any advice on where or how i could get my hands on a custom-built computer mouse?

[Draconi Redfir]

My google-fu is failing me, and i can't find anything like what i'm looking for.

Out of every mouse I've owned, the #1 reason I've ever had to replace them has always been the scroll-wheel. Eventually the axel snaps, making scrolling impossible, or the button beneath it breaks, making scroll-clicking impossible, or what i suspect has happened most recently, the portion of the axel that connects the wheel to the rest of the mouse has begun to wear and round-off, causing my scrolling to only go so far up/down before failing every so often.

I'm really looking for someone who can make me a custom mouse with a thick, strong scroll-wheel with the piece that connects the axel to the mouse being gear or star-shaped with a form-fitting bit around it to ensure it can't wear down and become just a circle. As i suspect the axel inside my current mouse is octogon or hexagon shaped, meaning a lot of flat surfaces and only slim corners connecting it to the mouse, meaning that with time, those corners would begin to wear out and start shifting positions, causing me to be unable to scroll properly I'm sure i'm not wording that properly, but i hope it's somewhat understandable.

if anyone out there knows of any indipendant computer / computer-accessory builders who take commissions, think you could point me in the right direction?

[DeTess]

Just out of curiosity, what do you pay on average for a mouse, and how long do they last?

I'm asking this because any mouse custom-made to your specifications is going to be very costly and won't last forever either, so you might just be better off replacing your mouse regularly.

[Draconi Redfir]

No idea how much i spend on mice. think the one i've got has lasted me... maybe five years? Ideally any new one i get would last me at least ten or twenty+ years, long enough to make it worth it.

honestly the entire rest of the mouse could just be your most basic of basic computer mouse, i just want a good quality mouse-wheel who'se axel isn't going to snap or wear out on me any time soon. That's the only part that ever really breaks.

[DeTess]

5 years is a pretty decent time already, so I don't think you'll improve on that by much. That having been said, I've done some googling around to see if anything popped up that might help you. Most custom mouse vendors focus on looks, not actual components, so that didn't help much. I've seen some talk on reddit about fixing the scroll wheel by replacing the axle with an Allen key , but that seemed to be focused on a particular mouse model that was relatively easy to open up and had particularly big problems with the axle breaking, but if you're good at doing stuff like that, you might give that a try.

Other than that, I'd do some research into mice that have a general reputation for being built to last. The scroll wheel is apparently often the first thing to go, so any mouse with a good reputation will have a proper scroll-wheel in there. Some googling suggested that logitech might make some pretty durable mice, but I haven't done much more than check a couple of forum threads on the topic.

[Radar]

With those timeframes in mind and a single point of failure you might actually look into repairing the mouse rather then making it everlasting. Much more practical and obiously cheaper. Quick Google search gave me for example this site and some youtube tutorials as well.

That being said, I have a Logitech wireless mouse long enough that I totally wore down the rubber where my thub rests and it still works perfectly fine wheel including. I do not expect it to last 20 years (it has up to 10 years already I think), but it is pretty durable, since I work on a computer all day and the mouse is used heavily. One thing with the wheel is that you can switch between the regular clicky scrolling and a free wheel mode (so to speak), where you can just spin it without resistance. This means that the spin detection does not rely on any mechanical features. I can feel that the clicky stops are worn down somewhat but still are good enough that the wheel does not go somewhere on its own. Not sure if all the models have that, but I am sure that a lot of them do.

[Draconi Redfir]

i know i have some kind of fancy clay-glue around here somewhere, where you mix two different play-doh textured substances together and it makes a strong adhesive over several days.

maybe what i can do is open my mouse, find the worn-out grip, and use a toothpick or cut of paper or something to smear that glue between the two segments i don't know how to describe, to lock the two together so that the axel isn't going to roll free of the bit that connects it to the mouse. Maybe take a tumbtack and needle and try to jab a few dents into both axel and grip to give the glue something to hold onto. have a backup mouse i could use while it all dries.

other then that not sure what else i could do. *shrug*

[Draconi Redfir]

good news everyone! this thread is now obsolete!

took a screwdriver and cracked open my Mouse to see if i could find the worn-out axel and glue it back into place. But, as it turns out, that's not how this mouse works at all! There is NO axle connecting the scroll-wheel to the circuit board! Turns out it was a completely different problem!

What WAS the problem you ask?

Kleenex.

Years, upon years, upon years of slowly built-up particulates of thousands of different sheets of facial tissues all built up and clogging the insides of my mouse. My hands sweat a lot you see, and i don't like the feeling of gripping a wet, greasy mouse all day, so i cover it in a cloth of Kleenex to absorb my hand-sweat. Over time the kleenex starts to wear out and i need to replace it, but not before several small chunks of it manages to squeeze it's way through the slim crack between my mouse-wheel and the two mouse buttons.

As it turns out, my scroll-wheel seems to work on some kind of vision-based system, where a small clear device watches the wheel spin in place, and applies the proper signals to my computer. Some of this Kleenex must have gotten stuck between this mechanical eye and my scroll-wheel, making tracking mouse-wheel movements inconsistent.

After basically doing surgery on my mouse wheel with some toothpicks and a thumbtack, i was able to pull out all the trapped tissue-paper and with some fiddling, put the mouse back together again. i DID blow on and touch the circuit-board a couple of times, both to blow tissue-dust out and look underneath it for any stranglers. so hopefully static / moisture from my body didn't / doesn't ruin anything.

so huzzah! problem solved! Juuust gotta make sure to clean my mouse every few years apparently :P

[Radar]

good news everyone! this thread is now obsolete!
(...)

All those years and I still read it in Prof. Farnsworth's voice.

[Draconi Redfir]

All those years and I still read it in Prof. Farnsworth's voice.

only slightly intended, i assure you

[LordEntrails]

Bummer, I would have designed and built you a custom mouse for only $5000 USD and would have given you a 10 year warranty too.

But, as you noticed, tissue are cheap, but they are not lint free. I suggest you get a lint free cloth, you can find them at your auto parts store for car detailing. You also might just get a small piece of cloth that you have washed and cut it to size and even stitch it into a better shape.