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The Space Bar

The Space Bar
In the interest of making your keyboard less boring, I wanted to bring the final frontier to your fingertips. Not to mention some silly wordplay. Houston, we have a rocking space bar.

This simple and quick keyboard mod took more time to dry than paint, and it can be easily customized. Want to feature Saturn? UFOs? More nebulae? You got it, Neil. You drive this spaceship.
 
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Step 1Remove key

Remove key
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  • space bar 003.jpg
  • space bar 005.jpg
Most all keys are built to pop out, so don't worry about breaking anything. Take something small and sturdy to use as a lever (I used my keys) and ease it out.

Sand very lightly with fine sandpaper. This helps the paint bond to the surface.
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38 comments
Feb 21, 2012. 5:00 PMdarkstar3 says:
how did you do it
Mar 5, 2012. 10:24 AMdarkstar3 says:
I got it from a guy and printed it out made it and here you have it thank you alot
Jan 12, 2012. 3:20 PMmonsterlego says:
How, may i ask does this solve maria problems?
Jan 13, 2012. 4:51 AMmonsterlego says:
Not to mention the whole moonbeam thing. :)
Dec 23, 2011. 12:10 AMspark light says:
Nice pun! I would do this in a flash if i weren't using a laptop. XD
Nov 12, 2011. 3:02 AMPunkguyta says:
Lol Dell keyboard.
Oct 15, 2011. 10:46 AMneetrihtneves says:
i used to have a button like that, but i have no idea where i put it. i must have totally "spaced" it! yuk, yuk, yuk!
Oct 12, 2011. 9:20 PMjj.inc says:
I wan't to make a keyboard with custom keys that have things like A for Apple and B for Bat and Z for Zebra. Its gonna be good.
Oct 13, 2011. 8:13 AMskittlespider says:
Sounds interesting. Be sure to make an Instructable when you make this, because I have a feeling it will be a hit!
Oct 13, 2011. 4:58 PMjj.inc says:
yes I am trying to figure out some stuff for numbers and word keys
Oct 15, 2011. 2:59 AMPhilip J Fry says:
for numbers you could use roman numerals or maybe a tally, for the letters you should use the attached pic
Oct 15, 2011. 8:05 AMjj.inc says:
Thanks, That is a great idea for the numbers. I have already planned out my letters, but I like the idea behind those so I think I will change a few of mine, I really liked the USB and Wikipedia ones
Oct 13, 2011. 10:49 PMskittlespider says:
There could be a lock picture on the Caps Lock button. That's the only one I can think of.
Oct 14, 2011. 6:01 AMjj.inc says:
I wonder if I could fit a gear-shift look on the shift key
Oct 14, 2011. 2:31 PMskittlespider says:
Yeah, that could work
Oct 15, 2011. 7:20 AMhjjusa says:
I'm going to put the Star Ship Enterprise on my space key.
Oct 13, 2011. 3:33 PMbowmaster says:
Nice, I wish I could do this with my laptop; you can't remove the keys without them breaking.
Oct 14, 2011. 4:06 PMfruitysnacklove says:
you CAN remove them without breaking them, its just difficult. :D
Oct 13, 2011. 5:45 PMcaleb.gross says:
Will the keys pop off of a laptop keyboard?
Oct 13, 2011. 4:09 PMaaires1 says:
Nice project!
I'll try with airbrush.

And I vote Blue Shift(half-life) of course! :D
Oct 13, 2011. 10:37 AMsockeye101 says:
SPAAAAAAAAAAACE!!!!!!
Oct 13, 2011. 6:38 AManode505 says:
Now to make the 'ANY' key.
And the reverse witch so I can back up my computer.
Oct 13, 2011. 8:52 AMKrycie says:
I did that myself, (but with Copics and clear tape) unfortunately it didn't last very long. How long have you had yours?
Experimenting with nailpolish right now ^^
Oct 13, 2011. 8:19 AMskittlespider says:
I love the space bar. Such an awesome play on words and it really make the keyboard interesting to look at.

The golden $ is a nice touch as well. (Though I must admit something. At first I was very confused why your 4 key was golden.)
Oct 12, 2011. 11:01 PMAmar143institute says:
it is very nice idea......i like it.
Oct 12, 2011. 1:54 PMimBobertRobert says:
Why didnt i think of this? *facepalms*
at least i still have an idea... A Golden Key! *looks at pictures, sees golden key*
Dangit. *starts sobbing*
Oct 12, 2011. 12:19 PMfishydrew3 says:
It's out of this world cool;)
Oct 12, 2011. 10:31 AMwhiteoakart says:
This is very funny and nicely done. I enjoyed all the quotes and song references.
Oct 12, 2011. 10:30 AMwhiteoakart says:
You can get a field of stars quickly and convincingly with a toothbrush and watered down white acrylic. Dip the toothbrush in the mixture, hold it near your space bar, and rub your thumb across the bristles. Tiny splatters of different transparency and size will deposit themselves over everything in the area. You can direct it to get a denser strip of stars like the milky way in a certain area if you wish. Practice on a piece of black paper beforehand. It is pretty easy.
Oct 12, 2011. 10:01 AMangelabchua says:
hahahha! i love this.
Oct 12, 2011. 4:48 AM80$man says:
Total Victory! I'm gonna do some combo's:
Ctrl + Alt + Del: aka "Houston... We have a problem..."
Alt + F4: aka "Houston... We are ditching..."
Oct 12, 2011. 4:40 AMbertus52x11 says:
ha, ha, ha...!
How about the backspace key?Or Tab?
Oct 11, 2011. 8:56 PMongara_01 says:
can u design F1 key as car racing formula one:)
Oct 11, 2011. 5:29 PMTomcat94 says:
When I first clicked this, I was expecting to see an actual bar that was made to look like a giant space bar.

But this is waaaay better. :P
Oct 11, 2011. 5:15 PMilpug says:
Win. I am going to do this. eventually.
Oct 11, 2011. 4:19 PMzazenergy says:
Love it!

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Author:kazmataz(solving problems like Maria)
Living in San Francisco amidst the fog, and working at Instructables. I love getting my hands dirty by taking on new projects, developing unique skills and learning fun facts. @karenchoward http://p...
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