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Filing the corners off my MacBooks

kentwalters.com

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Re: Filing the corners off my MacBooks

#391

Post by jasomill »

Lio wrote: post #362
wraptile wrote: post #310

I used a macbook for almost 2 years and genuinely don't understand how people can tolerate these machines. My wrists would be cut up all the time to the point where I looked like I was self harming myself and the glary screen is entirely unsuable anywhere but a darkest basement. Not to mention the terrible keyboard. To this day I'm perplexed how macbooks have such high desirability by full time developers when they'r…

This is just me but I like short travel keyboards. Long travel “mechanical” switches set off the RSI in one of my wrists. I don’t care about the sharp edges because 1) they’re not actually that sharp. 2) I don’t rest my wrists on them. I mostly work from a desk with an external monitor and the laptop cantered below it. I avoid mice and try to use keyboard shortcuts. I’ve used Dells, HPs and Thinkpads and the current…

This is why I prefer tactile (not clicky) mechanical keyboards to linear mechanical or "mushy" non-mechanical desktop keyboards: they're easy to reliably trigger without full travel.

I also like the short-travel Apple keyboards, though, and if Apple made a tenkeyless Magic Keyboard with the standard layout for cursor movement keys, I'd probably be using it.

Re: Filing the corners off my MacBooks

#392

Post by justinclift »

Tzk wrote: post #339
Tempest1981 wrote: post #298

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What tools are needed to redo the anodized color? Is it doable at home?

Yes it’s doable at home, even with fairly primitive tools. You need several chemicals and (if you wish) colored dye. Anodizing works as follows: 1. Take the MacBook apart 2. Clean it 3. Chemical bath to remove old anodized layer 4. Clean it again 5. Chemical bath with power supply attached. applied voltage+current and duration will determine hardness and thickness of the anodized layer. 6. Clean it 7. Dye it. 8. Seal…

> 1. Take the MacBook apart

Otherwise known as "remove everything from the chassis, leaving only the chassis."

But do so in a way that lets you fully re-assemble it later on, after you've finished the re-anodising.

> 7. Dye it.

Why the dye? I thought anodising's colour comes only from the voltage used, with no dye needed.

ie you can pick the colour you want, but you need to get the voltage correct for that colour

Re: Filing the corners off my MacBooks

#393

Post by justinclift »

yreg wrote: post #142

The takeaway from this article should be to consider modifying your tools to your needs even in unconventional and controversial ways. I love it. The flame war on whether the original chassis design sucks or rocks is not that interesting.

> The takeaway from this article should be to consider modifying your tools to your needs even in unconventional and controversial ways. I love it.

I get the feeling that might not be the greatest idea in some fields.

For example, anything that could kill you (or others) if it goes wrong. ;)

Re: Filing the corners off my MacBooks

#394

Post by cassianoleal »

A few weeks ago I accidentally dropped my space grey MBP. It had the lip open and fell on its right corner, inner/keyboard side.

The machine is fine and I didn’t even have to adjust the screen as it was still correctly in place but on that corner the aluminium lifted up forming a mountain shape, about 2 mm tall and very sharp.

Not only this was uncomfortable, but it also meant I couldn’t close the lid properly and might eventually crack the screen from it, so I filed it away. Like OP, I started with a pretty gritty file to get most of the tip off, then finished with a multi-tool with the sanding attachment. I went through a few grits but I got bored long before it was smooth.

In the end, I actually liked the look, and have been considering going all around like OP. I may have to do it now.

Re: Filing the corners off my MacBooks

#395

Post by mjlee »

Tzk wrote: post #339
Tempest1981 wrote: post #298

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What tools are needed to redo the anodized color? Is it doable at home?

Yes it’s doable at home, even with fairly primitive tools. You need several chemicals and (if you wish) colored dye. Anodizing works as follows: 1. Take the MacBook apart 2. Clean it 3. Chemical bath to remove old anodized layer 4. Clean it again 5. Chemical bath with power supply attached. applied voltage+current and duration will determine hardness and thickness of the anodized layer. 6. Clean it 7. Dye it. 8. Seal…

13 year old me who anodised remote control car chassis completely agrees the process is quite simple.

In the context of a MacBook, it’s not. Removing just the aluminium components and leaving everything that doesn’t like baths undamaged is practically impossible for amateurs. I’m not sure it’s something many professionals would take on.

Re: Filing the corners off my MacBooks

#396

Post by larusso »

madaxe_again wrote: post #382
darkwater wrote: post #361

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This made me smile because in my book this is at every effect impossible, especially if the goal is getting a functioning laptop at the end of the process. To be clear, it's impossible for me because I lack the knowledge, expertise and tooling to even think about doing it.

Nonsense, it just makes it more effort for you - nothing is impossible. Also, the way you acquire the knowledge, expertise and tooling is by screwing around with stuff where you have no idea what you’re doing.

Depending on the field you want to gain knowledge it can mean: “famous last words” or “missing body parts”. Nothing against the spirit of learning and challenge one’s skills. But especially people on YouTube show of quite dangerous things and sell them as everybody can do it. My list here: Metal / Wood work on a lathe with off center or unbalanced pieces in a 3 jaw chuck.

Playing around with lithium batteries to build bigger battery packs (DYI Perks did this and even though he mentions the dangers of doing that (fire or electric shock) it’s still inspires people to do the same in their living rooms.

Then is playing with chemicals.

Again I’m not saying don’t do it. But one should ease into things not just grab a random set of chemicals and disassemble a laptop and hook up a power supply etc by just following a list from the internet.

Re: Filing the corners off my MacBooks

#397

Post by dwb »

wraptile wrote: post #310

I used a macbook for almost 2 years and genuinely don't understand how people can tolerate these machines. My wrists would be cut up all the time to the point where I looked like I was self harming myself and the glary screen is entirely unsuable anywhere but a darkest basement. Not to mention the terrible keyboard. To this day I'm perplexed how macbooks have such high desirability by full time developers when they'r…

I don't like the sharp corners either and I fully support the modifications in the article, but to be completely fair to the design, if your wrists are digging into the corners you're at the wrong angle. If you're habitually typing with bent wrists you're going to have problems. The "butterfly" keyboard was also (famously) terrible, but the newer ones, especially with the proper inverted-T cursor keys, are fine (for a laptop) imho. My ideal laptop keyboard would be split and orthogonal, but that's far too weird to make it anywhere close to mass production.

Re: Filing the corners off my MacBooks

#398

Post by rsaarelm »

Sharlin wrote: post #194
Macha wrote: post #137

Earlier quoted context omitted.

On the seasons front, traditionally in Ireland winter starts on Halloween (at sunset if you want to be really specific), and so you get winter is November till January, spring is February to April, summer is May to July and autumn is August to October. That said being an English speaking country and absorbing a lot of media from other English speaking countries, there’s been a slow drift towards the American system m…

I find the "solstices/equinoxes mark starts of seasons" a bit foreign too, but… weather-wise, annual top and bottom temperatures are of course offset from the solstices due to thermal inertia. In Finland the traditional division is that winter is Dec-Feb, spring is Mar-May, summer is Jun-Aug, and autumn is Sep-Nov. Historically it has made perfect sense, weather and climate wise – particularly from the point of view…

It's also funny how Finland has a concept of "thermic spring", which is defined by the temperature no longer dipping below 0° C, and the term doesn't exist in English because the definition wouldn't work in the climate of most of the English-speaking world.

Re: Filing the corners off my MacBooks

#399

Post by numpad0 »

justinclift wrote: post #392
Tzk wrote: post #339

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes it’s doable at home, even with fairly primitive tools. You need several chemicals and (if you wish) colored dye. Anodizing works as follows: 1. Take the MacBook apart 2. Clean it 3. Chemical bath to remove old anodized layer 4. Clean it again 5. Chemical bath with power supply attached. applied voltage+current and duration will determine hardness and thickness of the anodized layer. 6. Clean it 7. Dye it. 8. Seal…

> 1. Take the MacBook apart Otherwise known as "remove everything from the chassis, leaving only the chassis." But do so in a way that lets you fully re-assemble it later on, after you've finished the re-anodising. > 7. Dye it. Why the dye? I thought anodising's colour comes only from the voltage used, with no dye needed. ie you can pick the colour you want, but you need to get the voltage correct for that colour

> Why the dye? I thought anodising's colour comes only from the voltage used, with no dye needed.

That's true for anodization processes for some other metals like titanium and stainless steel, but aluminum is dyed. Also the process is material specific. Anodization for Al is only possible because Al does that unique self organizing micropore thing.

Re: Filing the corners off my MacBooks

#400

Post by throw_a_grenade »

justinclift wrote: post #392
Tzk wrote: post #339

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes it’s doable at home, even with fairly primitive tools. You need several chemicals and (if you wish) colored dye. Anodizing works as follows: 1. Take the MacBook apart 2. Clean it 3. Chemical bath to remove old anodized layer 4. Clean it again 5. Chemical bath with power supply attached. applied voltage+current and duration will determine hardness and thickness of the anodized layer. 6. Clean it 7. Dye it. 8. Seal…

> 1. Take the MacBook apart Otherwise known as "remove everything from the chassis, leaving only the chassis." But do so in a way that lets you fully re-assemble it later on, after you've finished the re-anodising. > 7. Dye it. Why the dye? I thought anodising's colour comes only from the voltage used, with no dye needed. ie you can pick the colour you want, but you need to get the voltage correct for that colour

No, that's steel, and not with voltage, but with temperature: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heat_coloring_of_metals. For aluminium, you add dye to third bath.
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