Pedal Board & Case

This is a fairly cheap DIY pedal board with a lid. It works well but can definitely be improved upon.

I used standard 9 mm plywood from Wickes. I highly recommend using better quality if you can get it. This cheap stuff can have holes between the layers quite often, which makes it difficult to work with not to mention the extra filling needed. There are 4 sides to cut for the lid, a top for the lid and 2 pieces for the base. Obviously dimensions will be to suit your own requirements.

I packed out the brackets to accommodate the length of screws I had handy at the time. This is an optional bodge.

The base is made of 2 parts, the 'live area' and the slightly larger lower base piece. The live area is where the pedals will go and the lower area steps out on all sides to serve as a bed for the lid. First I cut the live area to give me a template to make an accurate lid to. Then I cut both long edges of the lid to the same dimension as the long edges of the live area. These were then glued to the box lid (which is an exact copy of the live area) using the live area as a support to ensure the sides stayed at 90 degrees.
i also pre-fitted the plastic and metal angle brackets.

After drying, I then measured and cut the sides to ensure an exact fit and then glued them in place.

With the lid complete, it can now be used as a template to make an accurate lower base from. You can either draw round the outside of the lid or take measurements and draw it out, either will work fine. Once cut, the live area and lower base can be glued together. To try and get the best registration of the 2, I placed the live area on top of the lower base then put the lid over the live area and adjusted until the outer edges of the lid and lower base were flush all round. After carefully taking the lid off I marked the live are position on the lower base then glued them together.

This concludes the base and lid, although sanding is still required.

Now is the time to sand all surfaces to get the best finish possible and also slightly round off all edges and corners. I then added the handle (from an old amp cab) and catches. Please use better quality than I did.

Now remove the hardware and apply a finish. I used japlac. Very good and hard wearing but very unforgiving - make sure to sand to a high standard before using it!

Now refit the hardware and add corner protectors and feet. I used the corner protectors from IKEA which are for meant for use on furniture to help protect children bumping their heads on sharp corners. They double as feet too and are non slip. And I already had them handy. As can be seen from the pic, I had to gaffa tape one on after it broke off, taking some plywood with it. The only real problem with this board is the choice of catches. As they had to be mounted upside down to the way they were intended, it's fiddly trying to get the lid back on, so best to find a better solution than I did.

After all that, all that's left to do is add the Velcro and pedals. Then rock like a righteous warrior of metal (optional).