DIY: Free(-ish) Wooden Keyboard Wrist Rest
I’ve been meaning to get one of those fancy wooden wrist rests for my mechanical keyboard, but they all seem unreasonably expensive. Even with Massdrop sales, they go for about $49 (with shipping) and up. Building one would’ve been a no-brainer if I had a wood shop, but since I don’t, I’ve been putting it off. I finally decided to give it a try this weekend.
Step 1: Loot The Neighborhood
Go out for a walk on a Sunday afternoon in San Francisco. If you’re local, then you’re aware of the unspoken “unwanted furniture goes to the curb” rule on Sundays. It’s great! I picked up half of an IKEA bed frame a few months ago to use for personal projects. I happen to have some of the wooden bed slats left over, which are perfect for the wrist rest I wanted to make.
Step 2: Gather Tools and Materials
I already had all of these in my toolbox:
- Wood saw
- Sandpaper
- Table clips
All of them are fairly cheap and are useful in more than one project.
Step 3: Saw
Get down to business!
- Measure keyboard length and mark wooden slat.
- Cut slat with saw. (takes about a minute or less)
Step 4: Sand
I used a penny and a pencil to draw circles at two of corners on the wooden piece. I used those as guides for sanding the corners to give them a rounded look.
Step 5: Keep Sanding
I also drew some lines on both sides and the front to help me sand the top of the slat.
A lot more sanding. This is the part that took awhile, though it didn’t take more than an hour. Not too bad, IMO. If I had a sandpaper of 100 or lower, then it would’ve been a lot easier to sand. However, I chose to work with what I’ve got on hand, so I had to work a little bit harder :)
Step 6: Olive Oil Magic
Put a little bit of olive oil on a paper towel and rub the surface until it is evenly coated. The color is much more vibrant. Here’s the before and after:
Final Result
It’s really comfortable!
