How to Make a Box for My Guitar Pedals

Building a box for your guitars pedals may seem like a challenging task. However, with the right tools and a bit of patience, you can build a box and a usable pedal board at the same time. While most pedal board and case combos come with a handle, they are often the first thing to break, oftentimes with the pedals inside. This might cause damage to these expensive items, so for this reason, the handle has been omitted and should be carried with your arms supporting the box from underneath.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• 2 18" x 24" pieces of heavy plywood, 1/2" thick
• 1 16 3/4" x 22 3/4" piece of plywood, 1/2" thick
• 2 18" x 8" high pieces of plywood, 1/2" thick
• 1 23" x 8" high piece of plywood, 1/2" thick
• Heavy-duty velcro
• wood glue

1. Fasten your pedals to the 16 3/4" x 22 3/4" piece of plywood using the velcro. Connect your pedals with patch cables neatly on the pedal board. Do not allow any cabling to go over any of the edges except the top edge.

2. Connect the edge of one 18" x 8" piece of plywood to the very outside of an 18" x 24" piece of plywood. The 18" x 8" piece should be on its side, not flat against the larger plywood piece. The smaller piece should run along the edge of the larger piece and all edges should be flush.

3. Using the other 18" by 8" piece of plywood, glue it to the large piece on the opposite side the exact same way. Let the glue dry for about an hour, or as long as directed on the package.

4. Glue the 23" x 8" piece of plywood to one of the remaining edges. Let it dry as long as needed, checking to make sure the wood is immobile before moving the structure.

5. Put glue on the top edges of the 18" x 8" pieces. Place the other large 18" x 24" piece of plywood on top. Let the glue set for at least 90 minutes.

6. Slide the piece of wood with your pedals attached to it inside the case through the only open area. It should be a tight fight so that your pedals do not shift while in the box. Remove the pedals when in use and put the box aside. Return the pedals to the box when you are not using them to keep the safe and free of dust.

Tips & Warnings

• Have the plywood cut to size by a hardware store if you do not have the tools. Having the store do it may cost a few dollars, but it will save you a lot of time.
• This is a three-sided box design. Be careful not to turn the pedal board over on its side so your pedals fall out. There should be adequate tension to hold them in place, but it should still be avoided.

References

• Heartwood Guitar

Resources

• Six String Soul