How to Make a Pedal Board Out of an Old Briefcase

I've been wanting to make a little pedal board for my 3 pedals for a while, but I didn't want to spend a lot of time or money on it. I looked around for ideas and some people recommended converting a suitcase, but unfortunately, the lip on all of the suitcases I found were too high, so it was hard to step on the pedal without making contact with the rim of the suitcase. I decided to take a trip to Goodwill to see if they had anything I could use and I found a briefcase that would work perfectly. I almost shelled out the $3.99 for the briefcase, but being the neurotic cheapskate that I am, I figured I would swing by my folks' house and see if they had any old briefcases in the basement. Surprisingly, I found one that worked really well. The materials for the whole project cost less than $20.

Step 1 Remove the hinges from the briefcase.

So, originally, I wanted to keep the briefcase locks, but when I tried to lay the board down flat, the spring hinges got in the way, so I had to remove both sets of hinges and replace them with snap-lock hinges that I bought at Home Depot for approximately $5 for 2 sets of 2.

Comments

[aritoner]

 hey what is the size of the briefcase like in depth??

[istantinople]

my briefcase which i got from a goodwill for $4 does not have wood on the sides. Instead it just has a thick liner and heavy leather outer-layer. So i had to put a thin piece of wood over that to have a sturdy base for the pedals

[tudgeanator]

Nice.Definately going to make one,but mine is going to have a board insid that will tilt the pedals up towards me.

[GorillazMiko]

Sweet! I think my dad has one just like that that we won't use, so I'll do this. I have too many pedals everywhere. +1 rating.

[Metal4God]

lol same hey wait U AGAIN well happy birthday in 8 days lol

[mboggs45]

thanks, that's a good point.

[gmoon]

Nice! (Ya might replace the opening photo with one that show the brfcase open, with the pedals inside--could get more hits...)

[mboggs45]

glad you all like it. yeah, you may be able to fit more than three pedals, but my music style is pretty simple...i doubt i'll ever use any more than three.

[joejoerowley]

Cool! Nice idea!!

[0.775volts]

That's gorgeous! nice panache factor, too. You could get one of those handcuff security things for it and do the blues brothers thing at your gigs.

[gmjhowe]

Nice, idea, it looks sweet, and makes it easy for moving around. But come on, u could fit more than 3 in that case? like 6. but then again, is 6 really enough?

[gripes]

always wanted to make one! looks good!