Introduction: Basic Small Pedalboard

The goal here was to build a small pedalboard for my Boss footswitch, which I recently discovered can be used to control POD Farm via the Line 6 UX2 I just bought. The RC-2 looper comes along with it, since they were originally paired together (footswitch controls Stop and Next Loop on the RC-2). This also freed up space on my larger PedalTrain board, so now everything on the PedalTrain is guitar signal chain only, and the footswitch/looper have their own smaller board. The goal was achieved and I'm very pleased all around.

This was really easy to make and it would be easy to add a couple of D Rings or something like that for additional cable management. Obviously I didn't attempt to have any cable management (i.e. drilled holes or separate panes like PedalTrain). Considering how few pedals can be on the board, and the low height, it just didn't seem to apply here. I did find that, with the 1 Spot having to be plugged/unplugged, it was inconvenient enough to keep me from wanting to bother with powering it up whenever I turn my computer on. You wouldn't think that just plugging an A/C adaptor in to a power strip would be t hat inconvenient, but it was. So I found an in-line power switch that I could mount to the board. This allows the 1 Spot to be plugged in full time in a power strip, and I can switch on the pedal board very conveniently, right at the board.

https://www.adafruit.com/product/1125#tutorials

Step 1: Parts and Prep

I was able to make the board from spare parts, with the exception of paint. Because I want to power the FS-6 footswitch without battery, I also purchased a battery clip converter for the 1Spot (which I have two of). The board was an extra piece of pine 1x8, already an appropriate size for my needs. The black handle I had spare in a box of stuff, and the adhesive velcro I had leftover from my PedalTrain board.

The feet came from a stash of furniture glides and feet that I've removed over the years and collected. The Black feet (used for bottom of board) already had holes in them and I just used appropriate length screws. The small hard plastic glides (close up pic) are lower height for front of board to provide some angle front to back. They had nails embedded and I just drilled them out, then drilled countersink holes to accommodate the screw heads. For both, the screw heads are beneath surface so they won't stick out and scratch floors.

I laid the feet out and pre-drilled holes before painting. Same thing for the handle on the top side, with the pedals to make sure layout was going to work. I sanded the pine board before painting, but if someone wants a real nice smooth surface, probably should do something like fill in irregularities with spackle, then sand with a block. I was not concerned with that, so simple sanding was fine.

Step 2: Screw Feet and Handle On, Adhere Velcro

After paint dried, screwed on the feet and applied the velcro. I used my PedalTrain spacing for guideline. Checked several different shapes and sizes of other pedals I have to make sure small, horizontal, and large, would fit well.

Step 3: Finished Product

Finished product looks pretty darn good. Not entirely sure why I went the Granite paint color. Seems like I was thinking some kind of metallic look (i.e. stainless steel). Regardless, the gray with black handle and black velcro looks good. Here you can see the new board in action, next to my computer on the floor. The 1Spot I'm using here has the 5 port daisy chain extension, providing multiple power connectors. I only need two, so 3 are unused.

Even though my primary use for this is the Boss footswitch and looper, I stuck a few other pedals just to show how it could house 3 fairly typical size pedals.