I'm Gonna Sit Right Down And Write Myself A Letter

February 22, 2007 11:11 AM

Antique Keyboard is the newest work from SteamPunk Labs.
posted by fandango_matt (36 comments total)

Interesting, but seems like a lot of work to get my grandmother a keyboard to her liking.
posted by JohnnyGunn at 11:40 AM on February 22, 2007

Impressive - anything labelled 'steampunk' normally makes me want to put out my eyes, but that's not a bad-looking keyboard.
posted by jack_mo at 11:43 AM on February 22, 2007

Impressive - anything labelled 'steampunk' normally makes me want to put out my eyes, but that's not a bad-looking keyboard.
posted by mrnutty at 11:50 AM on February 22, 2007

Totally agree with eye gouging. I would be most happy if I never, ever heard the word 'steampunk' again.
posted by cmicali at 11:59 AM on February 22, 2007

Impressive - Service Temporarily Unavailable.
posted by Nahum Tate at 12:03 PM on February 22, 2007

I'm going to create a movement placing modern technology inside 60's and 70's styled boxes. I'm going to call it "shagpunk." You heard it here first.

[this is good (when it works)] btw.
posted by 1f2frfbf at 12:12 PM on February 22, 2007 [3 favorites]

i got the same 503 error
it did, however, finally load after several refreshes
posted by cellojoe at 12:13 PM on February 22, 2007

I love steampunk. I just wish it weren't called that. I thought it was some kind of anime thing before I realized that all the brassy antique future crap I love and the cheesy term are one and the same. They should call it something else. Like...Brassjira! or Steam Bebop!
posted by katillathehun at 12:23 PM on February 22, 2007

The steampunk web server has fallen over! FEED IT MORE COAL YOU DOGS!
posted by boo_radley at 12:26 PM on February 22, 2007 [5 favorites]

Shagpunk 4 life
posted by smackwich at 12:26 PM on February 22, 2007

Anything labelled 'steamdrunk' normally makes me want to put out my ice, but that's not a bad-looking cocktail.
posted by Astro Zombie at 12:32 PM on February 22, 2007 [1 favorite]

Here's a mirror. I think it looks great and the mod well-documented, and as a bonus it's based on an old IBM clicky keyboard.
posted by exogenous at 12:45 PM on February 22, 2007

mrnutty, your Enter key needs a new sear -- it's stuck on full auto.
posted by pax digita at 12:45 PM on February 22, 2007

I was expecting an old-timey mechanical typewriter interfaced with a PC. Now that would be cool.

(And very sweet that the guy made it for his wife to help her RSI. So it's got the "Awww....!" factor goin for it, too.)
posted by LordSludge at 12:47 PM on February 22, 2007

Here's a mirror:
http://www.vonslatt.com/steampunkworkshop.com/keyboard.shtml
posted by sebastienbailard at 12:47 PM on February 22, 2007

Wonderful. If they made a Natural Keyboard version, I'd buy it in a heartbeat.
posted by QuietDesperation at 12:53 PM on February 22, 2007

Cool looking. Also looks like it'd be difficult to type on -- small, round pegs instead of slight concaved squares.
posted by papercake at 1:03 PM on February 22, 2007

*crave*
posted by hermitosis at 1:12 PM on February 22, 2007

Lovely.
posted by cortex at 1:26 PM on February 22, 2007

Oooh. I want. Wish I was handy enough to rig something like that up.
posted by typewriter at 1:38 PM on February 22, 2007

Help me! Me and an infinite number of my monkey brothers have been chained to steampunk keyboards by literary historians, who want to find out whether the complete works of William Shakespeare really are complp foakwpogkpaogkpg okwpaokgpo kgpopg pogpo poganv lkzn oi oigEeoi oirE

rgoi po paoieoijERGe Rgoigoe Impressive - anything labelled 'steampunk' normally makes me want to put out my eyes, but that's not a bad-looking keyboard. oijewapo poge peoiogoIEpgoe
posted by Anything at 1:56 PM on February 22, 2007 [2 favorites]

All that's needed now is some gooseneck line or cloth cord (scroll down) to complete the vintage look.
posted by Smart Dalek at 2:38 PM on February 22, 2007

as far as keyboard modding goes, i like to spell crazy things with the letters. it's a fun word game to play: you only have one of each letter. my current laptop keyboard (kinda dirty)
posted by localhuman at 4:11 PM on February 22, 2007

For those of you with no patience, here's the punchline...

pic1

pic2

pic3
posted by ZenMasterThis at 5:39 PM on February 22, 2007

(cool work, BTW)
posted by ZenMasterThis at 5:40 PM on February 22, 2007

localhuman, from your description I thought you had rearranged the keys to spell dirty words. But no, the keyboard is literally covered in schmutz.
posted by Faint of Butt at 6:25 PM on February 22, 2007

That brass and felt keyboard is so beautiful.

I want one, and I want a monitor that looks like an old-style tube television to match it. Alas, I can barely operate a can opener so I will not be making them.
posted by winna at 7:23 PM on February 22, 2007

I see there's a TARDIS on the desk.
*wins $5*

Nifty tho.
posted by Smedleyman at 8:27 PM on February 22, 2007

That keyboard is wicked and cool. Someone should build a Steampunkland because that would be cool and fun. I like Steampunk when it's well done.

And I like saying Steampunk.
posted by fenriq at 8:39 PM on February 22, 2007

I'd hit it.
posted by sgt.serenity at 8:49 PM on February 22, 2007

Awesome! Loved the patient craftsmanship and the wonderful fruit of the effort.

Another retrofuturistic version. And another beauty. A sexy hand crafted aluminum computer tower case.

I like the mental typewriter, discussed on this cool tech blog. This AlphaGrip one looks cool too.

A different looking but cool keyboard. I do like the floppy ones.
posted by nickyskye at 10:27 PM on February 22, 2007

DecoPunk — the ElectriClerk has a 1923 Underwood typewriter coupled to a 1988 Macintosh SE.

PopuluxePunk — the Philco Predicta CaseMod uses a swivel-yoked TV case.
posted by cenoxo at 11:04 PM on February 22, 2007

A customized Type M? Oh, joy! My heart yearns tragically for this keyboard.
posted by Smilla's Sense of Snark at 11:58 PM on February 22, 2007

Whimper and love.
posted by redsparkler at 12:08 AM on February 23, 2007

... and he's down with the Heterodynes, too!
posted by lodurr at 5:37 AM on February 23, 2007

A customized Type M? Oh, joy! My heart yearns tragically for this keyboard.

This is where Type Ms go if they've been very very good.
posted by sebastienbailard at 11:23 AM on February 23, 2007