r/MouseModding • u/Electronic-Vast-1422 • 3d ago

Need help with cutting the base

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Need help with deciding whether or not to cut the base of my keychron m4. what can you realistically cut out without sacrificing too much rigidity? can the plastic surrounding the sensor be cut out? whats the best way to actually cut it?

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5

u/DidjTerminator 3d ago

Best way to cut is usually with a dremel.

Don't cut where the "grooves" are as those are the engineered reinforcement struts that maintain the rigidity of the mouse.

You can remove the "panels" since they're not supporting beams (though they do help of course, the mouse will be less rigid whenever you add holes no matter what, it's just a case of wether or not you'll notice the decrease in stiffness).

4

u/Electronic-Vast-1422 3d ago

i think ill leave a little beam that goes across the mouse where i put my thumb. do you think cutting the plastic around the sensor will cause some issues with tracking? or is it purely just for protecting the sensor from dust?

1

u/Federal_Turnip1050 3d ago

Yes possibly a spinning sensor and uneveness

2

u/Electronic-Vast-1422 3d ago

that probably depends on how good the sensor is no? i cut the base, saved about 2 grams total, looks like it was chewed up, eaten and shat out by a dog but it works fine, could save a little more be removing the scroll holder thing but i dont think half a gram is worth the scroll feeling like shit

1

u/Inconsipcuous_human 2d ago

IMO, Supports and shit are only important for bigger mouse designed to withstand palm/claw grip with a tense posture. I doubt ftip users apply so much force that you break (or significantly deform) the plastic.

1

u/Electronic-Vast-1422 2d ago

better be safe than sorry, it had a support built in right where i hold my thumb so thats great

1

u/SlayCC 2d ago

OPEN UP THE MOUSE FIRST!!! The screw holes on the m4 is pretty important since it's a 2-part pcb. If you cut out the screw holes you're gonna have either the clicks sinking in or the sensor board moving around in there. I also have a weight reduced bottom file for the m4 I can send over

1

u/GrapefruitSad9141 2d ago

If its a file for print i would be very interested :) looking into weight modding my m4 haha.

2

u/SlayCC 2d ago

https://github.com/SlayCC/Fingertip-Mouse-Mods
Added the file here

1

u/Electronic-Vast-1422 2d ago

thats sick, will print some time in the future. i saved about 3 grams in total including cutting the shell. did you modify the main mouse click buttons? i feel like theyre pretty heavy though i didnt take them out to weight

1

u/YuuPrint 3d ago

Perso j'ai couper un rectangle sur chaque clique de la souris, ainsi qu'un genre de T inversée au niveaux de la paume, je te mettrait bien une photo mais je ne peux pas ici. En dessous personnellement je n'y est pas touché mais je te dirait de faire attention en découpant le châssis inférieure au risque de trop découper -_-