow is used more.]

What an amazing work you've done! I'd like to repeat this experience, but I never don't these kind of things before, and I don't thing I have time for this. But you've explained all steps so clear that I think it is possible for me now) Thank you! Especially for making this video, with all these explanations.

Really like that look of this. I just might have to use your files and make my own version. I really appreciate uploading everything. A case study is my preferred way to learn something new.

This was such a good video :D I am a casual enjoyer of keyboard content & do not usually enjoy the software side of it (usually I'm into the physical building process) but your explanations really simplified it and made it entertaining to me. Hoping to see more videos like this from you, express your array of talents king!! You got my sub :P

I dabbed in keyboard making using some funky alps like switches ("little purple build" on reddit) but i've been mostly using existing things and modifying them. flashed firmwares to add qmk, did light hardware modifying of pcb, had some custom plate cut, modded cases, etc but you did the whole thing from scratch! very inspiring stuff! the feeling of using something you made is the best! thumbs up for your skills and determination!

Really awesome! I do hate how much we are stuck with outdated keyboard designs based on decisions for typewriters.

I've been thinking of making my own keyboard for a while as I want a very specific set of keys in something that isn't much larger than a 60% keyboard. This video helps SIGNIFICANTLY with making something that originally looked extremely complicated a lot easier!

amazing video man! usually I don't understand technical stuff but how your explained things made it a lot simpler and easy to understand. hope more people find your channel soon!

Awesome video. I've always wanted to create a custom split keyboard, quite similar to this one. Love having the whole process laid out like this.

Fantastic video 🙂 loved the info as someone just getting into QMK and mechanical keyboards and loved your presentation style too

Thank you for making a video about building a custom keyboard, for people who aren't massively down the mechanical keyboard rabbithole.

I am very high rn, it's 3 am, and this video has fascinated me. it has quite literally forced me to learn and i just kept being mind blown,by how because of how well you explained stuff, i just couldn't help but understand all of it extremely easily, even while distracted sometimes, id still get all of it with enough confidence to go and try it myself, and this comes from someone with absolutely 0 experience and frankly interest. I mean all of this in the absolute best way possible if you managed to captivate someone with 0 interest and making them learn something, i cant even imagine what you do for ones who are interested and even searching for help. You're doing an amazing job, in my opinion it is certainly something to be very proud of, hell i dont even know you and im proud of you! keep up the awsome work man, props to you 😌

wow! this is a very good introduction in creating your own keyboard, even if it's not ergonomic like yours. Great job! 👍👍

honestly a great, well rounded and yet not bloated video with all the necessary information, love it! thank you so much!

Damn, I handwired a dactyl manuform about a year ago and it came out technically mostly functional. Seeing how a custom made keyboard can actually turn out makes me want to give it another shot

It's always fun peeking inside a creative brain. Production value on this was great...totally tracks that it's from the creator of my favorite iOS app of all time. Keep up the great work!

Would love to have the time to build this, it looks fun! I don’t understand why more companies don’t make split ortho-staggered keyboards-it’s such a no-brainer nowadays. I prefer more robust and premium-feeling products, so a 3D printed one isn’t for me. If Keychron or a similar company built this, it would be amazing. Great video, BTW. Keep it up-chilled vibes, just the right amount of humor, informative, and great pacing. Love seeing people combine meaningful hobbies and interests with something practical.

I've built 2 custom keyboards, one soldered split 7sPro, one hotswap QK75N with ws morandis. I found it interesting how you built it all from scratch, definitely would be on my to-do list for high school!

Wow, you're such a big fan of the ✨ emoji that you gave it its own key! That's dedication! In all seriousness, most of your desired requirements sound absolutely awful to me, but I've been interested in a custom keyboard for years. I'm pretty impressed with the amount of work you put into this describer. I definitely think that where you say "you don't need to be a programmer for this", that's a real blind spot that you have from being a programmer. Even as a programmer myself, I suspect that would be an absolutely daunting process for someone who isn't a programmer.

I didn't notice until 3/4 the way through that this was Christian Selig. One of the greatest to ever do it

Learned about the interesting "Keyball" and the concept of split ergo keyboard just earlier this month. Been looking at building a Corne for the past few days but wanting to make some modifications even if I'm completely new to this. Stumbled upon this video and totally enjoyed it and what do you know, it's Apollo developer himself. Now i'm seriously thinking about how I can build one from scratch too. Thanks! (And for Apollo too!)

Hands down one of the best video/guides about building your own keyboard. Congrats, keep the good work up

got through maybe 1/4 of the vid before my brain simply shut off, my goal is to rewatch until it all makes sense and then maybe tackle the project of making a keyboard myself lol. Really great video!! Held my attention the whole way through :)

I built my first keyboard two years ago. I'm in the fortunate position to own a 3D printer so the case was pennies' worth of filament, and I bought the cheapest mechanical keyboard I could (it was like $20) to harvest the cheap cherry blue knockoffs and keycaps; that plus a packet of diodes and two STM32F401s and I got a totally custom, split keyboard for under $40 in parts. It was my first real soldering project, too, and it went a lot more smoothly than I feared; troubleshooting basically just meant reflowing some solder that didn't make proper contact. By now I've upgraded to actual Gateron Milky Yellow switches and a proper TRRS cable to connect the halves (previously they were hardwired) and the difference is noticeable, but the main point is that custom keyboards don't have to cost an arm and a leg (like, I get that proper manufacturing and comparatively low sales volume makes ones like the Glove80 pricey, but I had severe sticker shock the first time I saw what those cost).

as a person that does custom keyboards if you want a more muted sound you could take the back of the pcb with painters tape and add foam to the bottom case. Amazing build I love it!

Hey, @JLPCB, sponsor this person already. I have no interest in building a keyboard or designing one but after 21 minutes I am sorely tempted to trying SOMETHING like it! Excellent job.

All this amazing work for free!? You are the GOAT! I've always thought about doing this but didn't know where to start, thank you for the amazing video!

Thank you for linking to everything/making it available, and the thorough explanation. I would love to try doing this sometime soon - I didn’t realize making your own keyboard was an option but it makes total sense that it would be😂

Sub count is obviously no measure of content quality, but this legit feels like content from a channel with millions of subscribers. Fantastic

First video of yours I've seen and I'm looking forward to more. I'm a big believer that interested people are interesting and you are proof of that. Excellent video quality, excited to see what else you have in store!

7:04 Oh man, that's brilliant. I never thought of how that worked.

such a high quality video, i know im never gonna build a keyboard but that was rly cool!

Video: In depth guide on how to make your very own custom keyboard Me, completely content with a $20 2010 keyboard from the store down the road: Interesting

didnt even want to build my own keyboard before this vid was recommended. amazing video, calming, well paced, great humor

bloody amazing. Love it. Just saw a college kid build an aluminum keyboard from scratch the other day- a bit more complex given the components, but equally amazing. Love it man!

I've never been so invested in a video I barely understood! Appreciate your work!

I've wanted to build my own keyboard for a while and your video gave really good insight into the project and things to consider before diving in 😄

This is insanely cool. I started tinkering with keyboards but this takes it to a whole new level. Great, wildly thorough video!

Your production quality is top notch, I'm a huge fan of your work on Apollo!

I was an Apollo Pro member and it’s so satisfying to see you making RU-vid videos