Effects Pedal Board Box Tutorial! Guitar / Bass DIY

Let's build two large deluxe pedalboards combined in a road box!

At some point every guitarist needs to realize that s/he has an effects pedal hoarding syndrom. In this tutorial you will not find a way to overcome this issue, but something better: A way to flee from reality and treat the symptoms by building a huge pedalboard-box, with a lot of room for all your precious pedals!

The two boards are 110 cm long each, so in total you get a 220 cm pedalboard!

This written tutorial is accompanied by a video-tutorial featuring elephants, storm loss and sticky Poetry!

Step 1: Watch the Video!

Step 2: Tools

To make the pedalboax you will need the following Tools:

Screwdriver
Pliers
Utility Knife
Clamps
Soldering Iron
Sandpaper
Drill + 2mm & 22mm Drillbits
Vice
Angle Grinder
Wood Glue
Velcro Tape
Paint + Paintbrush
optionally a 3d Printer (for the deluxe version)

Step 3: Materials

The following Material is required to make the pedalboax:

Wooden Boards:

(2x) Bottoms: 110 * 22 * 1 cm
(2x) Backs: 110 * 15 * 1 cm
(4x) Sides: 21* 7 * 1 cm

Parts:

(4x) Cable Jacks (Mono)
(2x) Metal-plates + 16 small screws (not longer than10mm)
(2x) Patch Cables
(4x) Latches + 16 small screws (not longer than10mm)
Trunk-Carpet: 108 *42 cm

If you plan to attach the optional dustcaps you will need 12 more small screws

Step 4: Drilling

Drill a ø22mm-hole in the lower left corners of all four small wooden boards
There should be about 1 cm of wood left to the left and lower edges, so the center of the hole is about 2 cm away from the edges

Step 5: Cutting the Metal Plates in Halves

Mark the centerline of the metal plates and cut them with the angle grinder
If you cannot find similar metal plates at the hardware store, just make something similar from sheet metal

Step 6: Test-fitting the Metal-plates

For all 4 small boards:

Use the metal plates as a template to mark where holes for small screws shall be drilled in the wood
Test fit the metal plates and cable jacks

Step 7: Glue and Clamp the Two Pedalboards Together

Glue and clamp the boards together as seen in the picture. The clamps should stay on the board for at least half an hour per pedalboard
Check the pictures carefully to avoid glueing them together in the wrong way. Keep in mind that it needs to be possible to form a closed box from the two boards in the end
Before you proceed with the next step (sanding) the glue should dry for 24 hours

Step 8: Sanding

Sand the pedalboards to prepare them for painting

Step 9: Painting

Apply paint to the boards. At least two layers are recommended
On the inside, the bottom does not need to be (but can be) painted, because it will be covered with carpet (see next step)

Step 10: Attaching the Carpet

Attach the carpet with a staple gun: First the small sides and the the longer ones. A wooden board can be used as a guide for the staple gun and for cutting the carpet in the end
The carpet also needs to be stapled across the whole surface when the sides are fixed. The stretchier it is, the more staples you will need to use
In the end you can paint the blank staples black with a marker to make them appear less prominent

Step 11: Preparing the Cable Jacks

Cut the patch cables in half and solder them to the cable jacks
The outer (ground) wire goes to the soldering latch that touches the shaft of the plug that will later be plugged into the jack. the inner (signal) wire connects to the tip of the plug that will later be plugged into the jack

Step 12: Attach the Metal-plates and Cable Jacks

Screw the metal plates to the boards and the screw jacks into the metal plates

Step 13: OPTIONAL: 3D-print Dustcaps and Attach Them to the Board

If you want to keep the corners free from dust, you can print some dustcaps

Download the files from grabcad.com: https://grabcad.com/library/pedalboax-dustcaps-1
Print two left and two right corner dustcaps
Remove the support structures (if any)
Use the dustcaps as templates to mark where small screw-holes need to be drilled
Drill the holes and screw the caps to the board (12 screws required)