Pedal Board Tips

Today I made a simple deal board for Houston guitarist Nolan Burke.  He had bought a Pelican 1700 case to get him through his summer on the road and wanted a pedalboard to go inside.

(http://pelican.com/cases_detail.php?Case=1700)

 I used to build custom flight cases for pedal boards and I think the Pelican is a great solution if the size fits your needs.  The case is super strong, lightweight, and has recessed wheels to make trips through the airport a breeze.  To keep things simple I just made a simple flat 3/8 thick pedalboard that I believe was 12.5 x 33. The board had an ABS plastic top, routed and painted edges and a rubber (shelf liner) glued to the bottom to keep the board from slipping on stage floors.  The ABS plastic works great for stick on velcro or what I prefer is the double sided mounting tape found at Lowes.

The trick to getting the mounting tape to work is to remove all the rubber from the bottom of your pedals, then double up 2 pieces of tape to make it a little thicker to clear any screws that are sticking out below the pedal.  I usually use a strip at the upper and lower part of the bottom of the pedal.  Then firmly press the pedal in place on the ABS surface and it will stay put until you are really ready to pull it off.


 Here is a pic of the board tilted up in the Pelican 1700 case showing the end mounted wheels.

Here is a picture of the underside of the board showing the rubber liner glued to the bottom.  I find that this works better than screwing or riveting rubber feet to the board because the rubber feet tend to get ripped off and take up and extra 1/2 inch of height inside the case.

I'll follow up with a picture of the board once the pedals are all mounted and hooked up..