DIY: Effects Pedal Housing

DIY Effects Pedal Housing 1I’m never happy unless I have something to build, and the latest project has been coming up with an effects pedal housing that’s a bit different to the norm. The goal was to make something cheap without a great deal of effort, but still look cool.

I’ve done a few things with wood and aluminium and I like the combination, so that was a good start. The basic parts list is a piece of aluminium bar stock 100mm wide and 1.5mm thick, and some 30mm x 12mm timber (I’ve used both pine and Tasmanian Oak).

First step is to simply cut off a 14cm piece of the aluminium and bend it at right angles 3cm from the end. It’s hard to get a clean bend, so I made a bending “brake” to assist out of a couple of hinges and bits of timber (if you are really interested let me know in the comments and I’ll provide details).

Next cut two 10cm lengths of timber and one 9.6mm piece. Glue these up in a U shape. Once set, a bit of sanding to get them sitting right, then drill holes and screw the “lid” on. Then cut another piece of aluminium to make the base and screw it in place.

Once I had the box, I used a belt sander to cut away excess timber/alloy and clean it up. With that all done, pull it apart and go through the usual process of drilling holes for your pots, jacks, power, LED etc.

I used some walnut stain on this one, then a light rub with some Tru-oil to finish it off. As I make more I’ll experiment with some other stains. I’ve yet to do the graphics on this one, but I’ll probably follow a similar process with water slide decals as I did here. This one is still a bit rough, but as a proof of concept I’m pretty happy, and will no doubt iron out the bugs moving forward.

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