SA keycap sets have had a resurgence in popularity in recent times with a flurry of new and colorful designs (check out the 1976 and PuLSE sets to see what I’m talking about). But an issue that some are running into with this particular type of key profile is that the little plastic stabilizer pieces, that seat into the stems on the underside of the key, don’t fit. Without these pieces, the larger keys aren’t able to hook into the metal stabilizer bars, rendering some keys (like the spacebar) all but unusable. Fortunately there is a super simple fix that requires almost no effort or fancy materials. Let’s get started.

Materials

  • Plastic wrap
  • Scissors

Cut, then fold, the plastic wrap into a small square

The basic idea is to fill the empty space inside the stem with plastic wrap to ensure a tight fit. I found that 4 layers of plastic wrap was perfect for my keys, but feel free to play around if your keys are molded slightly differently than mine.

Cut out a rectangle from your sheet of plastic wrap. A 1″ by 1/4″ rectangle should work fine.

Fold the rectangle in half twice so you have a 4 layers of plastic in a square

Experiment to find out how many layers it takes for your stabilizer inserts to fit snug

Press the stabilizer insert into the plastic wrap

With your plastic shim made, it’s as simple as placing the shim on top of the stem, and pushing the stabilizer insert into that stem.

That’s it, a nice snug fit!

Done! Now it's time to enjoy typing on those new key caps

Thanks to the users over at /r/mechanicalkeyboards for this trick!