Build and Repair Services

Keyspresso offers a wide range of mechanical keyboard services in the North York region of the Greater Toronto Area, Canada. All work is performed by our experienced service technicians. We have worked on boards from a variety of brands (Razer, Corsair, Coolermaster, Filco, Vortex, Keychron) as well as smaller designer keyboards (also referred to as "custom keyboards"). 

TLDR, if you have something you need done, contact us through the chat icon in the corner, or by e-mail (support@keyspresso.ca).

Services Offered

Assembly services

The complications with modern keyboard kits can be quite challenging and time consuming. Modern boards include all sorts of sound dampening material (commonly referred to as "foam") and designs have become more complicated than simply screwing things in.

If you require assistance with assembling your keyboard, we can help. We can assemble the case for you, apply any sound dampening material included, install your switches and keycaps, and tune your stabilizers.

Soldering and desoldering services

Switch Soldering: Solderable PCBs are typically offered to accommodate multiple layouts. If your kit includes a PCB that requires soldering switches, we can help.

Note that stabilizers must be tuned prior to soldering switches in. Once everything has been soldered, you'll have to desolder to fix problems!

Throughole Kits: Some kits require throughole components such as diodes to be soldered in. If you require assembly help with your kit, we can help.

Hotswap (hot swap) sockets (Mill-Max): Mill-Max sockets can convert your solderable PCB into a hotswap PCB. We can even make it support multiple layouts! We have sockets on hand ranging from 0305, 7305, and 3305 series. By default, we recommend and prefer to use 3305 sockets as they were designed for mechanical keyboards.

Note: For Kailh or Gateron hotswap sockets, the PCB must have the footprint for these sockets. If you are not sure, send us a photo of the back of the PCB.

Stabilizer Tuning and Lubrication (stab lube): Stabilizers comprise of a wire connecting two sets of stems. They add stability to longer keys such as shift, enter, backspace, and space. Untuned stabilizers are unpleasant to the ear due to the rattling noise. Poorly tuned stabilizers may have too much lube which makes the supported key press feel unresponsive and sticky.

With this service, we apply grease and lubricant to stabilizers to reduce the rattling noise while also ensuring the switch remains responsive and not sluggish. 

Note: if you require stabilizer tuning as well as switch soldering services, we will not be responsible for wires popping out if you choose to provide older style stabilizers.

Switch Lubrication (Lube): Involves disassembling and reassembling individual switches to apply lubricant to switch parts and improve its sound and feel. This work is done completely by hand to ensure lubricants are applied evenly for each switch as pre-lubed switches from the manufacturer may be inconsistent. 

Unlubed switches can feel scratchy while over-lubed switches feel heavier to press contrary to the spring weight.

If your switch has rattle between the top and bottom housing, we also offer switch film which can be applied while we are working on lubricating your switches. We offer many types of film made of various materials and at varying thickness.

Switch Desoldering: If you would like to remove your switches from a soldered PCB, we can do it. We use a Hakko FR-301 for desoldering work.

Repairs: If your keyboard is not functioning properly, we can take a look at it to diagnose and identify  problems and doing the work necessary to fix them. Sometimes it's as simple as a single switch desoldering and resoldering.

Consultation: End-to-end service that assists you with finding and building a keyboard based on your preferences. 

Additional Service Charges and Risks

Desoldering

Our desoldering services remove soldered switches from your board.  Desoldering services are performed using a Hakko FR301 desoldering gun.

Desoldering is a time consuming and potentially risky process. PCBs vary in quality (this is the case with many prebuilts). We do our best to ensure the PCB remains in a functional state, but we cannot make any guarantees.

Mill-Max Hotswap Socket Soldering

We currently use 3305 Mill-Max sockets. These sockets replace the formerly used 7305 sockets.

The 3305 series are designed specifically for mechanical keyboard switches as they have a lower lip (helps make the switch stay flush) and tail lengths matching switch pin lengths, or slightly lower.

Sockets require extra care in handling to avoid losing sockets from drops or having solder leak into the sockets.

Throughhole Kits and LEDs

Throughhole kits (Discipline 65, Mysterium, LCK75, etc) require a lot of extra time to install all of the parts needed. The possibility of error is much greater on these types of boards. These kits are meant to be budget friendly as the soldering work is passed on to you. We do not advise you purchase these kits if you cannot build it yourself and cannot afford to purchase services for the work.

LEDs are similar and require extra work. For single LEDs, it's typically fine and we can do it for a reasonable rate (contact us about repair work).

Cost and Payment

We accept a variety of payment methods including payment cards (Amex, Visa, Mastercard). Payment is in CAD (excluding sales tax subject to your province of residence). Sales tax and shipping charges may apply depending on your province.

Contact us with your needs and we can provide you with a quote. Please note that this is an estimation and not a final invoice- the final amount will depend on the work that was needed for the service. Some situations require more work and will therefore increase costs.

You can save on service costs by disassembling your board in advance, tuning your own stabilizers, pre-installing switches and stabilizers, or providing any replacement parts needed.

Please see this page for examples of services and charges.

Getting Service

We'll need to learn more about what you have and what you need done. Contact us via our website chat or via e-mail (support@keyspresso.ca).

Once you have confirmed and agree to work with us, we will provide you with information on sending your parts to us by mail, or dropping it off locally in the GTA. If you require parts to finish your build, we can provide them as needed.

Our turnaround time is typically 1-2 weeks.

Preparing your build for service work

We will need you to fully disassemble your keyboard as much as possible before handing it off to us. This means removing the {switch/plate/PCB} assembly from the case.

Disassembly adds to your final invoice as it can be difficult and time consuming. While we are able to do the disassembly, there are risks involved. In some cases, your case may incur damage if we are to disassemble the build for you (this is especially a problem with prebuilt keyboards).

Note on stabilizer tuning: please include a PCB for us to install the stabilizers on to. This helps prevent the lube work from shifting dramatically in transit. It is recommended that you also include or note your preferred switches so we can test the tuning properly. Otherwise, we can lube stabilizers for you, but we cannot promise they will be “perfect”. 

Packaging your parts

Include any parts you want us to work on (eg switches, stabilizers, etc.)

If you are sending in your PCB or build assembly, package it along with any daughterboards and cables. This is important as we will need to test your PCB. Please try to wrap your assembly in anti-static packaging (anti-static bags, pink bubble wrap). 

Leave a sheet of paper with your name and contact information along with any requests we need to remember. This makes it much easier for your builder to refer to and ensure your build is performed correctly.

Looking forward to hearing more from you!