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Since 2013, my primary keyboard has been an Ergodox. It’s a split keyboard with a layered acrylic case. I bought it as a kit that I assembled and have since modified multiple times, changing the switches and keycaps, adding wrist rests and snazzy black top plates. I love the ergonomics and customisability it offers over a standard keyboard.
This is what it looked like not long after I got it in 2013. The custom wooden wrist rest was the first thing I added.
There are many things I like about the Ergodox (and remappable keyboards in general), but I’ll just give one example here. The Ergodox makes your thumbs a lot more useful. On a regular keyboard both thumbs share the space bar, while on the Ergodox (in my configuration) my left thumb is on backspace and delete, while my right is on space and enter. This means less moving your hands to hit far away keys and giving more work to the under utilised thumbs.
For most of it’s life, my Ergodox has looked like this.
One thing I’ve always wanted to do, but haven’t gotten around to until recently is adding tenting to it. For those not familiar, tenting is tilting the keyboard outwards to improve the alignment of your wrists. This can make it more comfortable to use for long periods.
The keyboard is higher on the left side than the right side, which is called ‘tenting’.
I designed a 3D printable base that adds tenting and integrates wrist rests. I tried a few tenting angles, starting with 20°, which was far too much. After some experimentation, I settled on 6°. The printed base takes the place of the bottom acrylic layer of the case. The screws that hold the case together screw into threaded inserts in the printed base.
The final product.
The tenting feels great. My wrists are in a more natural position. Having the wrist rests integrated makes moving the keyboard around easier as there are fewer pieces. I really like the look of the final product with the all black colour scheme. All files are available on Printables.
This is how it looks with my hand on it.
Another shot.
