Pudding key caps are very fitting here

The thing is, since the vast majority of enthusiast prefer screw in stabs, manufacturers and vendors put their effort solely into making better PCB mount stabs.

There are good offering with plate mount stabs but there aren't any plate mount stabs as good as TX stabs or Staebies.

They really aren't.

In fact everything they claim is quite the opposite, PCB stabilizers are much worse when it comes to changes and upgrades, and they're much less stable.

• You want to re-tune your stabs? gotta take apart the whole board.
• You want to change the stabs? gotta take apart the whole board again.
• PCB stabs don't have the plastic "frame" the plate stabs have, so they tend to be less stable and have more room to wiggle ^(I actually think it's better this way, sometimes the frame can add unwanted friction), the only ones that are very stable are the Staebies and they're prone to binding.

People like PCB mount stabs because they're secured with a screw and can't pop out like clip-in ones, but properly made plate stabs that clip in properly and sit tightly in the frame have no reason to pop out.

And since people like PCB mount stabs, manufacturers center their efforts into improving only PCB mount stabs so they tend to be better for rattle, although the plate-mount offerings are pretty decent.

They’re my favorite clicky switches

In general the U4T (and possibly most of Gazzew's switches) are designed to be used stock (tight tolerances), as you'll notice leaf ping and spring crunch are almost non-existent.

Putting lube might make them feel sluggish so be sure to use little if you do decide to apply.

Yeah makes sense, as I’ve said he damaged it and provided 1 side of the story.

The vast majority of things are made in China, reputable companies aren’t opening Alibaba and contracting the first store they see.

Checking the PCB is a staple routine because soldering and desoldering is a major PIA, a faulty PCB HS is a minor inconveniences at best.

Not that it‘a relevant in this post because OP damaged the socket because he didn’t read the manual, testing the PCB wouldn’t have made a different.

I agree that it’s the best approach to make sure you have no issues but then again, how you can prove you didn’t assemble it and just took it apart.

Yes some plates (mostly metal with coating) will have scratch marks, but you can carefully disassemble the board and they can’t prove you assembled it.

My KBD67 Lite for example doesn’t show scratch marks even though I use metal switch puller.

Damaged socket will have signs like a mark of the pin pushing it.

So either OP damaged the board and complaining because he didn’t read the manual (and showing us 1 side), or NK refused to replace a faulty product on the grounds that other customers usually damage it this way.

For people saying "test your PCB", you're right and wrong.

This isn't a GB product by some unreputable person/company, this is a very well known company selling a fully fleshed out product, there isn't a room for a PCB being "possibly" faulty.

On top of that their own guide does not mention testing the PCB, probably for the same reason above.

Edit: What are you downvoting me for? He didn’t read the manual and damaged the socket, testing the PCB wouldn’t have prevented this post.

So this is the fault of OP then, seeing sale sites post a photo of the kitting, it seems like he didn't pay attention to the kitting rather than a misleading sale.

Was there a base kit?

The funny thing is, people complain about users not posting on the question sub, not realising the question sub leads to more people posting questions, because the search function does not show results from the question post.

It really do be like that, once you go past a certain threshold it’s just diminishing returns.

And the funny thing is, as the tolerances get tighter, more friction is introduced, so a relatively “scratchy” switch like Gateron Yellow can feel nicer to type on than some “high-end” switch that is polished out of the factory and hand lubed.

Tofu Jr sounds better every day

Man it's always great seeing this kind of projects, beautiful

Oh my… a proper enter key… maybe I’ll join a group buy after all…

I use the right alt for delete because I don't use it, though I'm thinking about using it on the 'Caps Lock' button instead.

I kind of get why people like it, but no arrow cluster kills me.

With 60% I’m used to having arrow-on-tap with the right shift and 3 bottom right buttons, but it’s not possible with that layout.