EagleTG
Experienced Member
Hi all!
I finally found a Chiclet PET for my collection! This has been a long search for me and I'm thrilled to have finally found one that met almost all of my criteria regarding condition, location (I didn't want to ship), price, etc.
That said, I'm missing one of the legends on the keyboard. The key is there, but the aluminum (?) inlay is missing. Looking for some ideas regarding replicating the key legends. If I can make it close enough to the original, I might replace a few of the originals that are worn from use.
The original key legends have a bit of depth/thickness to them as they appear to be made from aluminum. They also have a grain/texture and a bit of a sheen that shows through the printing from the material they are made of. I think I can make a "look alike" from inkjet printed label stock, naturally it wouldn't have the sheen or texture of the original. I could laminate over that label to give it a bit more of an original look. My issue is taking up the depth of the inset in the keycap. I can't seem to come up with a way to fill in the depth, as the paper/laminate material would be thinner than the original legends.
I could also find an appropriate metal/aluminum and use a transparent label for the text/symbol and then laminate over top of that. Make a "sandwich" of sorts. I just need pointers on finding some sort of appropriate metal/aluminum stock to work with. Can't seem to find anything that looks appropriate via my Google searches. We used to have some asset tags we used at work that would have been nearly perfect, but those are long gone. One issue with the asset tag approach is that I really only need a small amount, and it seems that most of these solutions are sold in bulk.
I'm also worried that if I find a suitable material I won't be able to make accurate enough cuts to keep it looking stock.
Here's a picture I found that gives a decent view of the chiclet keyboard for those unfamiliar:
This doesn't show the depth of the aluminum inlay, I'll try to get a picture of my machine so you can see that.
Let me know if anyone has any thoughts or suggestions.
I finally found a Chiclet PET for my collection! This has been a long search for me and I'm thrilled to have finally found one that met almost all of my criteria regarding condition, location (I didn't want to ship), price, etc.
That said, I'm missing one of the legends on the keyboard. The key is there, but the aluminum (?) inlay is missing. Looking for some ideas regarding replicating the key legends. If I can make it close enough to the original, I might replace a few of the originals that are worn from use.
The original key legends have a bit of depth/thickness to them as they appear to be made from aluminum. They also have a grain/texture and a bit of a sheen that shows through the printing from the material they are made of. I think I can make a "look alike" from inkjet printed label stock, naturally it wouldn't have the sheen or texture of the original. I could laminate over that label to give it a bit more of an original look. My issue is taking up the depth of the inset in the keycap. I can't seem to come up with a way to fill in the depth, as the paper/laminate material would be thinner than the original legends.
I could also find an appropriate metal/aluminum and use a transparent label for the text/symbol and then laminate over top of that. Make a "sandwich" of sorts. I just need pointers on finding some sort of appropriate metal/aluminum stock to work with. Can't seem to find anything that looks appropriate via my Google searches. We used to have some asset tags we used at work that would have been nearly perfect, but those are long gone. One issue with the asset tag approach is that I really only need a small amount, and it seems that most of these solutions are sold in bulk.
I'm also worried that if I find a suitable material I won't be able to make accurate enough cuts to keep it looking stock.
Here's a picture I found that gives a decent view of the chiclet keyboard for those unfamiliar:
This doesn't show the depth of the aluminum inlay, I'll try to get a picture of my machine so you can see that.
Let me know if anyone has any thoughts or suggestions.
