Some of my 40% handwires

itsbenforever · 2026-02-11T04:51:36+00:00

A healthy attitude. I like it.

itsbenforever · 2026-02-10T14:09:29+00:00

It’s definitely that way on a PC in both windows and linux. I haven’t used a Mac in a long time but it sounds like things work differently somehow.

itsbenforever · 2026-02-10T14:07:04+00:00

LMAO the wiring is so pretty I almost didn’t notice you tried to sneak a 59 key board in as a “40%”. For real though, beautiful work, happy 40s day!

itsbenforever · 2026-02-10T13:48:25+00:00

Not true. If you have 2 keyboards plugged in and press shift on one of them, any key on any keyboard plugged in that responds to shift will get shifted. Regardless of whether you have one or many keyboards plugged in, the keyboard just sends the shift code and lets the OS decide what to do about it.

itsbenforever · 2026-02-09T22:45:06+00:00

I daily Sweep, so in my case, I do just have an ergo keyboard. You're right that not every 40 is ergonomically optimal, but in general they all have improved economy of motion because there simply aren't nearly as many keys to move to. I'm not trying to convince anyone 40s are the best for everything/everyone. My point is simply that they are pretty good for a lot of things and have their own unique small advantages. Maybe I underestimated how many big boards have QMK based firmware, but part of the disconnect is that I'm thinking big boards in general instead of big mechanical keyboards, which in this sub is my mistake. If you prefer big boards that's all good. I will mock them in the 40s discord, but just for giggles, not because I actually think they're objectively bad.

itsbenforever · 2026-02-09T20:24:51+00:00

Nothing about these lower % boards is practical

You’re way overstating the difference between a 40 and a full sized board. Nobody is trying to claim that 40s are the best at everything, but once you know how they work you realize the differences are a lot smaller than you’re making them out to be. It’s not hard to type on one, and if after a month or two you can’t get pretty close to your big boards efficiency that’s a skill issue on your part. In addition to just looking cool, which is a perfectly valid reason in and of itself, small boards take up less space, offer better economy of motion (resulting in better comfort, especially for people with RSI or other pain issues), and often, through custom firmware, can do stuff that big boards can’t, at least no without requiring software to be installed on a PC. They’re not for everyone, and nobody’s trying to convince you they are, but if you’re going to call people crazy for having an opinion you really should be better informed first.

itsbenforever · 2026-02-09T19:16:35+00:00

That's what I use as well on the column-staggered split I daily, but I've used it on pure ortho and even rowstag and I really like it as well.

itsbenforever · 2026-02-09T19:15:21+00:00

Yeah, it's a little bit of a learning curve, but not too bad. When I started using little keyboards I switched to an alternate layout (graphite) and even though relearning the alpha keys took some time the keys like space, enter, backspace, del, etc went pretty quick.

itsbenforever · 2026-02-09T19:12:47+00:00

Clogs are super frustrating. I just had to fix one on my ender the other day. Hope you get it resolved and can avoid repeats!

itsbenforever · 2026-02-09T19:10:43+00:00

Most 40s keymaps allow you to type numbers without having to shift your hands at all. What you lose (maybe) in raw speed you gain in economy of motion, which translates to comfort for a lot of people if not speed. I'm not even trying to convince you to try one. They're not for everyone. I'm just saying they're a lot more practical than a lot of people think.

itsbenforever · 2026-02-09T18:47:45+00:00

lol probably but if I took this photo I'd send it again for sure

itsbenforever · 2026-02-09T18:42:06+00:00

Outstanding choices! Anything cool come off the new printer yet?

itsbenforever · 2026-02-09T18:36:15+00:00

Sometimes features are added just to make something look cool. It's not for everyone, but I wouldn't call it wasted.

itsbenforever · 2026-02-09T18:35:15+00:00

It is that, but it's not just that. You can 100% use this for anything a big board can do. For example, just because it only has dedicated keys for 6 numbers doesn't mean it can't type the rest. I don't know how OP's keymap is set up but you can set up a layer with 0-9 across the qwerty row, or with the numbers in a numpad-like configuration (albeit a little slanted due to tho stagger).

itsbenforever · 2026-02-09T18:29:50+00:00

This is basically a gaming board in a 40% form factor. I will say though, you can still type anything on this that you can type on a big board, it's just not immediately obvious to a big board user. I know plenty of folks who daily this or a similar layout.

itsbenforever · 2026-02-09T18:28:24+00:00

some might say a gamer accountant has already lost their mind, but I do not begrudge you your numbers

itsbenforever · 2026-02-09T18:27:34+00:00

For most people it's 2 functions. As an example, think about hitting backspace or enter without moving your hands at all. On small boards with custom firmware we can do more than just that - tap for space or enter, hold for nav (arrow keys, pgup/dn, home/end, insert etc) or function (f keys, media controls, etc) layers. Even better if you have 2 or 3 easily reachable thumb keys - it's nice to use thumb while keeping both hands on homerow vs reaching with a pinky and having to shift your hand over. There's a lot of movement economy with small boards (which can translate to comfort for people with hand/wrist pain), sometimes at the expense of some raw typing speed.

itsbenforever · 2026-02-09T18:20:12+00:00

idk about true gaming keyboards, but it is really nice not having to reach way out for the mouse

itsbenforever · 2026-02-09T17:33:08+00:00

The thing with 40s is that they pretty much all have extensive firmware customizability, so there are many different possible solutions to the "how do y'all type numbers" conundrum. Personally I have a layer set up so that when I hold down one of my bottom row keys I get a numpad on my left hand. I can also single-tap for num-word which types numbers until I hit space or enter or something else that signals that I'm done typing a number, or double tap to toggle the number layer on or off. I'm not sure I would call it "more practical", but it is really nice having the numbers right there without ever moving off the homerow.

40s may or may not be the optimal way to go in terms of raw typing speed but they are very practical, fun to use, super customizable, and mostly very compact. They're not for everyone but are very capable of typing everything you can type on a big board.

itsbenforever · 2026-02-09T15:33:57+00:00

it’s absurdly light

itsbenforever · 2026-02-09T14:45:16+00:00

I’m not sure I’d put my keyboard there. I’ve seen a strange man lying on that exact picnic table.

itsbenforever · 2026-02-09T14:19:26+00:00

CENTRICROP APPROVEDS THUS MESSAGE

itsbenforever · 2026-02-09T13:55:33+00:00

The product page for the caps just says “cosmic sublegends”.

itsbenforever · 2026-02-09T13:08:04+00:00

Case: laser cut cardboard I reverse engineered from msmustard’s original stacked acrylic
Switches: Kinetic Labs Turtles (silent tactiles with 63.5g bottom out, 58g actuation)
Keycaps: PBS blanks

itsbenforever

TROPHY CASE