Custom Build: StackedTKL, Lubed Gateron Milky Yellows, Durock V2 Stabs
Channel: ireakhavok
Date: 2022-04-23

This is the review and build of the Stacked TKL. This board is not like many other boards because it is a DIY kit with layered acrylic sheets.

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Intro: (0:00)
How to build the Stacked TKL: (0:55)
StackedTKL Sound test: (3:43)
Closing thoughts: (4:38)

With this build I was going for a deep sounding build. The only drawback to it is that the board is solder only. However, I felt that because the price was only 85 dollars, I grabbed some Gateron milky yellows, some durock v2 stabilizers, and I already had some SA keycaps that I felt would sound really nice and deep with the case and switches. 

 And it also has an extra key in the F13 spot. It makes the board look a little more aesthetic and also provides for some extra customizability. The pictures on Canon keys doesn’t do it justice, and it was extremely easy to build. 

The first thing I did with this keyboard was remove all of the paper from the acrylic. This didn’t take long, but I should have worn some gloves to keep the inside surfaces more clean. 

I lubed the gateron milky yellows with Krytox 205 grade 0. Because these switches are linear switches I didn’t have to worry about getting lube on the legs. Down below is an affiliate link for 5 percent off from keyboardlube.com. They are the first affiliate for the channel, so show them some support.

I took apart and lubed the screw in durock v2 stabilizers. When working with a solder only board it’s important to use good stabilizers to begin with, because once you finish, it’s much harder to fix problems with the stabilisers.

I lube almost every keyboard when I build it. It does take several hours to open each switch and coat all the surfaces evenly, but afterward the smoothness is really worth it. I’m not sure what plastic they use, but something about these switches makes for a cleaner deeper tone than many others, in a little I’ll show you the sound test and you can hear it for yourself. 

This board can be made without a plate, as there is 5 pin support, screw-in stabilizers, and is soldered. While you construct the board you can just omit the plate layer, and this would give you a PCB mount board, which is rather rare as it doesn’t protect your PCB from spills and ETC. 

While soldering these switches, I did notice that there were spots for single color LED’s, which I may actually add some in the near future. The process is rather easy if you’ve never soldered before. 

I started to assemble the case, and if you are following along and assembling it yourself, you’ll notice that the process is fairly strait forward. The smallest acrylic pieces make up the stand. 

I just lined up the larger three layers of the stand, dropped in the standoffs, and screwed the smallest layer into the standoff. Turning the keyboard stand over and aligning the base of the case, I was able to screw it in quite easily. 

Around the edge of the board I screwed in the rest of the standoffs. Tt was rather easy to align the other bottom layers. The layers with the cuts for the USB plug go next, then the solid layer without the cut for the plug. But, because the USB plug in was getting stuck on the solid last layer, I slid it in between the PCB and the plate and then added the bundle to the stack. 
After this I added the top layers, which had cutouts for the arrow keys and the cursor and navigation keys. The last layer was smaller.

At this point I screwed in the last acrylic layer using a star pattern, and put all the keycaps on. 

If you are looking for a customizable entry level board, and have a good idea of what you want, I definitely suggest grabbing this board. Even though it doesn’t have hot-swappable switches, it’s cheap and versatile. Sometimes, I don’t want a high pitched and clacky board, like with my aluminum boards. 

The deep tone is really soothing and the board feels rather forgiving in feeling. The SA keycaps compliment the sound and feel really well. 
If you liked this build video, please consider subscribing, throw me a like, and I’ll see you in the next one. 

StackedTKL:
 (I am not paid or endorsed by CannonKeys)

https://cannonkeys.com/products/stackedtkl-keyboard-kit 

typing test website:
https://monkeytype.com/


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