This post is an archival post from the original Datamancer.net site, which is no longer online. It was written by Richard Nagy when he built the project, before he passed away. We have kept it public, unchanged apart from the layout, so the information stays available to as many people as possible.
And now for something completely different…. a Scrabble keyboard!
This keyboard was commissioned by a couple of friends of mine from back east (NJ) who are avid Scrabble players. Most of the keys are made from real Scrabble tiles that were all hand-beveled (truly an exercise in patience/masochism!) and built onto a USB, clicky, mechanical-switch keyboard. This keyboard was going into a Mac environment so I decided to use brushed aluminum for the casing and round all of the corners to keep with the sleek, simple Macintosh styling. Near the end of the build, I decided that the keyboard looked a little too minimalist so I added some silver hardware and a seam to put a slightly industrialized twist on the design.
1/19/09: Due to the overwhelmingly positive responses I’ve received about this keyboard, I’m considering building a batch of them for sale in the near future. I just need to do some research into the legality of using the Scrabble name on this product so I don’t get sued or anything! (Please don’t sue me, Hasbro, I’m just a guy in a garage over here!) Please feel free to join my mailing list to stay informed of availability. Thanks! : )
The Num, Caps, and Scroll Lock LEDs shine through tiles with the lettering cut out.