Becoming An Artisan Keycap Maker - What To Buy

As with most ventures, making artisan keycaps can be done with less kit than it takes to do it well. As I am hoping to do it well, I purchased more kit than you would need to make caps for your own use. I will provide a few details about the kit listed here, but really get into the weeds on a few items. As this project unfolds, I will comment on what has worked well and what has not.

You should ensure your workspace is properly ventilated and use PPE when messing with resin. I am not a safety first sort of guy. I agree with Mike Rowe when he says, "safety third". That being said, epoxy resin is a sensitizer, meaning that it may not cause any trouble the first time it touches your skin, but it might cause a severe reaction when you come into contact with it for the hundredth time. Some artisans have had to step away from the craft permanently because they did not use proper PPE. Of course, your safety is on you, but for epoxy resin, I am going to play it somewhat safer than I normally would. I am fortunate because my workshop has built-in ventilation, but in addition, I will be wearing full-cover clothing, using nitrile gloves, eye protection, and a respirator with an appropriate filter.

Nitrile Gloves - I have used various gloves from Amazon as well as the ones from Harbor Freight in the past, but my favorite are nine mil, powder-free, textured gloves from a brand called Adenna. I have yet to rip one of these while putting it on, using it, or taking it off—something I cannot say for any of Harbor Freight's nitrile gloves. I already have these on hand, but they run around $18 per 100 gloves. You can find nitrile gloves for half that, but they will be thinner and more prone to tear.

It seems to be general knowledge in the community that resin can indeed get through nitrile gloves in time, and it is recommended that you do not reuse them. A study I found concluded that,

The penetration of the three different disposable glove materials (nitrile rubber, vinyl, and rubber blend) was below 0.2 µg cm−2. Thus, they can be used in epoxy work provided that they are used in layers, one on top of the other, and that the top glove is removed within half of the test time, in this case, 15 min after contamination has taken place. 1

You should take that with a heaping mound of salt for several reasons, not the least of which is that I could barely understand half of what I was reading. Furthermore, the test was performed with a specific resin, which appears to be for commercial use. Note that the nitrile gloves they used were .19 mm or ~7.5 mils thick. Cheaper gloves will not be that thick.

Goggles - I paid $17 for goggles designed to accommodate my glasses. These goggles are listed as SolidWork Safety Goggles on Amazon and are designed by a German company called SOLID. The goggles I chose have very high sales numbers and ratings on Amazon, but keep in mind that democracy does not define truth, so they may not be as good as users believe them to be. I can say they are comfortable on my rather giant head and just fit my large-frame glasses. If that is all you want to know about safety goggles, you should skip to the respirator mask below; otherwise, read on.

The markings on the lenses of the SolidWork goggles are CE 2C-1.2 1 B/Z87+ U6. If you were unaware, CE stands for Conformite Europeenne in French and indicates compliance with the European Union's health, safety, and environmental requirements. The 2C indicates UV protection using a clear filter for color recognition, and the 1.2 indicates light transmission ratings between 74.4% and 100%. Anecdotally, they appear to be 100% clear. Next is the 1 which indicates they are class 1 safety goggles, meaning they are high quality and for regular use. The letter B indicates protection from an impact with a small object traveling up to 120 meters per second (about 270 mph). The Z87+ indicates the goggles meet the high-velocity impact requirement and have gone through tougher tests than Z87 requires. Finally, the U6 indicates the UV rating, which in this case is the highest. The markings on the rubber seal of the goggles are CE EN166 B/0Z87+ and the only additional information is that they meet the European Personal Eye Protection Standard, EN 166. 2

All of that is not only to provide details for those who want it but also to note the absence of a marking that would indicate liquid splash protection, a 3 in this case. It would not be a bad thing to have splash protection when working with liquid! It is quite possible that I have missed or misinterpreted something in these codes, but in any case, if you want goggles that are rated for splash protection, you may want to contact SOLID or look for a pair that specifically mentions it. In my balancing act of safety first vs second vs third, I believe the rubber gasket design of these goggles will do the job better than hard plastic glasses.

Respirator Mask - I paid $18 for the 3M 6300 half facepiece respirator. These things last quite a while if you are not rough with them so I went with 3M rather than a generic brand. I doubt it would make a difference as long as it seals well on your face and you buy good cartridges. It should be noted that some people use a full facepiece respirator, in which case you would not need goggles.

Respirator Cartridges - A pair of P100 filters ran me $12, but I did not realize they were not 3M branded. The packaging is high quality and vacuum sealed. Amazon lists them as produced by a Chinese company called Urjoai for which I cannot locate a website. However, the marketing material provided on Amazon's page is not in the usual Chinglish, and the cartridges are sold worldwide on various websites. I am not concerned with them being inferior, or I would replace them.

Remember, these are not run-of-the-mill dust filters, but rather filters designed to block dust and chemical fumes (chlorine, hydrogen chloride, sulfur dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, hydrogen fluoride, and non-oil and oil particulates). Some filters for organic fumes do not have dust filters built in. If you plan on sanding hardened epoxy, you will need to buy separate dust filters for your mask if the cartridges you choose do not. Remember to remove the filters when you are not using them and place them in an airtight container. They are consumable and will be busy trapping whatever is floating near them if you leave them hanging on the mask in the open air.

ZButt - ZButt is a system for creating the molds you need to cast resin keycaps. The creator of ZButt provides all the files for using a 3D printer to print your own. I chose to buy a kit to get me started because one part of the system needs to be printed using resin with an SLA (Stereolithography) printer, which I do not own, and while I do own an FDM (Fused deposition modeling) printer, I have not learned to use it yet. I bought everything I would need to make molds for 1u keycaps (the size of most keys on your keyboard) for $100. You can get these cheaper, but I ordered them to be made such that my keycaps will have my maker's mark on the inside.

It seems the biggest expense outside of consumables is the equipment used to ensure your casts do not have visible bubbles. There are two primary ways I see people doing this, using a vacuum chamber or using a pressure pot. Some people use both as they perform completely different functions. Depending on your use case you may need both, but I have opted for the pressure pot as it seems more ubiquitous and frankly, necessary if you plan on making keycaps that others would want to spend money on.

Air Compressor - The $156 CAT-1P1060S is a 1 gallon air compressor made by California Air Tools. This is the type of compressor you would buy for airing up your car tires, not for running your pneumatic tools. The compressor I had for years was a Walmart special that ran me less than $100. When I say it was loud, I mean it would be more comfortable to lean against the speakers at a Metallica concert. It was truly uncomfortable. Despite the manufacturer's claims and even after watching videos about this compressor being quiet, I had my doubts. All I can say is that it is amazingly quiet. My super accurate decibel meter app puts it at around 67 dB. To put that in perspective, the room is at almost 50 dB with just the refrigerator running, and 60 dB with the air conditioner running. You can comfortably have a conversation while it runs. Its recovery time is also quick, although I will mostly be using it to fill the pressure pot and then turn it off.

California Air Tools Pressure Pot - I paid $206 for a pressure pot designed for casting. You can find videos of conversions for pressure pots designed for painting, and most of them are using a Harbor Freight pot as the donor. After years of people doing this, somebody at California Air Tools realized enough people were casting resin at home that they could sell a smaller pot designed specifically for the task. This way, there is no conversion to do, and rather than a rather large five gallon pot sitting in your workshop, you have one half the size. In addition, the Harbor Freight pot is said to not last, but obviously, YMMV if you want to give it a shot.

Hose - I paid $21 for a 25' hose rather than using one of those coiled hoses most often paired with small tanks. I dislike those hoses in the extreme, and a decent quality hose is not expensive.

Milton ColorFit Coupler Kit I spent another $12 on couplers for the hose, air filter, and my old air gun. If you are interested in knowing which couplers you need, I found a fantastic explanation at ToolGuyD.

Water And Oil Separator - This $10 filter sits between your hose and the tool you are using. If you are airing up tires, it is not particularly important, but if you are filling a pressure pot with cast silicone or resin in it, or doing airbrush or HVLP painting, it is. I looked at a lot of reviews before choosing this filter. These filters are cheaply made and consumable, but users have more trouble with certain brands. This Neiko branded filter had almost five stars after almost ten thousand reviews.

Note: The red piece at the bottom of the filter (top of picture) is a Milton ColorFit Plug, and the piece on top of the filter (bottom of picture) is a Milton ColorFit Coupler.

Silicone - I chose Mold Star 30 simply because it was recommended in much of my research. I paid $35 on Amazon.

Resin - Again, this was used by various makers, and I decided to give it a shot for $30. The silicone and resin products I chose will most likely be replaced or supplemented in the future as I learn how to use them.

Mold Release - There are many brands of mold release, and many of them cost twice the $12 I paid for a 14 oz aerosol can from Mitreapel. Some keycap makers use mold release liberally and some seem to rarely use it at all. If I end up being one of the former and this brand is not particularly performant I will try one of the more expensive brands.

Pigments - There are various ways to add color to resin, but I chose a box with 24 colors of Rolio mica powders for $25. Time will tell if that was a bad choice.

Miniatures: Butterflies - I paid $7 for a bunch of tiny butterflies to encapsulate in resin. I may or may not end up making caps with these, but I needed something to practice with.

Miniatures: Goldfish - These were $12, and overpriced. They are tiny and extremely detailed though. They are also for practice.

Resin Mixer - I paid $22 for an electric resin mixer, but this is not a requirement. I know a lot of people use them because Amazon sells thousands of them from various companies. The reviews I read said using this particular one was helping them reduce bubbles. I decided to give it a shot.

Mixing Cups - I paid $15 for 100 plastic cups with graduations printed on them. I watched a video saying these graduations are not accurate and can ruin your cure. I will check them before counting on the marks, but I did not like the idea of washing the silicone ones you can purchase. I may end up going that route, but I thought I would roll the bones. These came with 100 stirring sticks (popsicle sticks) as well.

Polishing Paper - This is basically an $11 package of extremely high grit wet/dry sandpaper for polishing resin.

Dice Mold - I bought this $8 silicone dice mold for practice. I like the idea of making dice as well, but this mold will not be the one I use as it will not hold its shape in the pressure pot.

Parchment Paper - I realize $34 is a lot to pay for parchment paper, but this is pre-cut in 12" x 16" sheets and packaged flat. There are 500 sheets, so I expect it to last quite some time. I could have gone with wax paper, but I have a rubber mat on my workbench already.

I am still researching sculpting clay and tools, but I have not decided if I want to try it or not. I am not an artist, and while I have some ideas for simple things I might be able to make, I have not decided as yet. A huge majority of artisan keycap makers are sculpting, but these are not the type of caps I would want on my board.

As always, I reserve the right to be wrong.