Swerve Keyboard

My custom, evenly staggered layout DIY keyboard

Maybe I’ll call it ‘The Swerve’

I’ve been using Colemak for a few years, and have been using an Atomic ortholinear keyboard for 5 months to force myself to touch type properly. But I still use my laptop’s keyboard when out, and jumping back and forth is a little tough, and made me realize how much I hate the standard uneven keyboard row stagger - I can’t find keys without looking, and I end up using the wrong fingers for the bottom row. I came up with this ‘dream layout’ to address my problems, which is half way between a standard layout and the Atomic grid layout. Almost a HHKB, but look at that top row alignment…

Used keyboard-layout-editor.com and builder.swillkb.com to design plates and I had lasergist.com cut it.

Sandblasted finish is gorgeous! Looks Apple quality

Reused Cherry MX Browns from an unused CM Storm

I hate hand-wiring, but this came out okay, took a few hours.

This Teensy 2.0 wiring is hideous but really wanted to try it out.

Keycaps are a mix of some PMK DSA sets. The layout is really comfortable for me! The reason for the left-shifted stagger on bottom row is because I find it easier for my left hand to reach, and I’ve been using an ISO mod version of Colemak on my laptop

I’m using Legos as a temporary case until I figure out what to make. One drawback to this layout is it’s slightly smaller than standard 60% cases.