here is the list of builders who might be able to help you out, https://www.facebook.com/groups/MYMECHMARKE...79389625627322/

gat yellow is comfortable for most people. just use it for a week first. i think you will get used to it.

yes, you can just get some lighter ones, and replace them right away (the immediate convenience of switch hot-swapping)

nice haha

yes, plan your purchase. i feel bad for you too if you just get one switch, because that makes the total cost of that switch being the same as (switch cost + shipping cost).

it might be related to the material and thickness of the tape/foam that you use for the mod.

mushiness can happen if the foams applied are relatively thick. i use eva foam, 0.5mm, compressed by force to make it relatively compact and thinner before use. the thickness after that should be around 0.3mm.

to help reduce rattles, you should also tune the wire so that it's as straight as possible, with both tips pointing to the same angle. you might also need to apply some foams between wire and pcb, so as to support the wire.

f and j keys are home keys for qwerty layout. usually they have more dished top surface, or a tiny bar at the bottom of top surface.

ok, but that's the purpose of 'abnormal' height, i.e., as indicator to users that those are home keys. check your set and see if they provide you with the alternative f and j keys.

if that's the case, yours shouldn't have any mushiness. did you apply bandaid mod on pcb with the same tape? did you clip the slider tips? those might cause mushiness as well

these days, i use epsi mod more with 0.5mm eva foam. epsi mod covers top and bottom parts of stab sliders, so the chance of having mushiness is higher if tape/foam used are too thick, or you don't trim the excess. however, usually it's ok after trimmed and with manual compression. (chewah macam canggih, but this just means i use a pen and roll it over the piece of tape for few times)

for experimental and comparison purposes, some of my older builds do have mushiness (epsi mod), because i just used 0.5mm eva foam without manual compression.

right. these are one of minor details that might need attention when you are interested in a key cap set, beside profile and supported layouts.

ok.

yes, excess of lube can cause mushiness also. however it's usually temporary. the effects should be gone after regular use for a week or two.

fyi, krytox grease is also dielectric. i assumed you were referring to permatex dielectric grease when you said 'dielectric grease'

right, take your time to explore more. the experience is good for you for your future builds also.

it's fine, a lot of people do not know that krytox gpl is dielectric also. some even created imaginary names like krytox gpl 105g0. the gX is the grade for krytox gpl grease (20x series). there is no such grading for their oil (10x series)

you will pick up more stuff in the process of your mkb journey for sure.

just try out different material and thickness, e.g., like what niakulah used.

you can be more specific, and share what caused the failures to join.

no, there are plenty of beginners in the group. you're thinking too much.

good yes the questions are simple. it's very hard to give wrong answers.

remember to read group rules. they are also very simple to understand and follow.

yeah, there are plenty of beginner groups also. most of them are like serving other hidden purposes.

67g linear rated spring is popular in boutique switches for many reasons.

for tactile switches, more 'patterns' are available in terms of tactile bumps. it's better to check these differences out at your own pace.

sa profile is too tall for me. they do look nice, but they're not comfortable.

i stick to cherry profile mainly (it's the most comfortable for me), and few others (step sculpture 2, oem, osa, mda).

i haven't tried kat yet.

the graphs at sprit will show you the differences for the spring types (e.g., linear rated, short, long, progressive, complex, multi-stage).

for relatively precise consistency, i believe sprit original is still the better option, if you're really picky on scientific precisions (99.5%, deviation below 1g); their economy packs are ok too (99%, deviation around 1g)

tbh, depending on individual, the difference of 1g might be negligible (e.g., some recent chinese-made springs that i have are with very large average deviation of 5g. however, with different spring types in play, that change the overall typing feel, you might not feel anything weird due to inconsistency of spring weight)

for now, i just stick to sprit and tx. of course, i use linear mainly so i don't bother about how spring weight affecting tactile bumps.

it's possible. if you're concerned about consistency across the board, just replace them with sprit springs.

right, first-hand experience is the key to identify this, because these feel and sound things are subjective in the first place. what i feel doesn't mean you will feel the same.

once you go through the common spring types, you will have your own formulas for each spring type, for different switches. as an example:
1. linear rated - 60g to 67g;
2. progressive (low preload) - 62g to 72g;
3. long (high preload) - below 56g to 62g;
4. multi-stage (even higher preload) - 45g to 60g (depending on stages)

the above is for cherry mx, for my own comforts. other aspects of switches also influence comforts. for instance, aquaking v3 (i.e. switches with very tight tolerance for switch slider wobbles), i can use their stock linear rated spring as low as 37g, without causing mistyping. the same goes to sp-star switches, 57g linear rated spring is ok also. however, the range is different when i use gateron ks-3 (i.e. switches with a large amount of slider wobbles)

all in all, just make necessary adjustments when needed. there is no absolute formula for this.

you can get the set with your preferred colorway, and use it as benchmark haha

besides look, they do have a different sound profile. to me the most important thing is typing feel, especially comfort. i'm not willing to sacrifice this for sound haha

it's not bad. it's like tuned cherry mx (black nylon housing) imo. however, it's less optimal as the base for modifications imo.

for fun and science, i bought and used this no-brand compact soldering station with t12 tips for few months now, https://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=610557624807 ( replacement t12 tips, https://shop124267013.taobao.com/ )

note that the default tip is t12-k (knife shaped); you can leave the model of t12 tip that you want when you purchase the set (e.g., t12-d24)

compared to gj907 and kasadi 936 + genuine hakko tips (both with copper mod; haven't tried thermal paste method), this one heats up fast (like 10 seconds, to 300c); has auto-sleep function when you put the iron at resting position; also, its heat transfer is better. with it, i can do soldering/desoldering with 63/37 solder at 300c quickly. (with gj907 and kasadi 936, i usually use 330c) probably because of this, there is still no sign of melting or deform of the silicone tube on engineer ss-02 (the tube was said to be able to withstand temperature up to 350c)

imo it's an option for casual soldering/desoldering switches and parts (i.e., hobbyist usage)

you can collect parts/kits, then build them, both progressively.

these days i just focus on collecting barebones/kits for 60/65/75%. base costs for each of these reference builds are not high. (depending on parts used) i can live with tuned tray-mount/top-mount builds; i have found layouts that i wanna stick to, and plate types that i wanna use (at least aluminum, brass, fr4, cf, pc) if i liked a combo very much, i will get new cases for it. tbh, the potential combos are massive. i am still very far from making a repeated build.

occasionally, i also fix my own mess, or add new mods that i learned to existing builds. i don't intend to fix some old builds, because they are proofs that i was once very bad in tuning.

just do everything at your own pace. it's supposed to be fun while building something that you want from scratch

in general, linear rated springs from tx are lighter and softer, in terms of feel. they have larger diameters also.

i'm not sure about its effects on tactility.

alpaca and banana split should be similar. these two sound differently compared to tangerines.

ok

well, don't bother about what others think. it's not that i don't appreciate reviews from people like theremingoat, but in terms of switch, it's better to tune them to your own liking.

i guess the seller repackaged small sets. domikey sa that i have all came with boxes; well packaged imo. it's the same for domikey cherry. i got their aio. (the full set consists of 6 small boxes; each box is equivalent to the option of small sets)

right, domikey cherry is ok. (except for the colorways; they are off compared to renders)

just stick to what you prefer. that's money well spent to me.

.. and yes, smearing is a common issue for dye sub caps.