12 Best Uses For Old Computer Keyboards

You probably don't think about your computer keyboard very often. That's unusual, considering how much time we spend with our fingers on the keys. It's almost as if keyboards have become so ubiquitous that they're little more than interactive scenery; used and then forgotten.

There's a reasonable chance that on any given day, you carry out more communication with others through the interface of a keyboard than through any other means. Through a complex combination of keystrokes, we jam out tweets, send emails, create and respond to posts, and compose novels or poetry. So many words wouldn't be possible — or at least as convenient — without the humble keyboard.

Given our close relationship, it's only fitting that your keyboard should receive the respect it deserves even when you no longer need it. No trash heap or thrift store shelf is good enough for the device that got you through the Tumblr years. It needs something better, a way to memorialize the good times and the bad, or at least one last project before you part ways forever. Keyboards, however, don't lend themselves easily to secondary uses. So, if you want a second life for your trusty keyboard, you might have to break out the craft supplies.

Despite our best efforts, most of us can't help but slowly accumulate more and more stuff. Eventually, we all reach a point where there are too many critical items to carry. You've got your phone, your wallet, your keys, lip balm, emergency medications, a snack in case you get hungry later, that thing you're supposed to return — you get the idea. There are too many things to comfortably carry in your hands and/or pockets. It's time to get a bag.

You probably already have a collection of backpacks, briefcases, totes, and other bags. You might even have a bag specially designed for holding your keyboard, laptop, or tablet. Now it's time to put the shoe on the other foot with a bag made out of an old keyboard, perfectly suited for carrying just about anything else.

Various designers have made an attempt at the perfect recycled keyboard bag. There's the sleek fluidity of Joao Sabino's Keybag, as presented by Trendhunter, or there's this grungier but probably more comfortable shoulder strap bag. Either of those could serve as inspiration for your very own creation.

Once again, you'll need to remove each individual key and attach it to a flexible fabric. This project requires at least a passing familiarity with a needle and thread, but a purse is a pretty simple shape. We believe in you.

Sometimes your keyboard isn't actually toast, it just needs a new coat of paint. If your keyboard still has some good years left in it but the sight of it is driving you wild, it might be time for a makeover. The folks at the Steampunk Workshop have a complex but satisfying suggestion to transform your workaday mundane keyboard into one which harkens to a more stylized reality.

According to Steampunk Workshop, this project is well-suited for significantly older keyboards, the kind you might have used on the family computer in the '90s. If you're working with something else, this project might need some modifications. It's also worth noting that converting your old keyboard into a steampunk mashup of art and function requires some specialized tools and skills. This project first tears your keyboard down so you can make it new again, by making it look even older.

Steampunk Workshop notes that you'll need to remove each individual key while leaving the rest of the keyboard intact, cut a custom frame and decorations out of brass, as well as cut and punch fabric in the precise configuration of your keyboard. The crux of the project, however, hinges on replacing all of your old keys with new ones. They can be ordered online or taken from a vintage typewriter. For complete instructions, check out the step-by-step guide.

What better way to celebrate the time you and your keyboard spent together than to use its pieces to tell time? Admittedly, most of the keyboard will still end up in the trash bin, but you'll at least be able to keep a piece — or several pieces — close to you in your custom-made clock.

Much like the cufflinks and button project, you'll begin by carefully removing keys. This time, however, your choices are limited by their intended function. You're looking to fill the 12-hour slots on the clock with keys. Your instinct might be to go straight to the Numpad or the number keys above the top row of letters, but there's a snag. Even with both sets of numbers, you're short on the number "1." Instead, we recommend using the function keys. They very conveniently run from 1 to 12 already.

Once you've collected your keys, you'll want to cut out a circle from whatever backing material you want to use. It could be wood, metal, or anything sturdy enough to support the rest of the clock. Attach the function keys, each 30 degrees apart, to denote each of the hours and mount a clock mechanism in the middle. If all of that sounds like too much work, you could stop at removing the keys and attach them to an existing clock that you already own.

If you've opened up your keyboard for one of the other projects and found yourself fascinated by the sprawling lines of the circuit sheets, this might be the solution for you. After you've taken the sheets out of the keyboard but before you commit to cutting them up into a wallet, you might want to consider learning circuitry.

The circuit sheets give you a novel window into the way circuits work by presenting them in a transparent and flexible material you can turn over in your hands and inspect. Generally, the keyboard's circuit sheets work by completing or breaking a circuit each time a key is pressed (via Easy Tech Junkie). By sensing which circuit was modified, the keyboard can tell which key was pressed and transmit that information to your computer, translating finger motions into letters, numbers, and symbols.

The circuit sheets are also compatible with dry-erase markers, allowing you to mark up the circuit sheet with the corresponding characters or trace individual circuit paths to see where they go. There's often no better way to understand how something works than to look at its guts. The circuit sheets serve as a figurative X-ray, allowing you to see your keyboard's bones. Then, if you want to cut them up and make a wallet, that's up to you.

You've probably never realized, and there's no reason you would have, that keyboard keys are the perfect size for fridge magnets or pushpins — you just need a way to make them stick. All you'll need is your old keyboard and a whole bunch of small magnets or a box of pushpins.

Break out your trusty flathead screwdriver and start prying keys loose. Once again, you don't have to remove all of them. Take a moment to plan before you get started and decide which keys you want. Once you have the desired keys, apply some hot clue or other adhesive and jam your magnets or pushpins inside each key. Then let it dry (via Naturally Savvy).

Job done! Now you've got a more modern spin on the relatively common word fridge magnets. You can use your key magnets to spell out anything you want on your fridge — as long as it doesn't have any repeating letters, of course. You can also use them to pin notes, artwork from your kids, and coupons you'll never use. Just like any other magnet or pushpin.

When all else fails, you might just have to get rid of your old keyboard after all. Even if you've decided to take up one of the above projects, you're likely going to be left with pieces of the old keyboard left behind and they need to be handled responsibly.

Electronics are unlike other household garbage in that they often contain materials which are both valuable and potentially dangerous. As a result, most places have dedicated electronics recycling programs you can utilize to get rid of your electronic waste. Keyboards aren't quite as nefarious to throw away as other more complex electronics, but they do still have some worrying components. In particular, many keyboards are coated with flame retardant chemicals that protect you from fires but can leech into the ground when chucked into a landfill (via Mech Keybs).

Check your local government for the best ways to recycle your old tech. You can also check the resources available from the EPA or the governing body in your part of the world. And, as always, if your keyboard still works but you no longer want or need it, thrift stores or charities are great ways to hand off your old tech to someone who can use it. The best way to recycle a keyboard is to let it keep being a keyboard.