How to attach a pedal to a pedalboard without velcro

greekorican · #1 07-19-2009, 02:37 PM

I am going to make myself a sweet pedalboard, but I want to attach my pedals more securely than using velcro. Any ideas? I tried a search and it seems that everyone uses velcro, and I would rather have something a bit more permanent than that.

Thanks

smuhhh · #2 07-19-2009, 02:46 PM

It is a lot more complicated, but you can remove the bottom plate from the pedal, put it on the board where you want it and then mark/drill through holes in the bottom plate. You will need to get longer screws with the same thread pattern, (5/8" longer etc. depending on what material you used for your board) then screw up through the board, through the bottom plate and into your pedal. This only works with the right kind of board set up, but it'll be solid.

**Bryan R. Tyler** · #3 07-19-2009, 02:47 PM

Anything more permanent that velcro is probably going to just be a hassle in the end, as everyone moves their pedals around now and again. Keep in mind that there are different strengths of velcro- there's an industrial one at Home Depot that I use where the "soft" side isn't soft at all, and that stuff is incredibly secure.

If you're certain that you won't move your pedals, there are little double screw eye-type thing you can use. They're like a flat figure 8, and you remove your pedal's backplate screws and put one loop of the 8 in between the screw and the backplate, and you put a screw through the other hole of the 8 and screw it into the pedalboard itself.

draftsmann · #4 07-19-2009, 02:48 PM

Why?

Velcro is rightly popular for this application, because it works, and allows relatively easy removal and reorganising of pedals.

The alternative is to buy or make small brackets out of thin sheet metal, screw them to the underside of the pedal (where possible using existing screws) and then screw them to the board. There used to be somebody selling such brackets ready-made on eBay for Boss pedals IIRC; but it wouldn't be rocket science to fabricate your own from sheet brass or similar.

Adrian

**Bryan R. Tyler** · #5 07-19-2009, 02:49 PM

Beat ya to it by one minute

Smurf-o-Deth · #6 07-19-2009, 02:50 PM

Nails? Super glue? Tractor beams?

Seriously, unless you will be playing with Lionel Ritchie, dancin' on the celing style, quality Velcro will lock down pedals very well. That being said, you could always use zip-ties.

Edit: dammit, iPhone! Let me type faster!

megadan · #7 07-19-2009, 02:52 PM

IMHO the next best step after velcro, but before screwing your pedals down, is zip ties. They're more permanent than velcro, and they can't get pulled off. But you can still cut the ties and swap pedals around.

draftsmann · #8 07-19-2009, 03:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bryan R. Tyler

Beat ya to it by one minute

Ha! You snooze, you lose around here...

FenderAmpeg · #9 07-19-2009, 03:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by draftsmann

Why?

The alternative is to buy or make small brackets out of thin sheet metal, screw them to the underside of the pedal (where possible using existing screws) and then screw them to the board. There used to be somebody selling such brackets ready-made on eBay for Boss pedals IIRC; but it wouldn't be rocket science to fabricate your own from sheet brass or similar.

Adrian

Check the post your pedalboard thread circa 16 or 17, someone found brackets just like your talking about that he used.

Steveaux · #10 07-19-2009, 03:29 PM

The "brackets" in reference are nothing more than plates from bicycle-chain links.

Couvy · #11 07-19-2009, 03:41 PM

The big issue for Velcro in this part of the country is not that the hook/loop side will fail, but that the heat will cause the adhesive side to fail. That's my experience, anyhow. The bicycle chain links work very well for Boss type pedals (screw that aren't countersunk into the pedal). I haven't decided the best course of action for standard Hammond boxes, though.

Steveaux · #12 07-19-2009, 03:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Couvy

The big issue for Velcro in this part of the country is not that the hook/loop side will fail, but that the heat will cause the adhesive side to fail. That's my experience, anyhow. The bicycle chain links work very well for Boss type pedals (screw that aren't countersunk into the pedal). I haven't decided the best course of action for standard Hammond boxes, though.

Hammond boxes have an inner, raised boss that locates the bottom plate. This makes the countersunk holes much less important.

nad · #13 07-19-2009, 06:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Couvy

The big issue for Velcro in this part of the country is not that the hook/loop side will fail, but that the heat will cause the adhesive side to fail. That's my experience, anyhow.

Same here, in a different area of Triple Digit Summers. I had my entire pedalboard take a dive when the glue failed. Switched to 3M Dual Lock years ago, never had a problem since.

Uribam · #14 07-19-2009, 06:56 PM

What you do is, you arrange your pedals exactly the way you want them on the board. Then you airlift in a dead elephant and drop it right on the board. They won't move till the body decays. I recall this method being used by the coolest death metal bands =)

Scott

Smurf-o-Deth · #15 07-19-2009, 07:15 PM

I neglected to suggest spot-welding. How remiss of me.

Joe Gress · #16 07-19-2009, 07:17 PM

Gum. Start chewing.

FeuerFrei · #17 07-19-2009, 09:35 PM

You could drill holes for zip ties, it'd be a pain in the ass, but you could do it.

**Bryan R. Tyler** · #18 07-19-2009, 10:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FeuerFrei

You could drill holes for zip ties, it'd be a pain in the ass, but you could do it.

I had to do that as a precaution for my "hanging" pedals, as I don't trust even strong velcro to hold them up:

Unless you can be sure that the zip ties can wrap completely squarely around the pedal and board (which they likely can't), they're still going to jiggle a little. Use them in combination with velcro though and you can at least be sure they won't fall off even if the tape begins to lose adhesion.

absenttrojan · #19 07-19-2009, 11:14 PM

I'm going through the same process at the moment.

I didn't like the look of the zip ties, I wasn't overly keen on sticking velcro on the base of my pedals, those figure 8 'brackets' like 2 washers attached to each other, didn't sit flat as some have a raised rubber section which don't let the brackets sit flat. So I picked up some particle board that the kids have painted up and grabbed some long screws with same thread on them & are about to attach them all to see what happens. Easy enough to redrill the wood or get another bit.

bobbass4k · #20 07-19-2009, 11:55 PM

My dad's an engineer who works with trains, and he got me some velcro for my board buildt hat they use to put body panels on trains. Apparently it is just like regular velcro, but when it's locked, it takes about 5000N of force to separate, which is like hanging a cow from it. Can't wait to get hold of it. I suppose I'm not really adding anything to the thread, I just wanted to boast that I'll be able to hang a cow from my pedalboard.