PT-PRO Sized Pedal Board – DIY

Purpose and Need:
My pedal board was too small, I had too many pedals. Wires went everywhere. It was hard to hit the pedals in the back.

Initial Design:
I decided to find the dimensions of a Pedaltrain PT-PRO online.
It measures 32×16 and has an angled deck with slots to easily route the power supply wires as well as the audio cables.
I couldn’t find a dimension for the back panel height which rises the whole board up on angle, but I figured if it was 4 inches, that would give a good angle of about 13 degrees if my geometry calculations are correct and one of the angles is a right angle…it worked, so Mr. McAllister, my high school geometry teacher would be proud I’m sure.
4 inches for a height of the back panel also gives enough room to mount a power strip underneath which is part of the purpose and need, to eliminate wire routing chaos.
I also decided to use my own measurements for the slats/spaces.
I found that I could fit in five 2 inch strips of wood with four 1.5 inch cutouts between.
This all sounded good to me, so I just went for it without thinking twice about it.

Existing Conditions:
I had a few hours on a weekend. I had plywood. I had screws. I had spray paint. I had a drill. I had a saw. I had a tape measure.

Methodology:

Measure twice, cut once.

Below shows the markings along the right edge where I broke down the 16″ side by alternating between measuring and marking every two inches, then every inch and a half.

Then came time to provide my jigsaw.
I first had to drill holes in each “space” in order to get the blade on the jigsaw into a cutting position.

MMMM…the smell of freshly cut wood (even if its plywood, it still smells great!)…I wish they made an air freshener just for garages that emulated that smell.

Stopping to smell the wood for a second and take a picture along the way.

All the spaces cut out. I left a 2 inch left and right border as well as a center line for stability, symmetry, and to bite style from the famous ptpro.
I ended up mounting three of the triangles underneath each of those 2 inch vertical strips (left, right, and center). It flexed too much without the center triangle underneath.

At this point, I decided to drill all the holes with an 1/8″ bit and screw the backboard (4x36x1/2″), the side triangles and middle triangle (4x16x16.5×1/2″), and the main board (32x16x1/2″) all together. I used the right angle where the back board and main board met (on the top, not where it meets the floor).

After a good sanding, primer was sprayed, then sanded, then sprayed, then lightly sanded.

Then I asked my three year old son if I should finish it with white or red….he chose red. I was a little suspicious about the bright color, but thought about what red means to me. ‘ Nothin’ but the blood’ is what first comes to mind. My wife and I love to sing the Jars of Clay version of that song. I think I will always think of Christ’s atoning sacrifice, pouring out His blood to wash me white as snow….if you aren’t sure why Jesus is different, then please click on the “Jesus is Different” tab on the top of this web page and follow the link. to find out more.

I ended up having to dull the gloss just slightly with some really fine steel wool. This thing was SHIIIIIINNY! Too shiny. So shiny that the lights above would blind me if they were ever on and it still has some serious glare to it. Not to mention that its bright red.

Hope you like the board. Props to my son for a great color choice. Already had some compliments on this paint job.

If you are thinking about making your own board, go for it. Not quite as nice, durable, etc as Pedaltrain’s primo gear, but I got this all done in maybe 4 hours time over just one weekend.
Now I just need a case for it. If you build one with the same dimensions, buy a little extra foam and buy this keyboard case. That is what I plan on doing.

Feel free to ask some questions, I would love to steer you in the right direction if I can!

Grace and Peace!