New Here - Info on Mechanical Keyboards: DIY, Kits, Meetups?

[Spencer Knighton]

Hey all, just found hackerspaces and HeatSync in particular while diving down a rabbit hole for mechanical keyboards. To keep it brief, if any of you have any experience with mechanical keyboards, know where to point me for more info on local meetups near Mesa in particular, or are willing to answer questions, please let me know! What you guys do here looks incredible :)

[Eric Ose]

Spencer,

Are you interested in building keyboard yourself? Or just want to try some so you have an idea which one you like?

I'd suggest posting whatever questions you have in reply.

Over the years we have had a few people solder their own keyboards. Years ago a group from somewhere came in and had a meetup which was fun.

Eric Ose
Robot Ambassador

Sometimes cool things just happen, but usually you have to plan them.

On Wed, Dec 3, 2025, 2:47 PM Spencer Knighton <spencer....@gmail.com> wrote:

Hey all, just found hackerspaces and HeatSync in particular while diving down a rabbit hole for mechanical keyboards. To keep it brief, if any of you have any experience with mechanical keyboards, know where to point me for more info on local meetups near Mesa in particular, or are willing to answer questions, please let me know! What you guys do here looks incredible :)

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[Spencer Knighton]

I am interested in all of the above! I've bought 2 mechanical keyboards now, but am now looking at split ergonomic keyboards w/ thumb clusters, and the price ranges on those are higher than what I'm willing to just shell out for a keyboard I'm not certain is perfect for me. I found a thriving DIY sort of community that designs their own or finds an open-source project that matches their hand size well, and then they buy/order most necessary parts, but then many 3d print the case (and sometimes even the keycaps), and most kits require soldering, which I've never done. 

Someone here pointed me towards the MK Tech Center with mechanicalkeyboards.com in Chandler, which I didn't know existed, so I'll likely be heading down there to get the keyboard questions answered. Still, if I end up deciding to DIY and solder... I think I'll stop by sometime during public hours to figure that out! It seems there are classes for some maker skills, and I would be interested in one of those for soldering small electronic parts.