Wood Trimmed Keyboard General Woodworking

My computer setup for everything I do is different from most, in that I do everything from a reclining easy chair using a wireless keyboard and mouse. There’s a bit more detail on this in my computer case build article.
Currently, I have two computers. The older one (in the case shown in the linked article above) is used for all of my day-to-day activities: watching movies, internet, email and so forth. The second one is much newer and faster, and I use this exclusively for video editing, photo editing and website work. When I bought the computer, I also bought a new wireless keyboard and mouse combo to work with it. Since I had no problems with the first keyboard and mouse, I bought the same brand and model as the ones I already had.
Unfortunately, a few months later the keyboard was rendered useless due to a dead key. The “9” stopped working. At this point I was becoming disenchanted with wireless devices: I had already had one wireless keyboard stop working (prior to the newer one), plus I had two wireless mice that had conked out. Add to that a faulty receiver (replaced by the manufacturer), and I was pretty much fed up.

The keyboard:

Instead of spending another $100 for another new wireless combo, I decided I would go back to using a wired keyboard, and ordered a cheap ($20) one. When it arrived, I found that the new one lacked the heft of the wireless one, plus it did not have the wrist-rest area at the lower edge. Since the keyboard is used with it on my lap, the wider margin at the bottom is important:


I figured I could make the keyboard more suitable by adding a piece of wood to the lower edge, cut out to fit and glued on with epoxy. It would provide the margin I wanted, plus add some weight to the keyboard.

To fit around the edge of the keyboard, I measured the curve with my contour gauge:


Then transferred this to the end of the piece of maple I wanted to use.

I then made the cut on the table saw, removing a bit at a time until it matched the curve:


A good fit.

To round the ends, I used a roll of tape to draw the arc:


Then cut the majority on the band saw and finished the shape on the disk sander.

With it fitting correctly and sanded smooth, I gave it a couple spray coats of urethane to finish it, then glued it to the keyboard with epoxy:

Looks pretty sharp compared to the wireless one, and handles well too:


Not a modification that everyone will want to do, but I thought it would be interesting to show a different approach to solving a problem.
As for wired vs wireless, I’m not having any difficulty dealing with the cord. Barring a huge leap forward in reliability, I’ll likely stay well clear of the wireless ones from now on.