This weekend I finally got some time to build up a project I’ve been planning for a few months now. I got enough pedals to where I just don’t have enough room for them on the pedal board I had. Also, all the wires were a pain in the ass and jumbled up. I seen a couple examples online and they were all around $200-$500 for the size I needed. (1, 2, 3) I’ve had leftover wood from a mirror project I did a few months ago, so I planned something out more to my needs and easier on the bank account. I came up with a 19″ x 29″ hard, powered pedal board / travel case.

My biggest needs was to be able to layout in a useful manner all of my pedals. Because I have 10 of them, I needed to be able to tap one on or off without crushing another. Also, I had a wireless system that barely got any use so I wanted to incorporate that as well. I decided to go with a 2 level setup to maximize my space available. There were a couple examples on youtube that gave me a few ideas that I wanted to add such as the skid pads on the bottom and the velcro shelf for storage. All my plans are sketched up in my book first so I don’t have specific plans but you can still make up the same if you wanted.

First thing was to setup the layout, I needed at least a 11 inch long space for my wah pedal and another 7 for the wireless system and cables which I wanted off on the right side. I also gave myself enough space to fit 5 extra boss size pedals alongside. so with a interior space of 18″ x 28″ I framed off the basic spot and started planning out how I wanted the second level and under space as well. After laying out the interior space, I built up and cut the angles for the sides. I screwed together the main frame inside but left the top back only velcro’ed for access to all the wires. The lid is a flat cover so that it wouldn’t take up any more space as it’s about 6 inches tall after the 2nd level.

A quick coat of paint and some latches from Home Depot and it was ready to go. I went with a dark green since I had it from a pong table I made, and it was something different then the flat black that all the other cases are. While I was waiting for the base coat to dry, I even went and cut out some stencils to spray on. Everything was done with 5/8″ MDF board and 3/4″ wood screws and some extra paint I had leftover in the closet. The only Hardware that I had to go out and buy was Velcro, the 3 sets of Trunk latches, A carry handle and rubber anti-skid feet. All in all, it took about 3 hours of work and $22 bucks to get a great case that will last longer than the pedals probably will.
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