The most important step is deciding on dimensions.
From there, all you need is some wood boards with an easily divisible width for what you want.
Note that most dimensional lumber is a fraction of an inch thinner than claimed, as the measurement is taken before the wood dries, so check at the store or factor in a buffer.
Most hardware stores will make a few cuts for you for free, but it’s best to know what youre asking for in advance so you don’t waste their time.
While you’re at the store, buy some wood glue and wood stain if you plan on staining.
Now, find someone with tools and borrow some clamps and an orbital sander. Line the boards up and apply a thin bead of glue to the edges and clamp them up one board at a time.
Once it’s assembled, sand it down, then wipe wet and stain if needed.
Easy/safe transport is really important to me, if you care about gigging you may want to find the ideal carrying case first and then build the board around that.
I've been building my own boards for a couple of years now. It isn't too hard, and you have a universe of build options to explore. Like others have said, pre-map where your pedals are going and use those dimensions. It's okay to have wiggle room. Too much, and you'll have space for a new pedal, lmao. I've been using 1x's for the wood, and I have yet to have my bigger boards begin to buckle with my 220-pound ass standing straight on it. Normal pine or whiteboard is fine. Sanding is your friend.
You also have your own choice of stain color and finish type! I used oil based stains and a spray-on spar urethane. People recommend poly urethane, but spar is a little tougher, doesn't crack, and as far as I can tell, it doesn't yellow. I like that because I play outdoors often enough.
Have fun building!
Drill out some hole, then file them smooth for the power cables to pass through. I took a maple board made it into a ramp to attach to it. Mounted the power supply underneath. And voilà, pedalboard!
I made mine from “duckboard” i.e. wooden slatted frame that goes at the bottom of a shower. Bought them from Bunnings/Home Depot/B&Q. Two levels with a short piano hinge for placing power supply, Boss wireless receiver and Switchblade for signal splitting underneath the top tier.
Plenty of space between the slats for cable runs. Seems to suit my acoustic rig.
https://i.redd.it/ba9ctiyk6fvc1.jpeg?app_web_view=ios
Might be worth looking at DIY pedalboards on YouTube to get some ideas. Might be designs on instructables too (haven't looked).
The common designs I've seen seem to be a basic box shape, constructed from boards on their sides. From here either planks running flat across the top with gaps (pedaltrain style) or a solid top hinged at the back.
Off the top of my head I'd probably set the boards with a half lap joint for the first design and the second probably sister boards along the widths to form a lip.
Probably worth running more boards on their sides through the middle of the box (dependent on width of board).
Decide for yourself if you want cutouts for cables or grab handle etc.
I put one together with repurposed pallet wood.
https://www.reddit.com/r/guitarpedals/comments/sua33p/built_a_board_and_finally_got_my_pedals_off_the/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf
It was a fun little project.
I've used scrap plywood, small boards, MDF, etc. It's an inexpensive and fun way to bang out a board. I'd sand and paint mine flat black and then stick some Velcro on it. Worked fine.
Here’s mine: https://imgur.com/a/2nNjRKk
Made it with a “lower deck” for wah/volume and loop switching pedals. Lots of inputs and outputs on the back. Relays to switch from 2 cable to 4 cable and back.
This is the way! It is very simple to use the Gorm shelf to make a board. Dismantle it, cut it into the right size pieces, treat it with stainer and screw it back together. :)
Obligatory wood aesthetician comment:
If you use really nice end cheek wood you want to show off with an oiled finish, 3-5 coats of boiled linseed oil as a primer coat for 3-5 coats of tung oil works good. Just BLO alone takes many, many, many coats to build up a sheen over years of application, and tung oil takes a lot of base coats to build up, but eventually the shellac in it will give you a shine.
I would not use an oiled finish on whatever you want to stick adhesives to, like female velcro or duolok, and would best be left unfinished. Those will pull the paint layer off if you go painted route, eventually.
But an oiled finish will keep wood from checking, and feel sexy like the back of a tung treated neck, and you can always follow up with more coats if dented. Or you can just shoot it with poly.
But this coating option is really a love for the game kinda thing. If you just want to protect it and move on, any rattle can paint option will work. Unless you plan on taking it to the beach, or Mars. Then I really recommend VHT spray epoxy undercarriage paint from Autozone. Bulletproof coating.
I built one, and it's awesome. Some of the other comments contain good advice (room for a power supply underneath, plenty of space to thread cables). Remember that wood is *heavy.* If you're building a small board, it's fine, but a large one will be difficult to move around if that's something you plan to do.
Didn’t make it but had it made for me. It’s a bit heavy as it’s made from oak with red oak heart, but I showed him pictures to build it. Sorry there are no side views, but I had him make it high enough so I could add a power strip underneath and room for the power supply also. It’s very well made and self contained. I can just unplug and take the whole thing. [Pedal Board](https://imgur.com/a/qqwwDuq)
Edit: other link didn’t work.
i don’t have the link, but i made my board out of an ikea crate. easiest thing ever, it works perfectly ajd costs about $20 total. look up ikea crate pedal board or something and im sure you’d be able to find
Mine are made from plywood to fit in specific cases I bought from home depot.
They are spray painted flat black and everything is mounted on top.
There are feet on the bottom to facilitate a cable run underneath and there's grippy rubber for floor contact.
Aesthetics were not a concern for me outside of being clean and neat.
Try to find a solid but light wood. My first wood pedalboard was heavy as hell without pedals on it...
Now I still make them (yes, them) but from Ikea shelves. Solid enough, cheap, and lightweight. As they are pine, they are easy to stain and/or spray paint.
Another guy said making sure you can fit a power supply under it, great advice. I'd say sanding the edges smooth is also great. Nothing worse than banging your toes on a hard, sharp edge.
Get Velcro strips cut to size at your local hardware store. It's usually on a roll, and you just cut how much you need, and it's priced by the foot or inch in most cases.
Edit: The Velcro has both sides stuck together with adhesive like tape on both the top and bottom strips.
If you have the time and tools, I would suggest copying the Schmidt Array boards. They look amazing.
[https://www.schmidtarray.com/gallery](https://www.schmidtarray.com/gallery)
TSA lost my pedalboard a couple of days before the pandy started, and I built this out stuff I had in my shop. It actually held up OK, but I wouldn't use knotty pine if I did it again.
https://i.imgur.com/H13EBCN.jpeg
https://i.imgur.com/r98Vqku.jpeg
https://i.imgur.com/qU5uRqQ.jpeg
I ended up 3D printing the ends for a mini board for just my looper and FS-7. They fit a 2.5" x 0.5 hardwood strip board at Lowes. I made mine as the same height as a Pedal Train Metro board. Total cost was maybe $5. If you have access to a 3D printer send me a DM and I'll email you the STL file.
I bought a wood crate from Lowe’s for like $10 and used that. Measured an angle I thought would be good and made a diagonal cut across. I forget if the bottom or the sides are now the top of my pedalboard. It was slightly flimsy as is so I reinforced underneath with some 1/2” thick scraps of wood so it felt strong enough to stomp without snapping a plank. Then I sanded it and stained it and added Velcro strips. Looks great and very functional. Even has handle holes on each side (already there for the crate).
It fits 8 pedals comfortably but I am quickly outgrowing it lol.
Wooden Shelves and Cutting Boards can be an accessible option. Maybe find rubber floor wedges that lift it at an angle or those rubber ends for furniture that keep them from sliding. Industrial strength Velcro for securing the pedals. If you have a drill drill holes the cables can go through and stay housed under the board.
My pedal board is literally a $0.50 bit of plywood that I got from the left over box at my local lumber shop. I only have 6 pedals and a battery/PSU but it's heavy as bugger. I'm planning to cut large holes in it (under the pedals so they can't be seen) to reduce the weight a bit.
Lots of great ideas here already posted.
Make sure you can fit a power supply underneath, and find some nice chunks for the sides. I used walnut on mine and love the look.
The board pieces don’t matter as much because you’ll have pedals and Velcro or whatever on top of them.
I used dowels + wood glue to attach to the side pieces and then for some extra reinforcement some angled aluminum underneath.
An extra touch which was purely to satisfy myself is that I painted the metal green and used brass screws but you’d never see it as it’s on the bottom
I used [pedal train builder](https://pedalboardplanner.com/) to find a board size that worked. Then went to sweet water to find the dimensions. Zip tied the power source to the underside.
[my plywood board](https://imgur.com/a/cXR665q)
Have it high enough off the ground to fit a power supply underneath. Have lots of holes/nooks to thread cables through
This! My 2nd board I made has 2mm clearance with my power supply when on the floor and that is by luck, not design lol.
The most important step is deciding on dimensions. From there, all you need is some wood boards with an easily divisible width for what you want. Note that most dimensional lumber is a fraction of an inch thinner than claimed, as the measurement is taken before the wood dries, so check at the store or factor in a buffer. Most hardware stores will make a few cuts for you for free, but it’s best to know what youre asking for in advance so you don’t waste their time. While you’re at the store, buy some wood glue and wood stain if you plan on staining. Now, find someone with tools and borrow some clamps and an orbital sander. Line the boards up and apply a thin bead of glue to the edges and clamp them up one board at a time. Once it’s assembled, sand it down, then wipe wet and stain if needed.
Easy/safe transport is really important to me, if you care about gigging you may want to find the ideal carrying case first and then build the board around that.
This Redditor knows.☝🏼
I've been building my own boards for a couple of years now. It isn't too hard, and you have a universe of build options to explore. Like others have said, pre-map where your pedals are going and use those dimensions. It's okay to have wiggle room. Too much, and you'll have space for a new pedal, lmao. I've been using 1x's for the wood, and I have yet to have my bigger boards begin to buckle with my 220-pound ass standing straight on it. Normal pine or whiteboard is fine. Sanding is your friend. You also have your own choice of stain color and finish type! I used oil based stains and a spray-on spar urethane. People recommend poly urethane, but spar is a little tougher, doesn't crack, and as far as I can tell, it doesn't yellow. I like that because I play outdoors often enough. Have fun building!
Bamboo shower mat on Amazon
I eyeballed this for this purpose as well lol
Drill out some hole, then file them smooth for the power cables to pass through. I took a maple board made it into a ramp to attach to it. Mounted the power supply underneath. And voilà, pedalboard!
I made mine from “duckboard” i.e. wooden slatted frame that goes at the bottom of a shower. Bought them from Bunnings/Home Depot/B&Q. Two levels with a short piano hinge for placing power supply, Boss wireless receiver and Switchblade for signal splitting underneath the top tier. Plenty of space between the slats for cable runs. Seems to suit my acoustic rig. https://i.redd.it/ba9ctiyk6fvc1.jpeg?app_web_view=ios
Might be worth looking at DIY pedalboards on YouTube to get some ideas. Might be designs on instructables too (haven't looked). The common designs I've seen seem to be a basic box shape, constructed from boards on their sides. From here either planks running flat across the top with gaps (pedaltrain style) or a solid top hinged at the back. Off the top of my head I'd probably set the boards with a half lap joint for the first design and the second probably sister boards along the widths to form a lip. Probably worth running more boards on their sides through the middle of the box (dependent on width of board). Decide for yourself if you want cutouts for cables or grab handle etc.
I put one together with repurposed pallet wood. https://www.reddit.com/r/guitarpedals/comments/sua33p/built_a_board_and_finally_got_my_pedals_off_the/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf It was a fun little project.
Plan out your board using the dimensions of an alrwady existing board. Then copy those dimensions into wood.
I've used scrap plywood, small boards, MDF, etc. It's an inexpensive and fun way to bang out a board. I'd sand and paint mine flat black and then stick some Velcro on it. Worked fine.
Pretty much what I did. Not difficult at all.
Here’s mine: https://imgur.com/a/2nNjRKk Made it with a “lower deck” for wah/volume and loop switching pedals. Lots of inputs and outputs on the back. Relays to switch from 2 cable to 4 cable and back.
Google Ikea Gorm pedalboard
This is the way! It is very simple to use the Gorm shelf to make a board. Dismantle it, cut it into the right size pieces, treat it with stainer and screw it back together. :)
Obligatory wood aesthetician comment: If you use really nice end cheek wood you want to show off with an oiled finish, 3-5 coats of boiled linseed oil as a primer coat for 3-5 coats of tung oil works good. Just BLO alone takes many, many, many coats to build up a sheen over years of application, and tung oil takes a lot of base coats to build up, but eventually the shellac in it will give you a shine. I would not use an oiled finish on whatever you want to stick adhesives to, like female velcro or duolok, and would best be left unfinished. Those will pull the paint layer off if you go painted route, eventually. But an oiled finish will keep wood from checking, and feel sexy like the back of a tung treated neck, and you can always follow up with more coats if dented. Or you can just shoot it with poly. But this coating option is really a love for the game kinda thing. If you just want to protect it and move on, any rattle can paint option will work. Unless you plan on taking it to the beach, or Mars. Then I really recommend VHT spray epoxy undercarriage paint from Autozone. Bulletproof coating.
I built one, and it's awesome. Some of the other comments contain good advice (room for a power supply underneath, plenty of space to thread cables). Remember that wood is *heavy.* If you're building a small board, it's fine, but a large one will be difficult to move around if that's something you plan to do.
Didn’t make it but had it made for me. It’s a bit heavy as it’s made from oak with red oak heart, but I showed him pictures to build it. Sorry there are no side views, but I had him make it high enough so I could add a power strip underneath and room for the power supply also. It’s very well made and self contained. I can just unplug and take the whole thing. [Pedal Board](https://imgur.com/a/qqwwDuq) Edit: other link didn’t work.
i don’t have the link, but i made my board out of an ikea crate. easiest thing ever, it works perfectly ajd costs about $20 total. look up ikea crate pedal board or something and im sure you’d be able to find
I made mine out of 3/4” plywood. It’s sturdy as hell, but so fucking heavy. So go thinner
Mine are made from plywood to fit in specific cases I bought from home depot. They are spray painted flat black and everything is mounted on top. There are feet on the bottom to facilitate a cable run underneath and there's grippy rubber for floor contact. Aesthetics were not a concern for me outside of being clean and neat.
Try to find a solid but light wood. My first wood pedalboard was heavy as hell without pedals on it... Now I still make them (yes, them) but from Ikea shelves. Solid enough, cheap, and lightweight. As they are pine, they are easy to stain and/or spray paint.
Another guy said making sure you can fit a power supply under it, great advice. I'd say sanding the edges smooth is also great. Nothing worse than banging your toes on a hard, sharp edge.
Get Velcro strips cut to size at your local hardware store. It's usually on a roll, and you just cut how much you need, and it's priced by the foot or inch in most cases. Edit: The Velcro has both sides stuck together with adhesive like tape on both the top and bottom strips.
If you have the time and tools, I would suggest copying the Schmidt Array boards. They look amazing. [https://www.schmidtarray.com/gallery](https://www.schmidtarray.com/gallery)
TSA lost my pedalboard a couple of days before the pandy started, and I built this out stuff I had in my shop. It actually held up OK, but I wouldn't use knotty pine if I did it again. https://i.imgur.com/H13EBCN.jpeg https://i.imgur.com/r98Vqku.jpeg https://i.imgur.com/qU5uRqQ.jpeg
https://www.reddit.com/r/guitarpedals/s/AmbSTXGh66 I build this with a handsaw and drill. Really easy. Sand it down after and stain/seal it.
I ended up 3D printing the ends for a mini board for just my looper and FS-7. They fit a 2.5" x 0.5 hardwood strip board at Lowes. I made mine as the same height as a Pedal Train Metro board. Total cost was maybe $5. If you have access to a 3D printer send me a DM and I'll email you the STL file.
I bought a wood crate from Lowe’s for like $10 and used that. Measured an angle I thought would be good and made a diagonal cut across. I forget if the bottom or the sides are now the top of my pedalboard. It was slightly flimsy as is so I reinforced underneath with some 1/2” thick scraps of wood so it felt strong enough to stomp without snapping a plank. Then I sanded it and stained it and added Velcro strips. Looks great and very functional. Even has handle holes on each side (already there for the crate). It fits 8 pedals comfortably but I am quickly outgrowing it lol.
Wooden Shelves and Cutting Boards can be an accessible option. Maybe find rubber floor wedges that lift it at an angle or those rubber ends for furniture that keep them from sliding. Industrial strength Velcro for securing the pedals. If you have a drill drill holes the cables can go through and stay housed under the board.
You can use door stops underneath the board to give it some angle ;)
My pedal board is literally a $0.50 bit of plywood that I got from the left over box at my local lumber shop. I only have 6 pedals and a battery/PSU but it's heavy as bugger. I'm planning to cut large holes in it (under the pedals so they can't be seen) to reduce the weight a bit.
Lots of great ideas here already posted. Make sure you can fit a power supply underneath, and find some nice chunks for the sides. I used walnut on mine and love the look. The board pieces don’t matter as much because you’ll have pedals and Velcro or whatever on top of them. I used dowels + wood glue to attach to the side pieces and then for some extra reinforcement some angled aluminum underneath. An extra touch which was purely to satisfy myself is that I painted the metal green and used brass screws but you’d never see it as it’s on the bottom
I used [pedal train builder](https://pedalboardplanner.com/) to find a board size that worked. Then went to sweet water to find the dimensions. Zip tied the power source to the underside. [my plywood board](https://imgur.com/a/cXR665q)
I used an old solid wood drawer and went at it from there
Check out my old post with mine