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Lego instead of velcro

TheSlug

TheSlug

Feb 7, 2015
202
118
38
Bergen, Norway
www.facebook.com
#1
Thinking about making a new DIY Pedal board, and was thinking of glueing lego plates on it instead of velcro loops, and using lego tiles on the pedals.(Won't glue them directly on the pedals, paper or tape will be in between)
BUT I'm guessing since it isn't a common thing, it must have to do with the lego not being strong enough to hold the pedals in place.
OR could this work?
I don't have any legos at home myself so I can't check.
 
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#3
Adamixoye said:
I'm having difficulty imagining how Lego taped to the pedals would be strong enough
Click to expand...
Don't know what you're saying here. I'm not taping the lego to the pedals. This is the method I'm using:
If you're wondering how two lego pieces put together can be strong enough, then that's my question.

Adamixoye said:
...what the advantage of such a setup might be even if it did physically work.
Click to expand...
Because it would look cool.
 
#5
TheSlug said:
This is the method I'm using:
Click to expand...

That is an astounding waste of material. A full 8x10 piece of paper, probably at least a foot of duct tape and a bunch of time. If anyone is truly that concerned about putting Velcro directly on a pedal, just put a layer of painters tape on it then put the Velcro on that.

I don’t want to sound like a jerk but that seems like a massive waste of time and material.
 
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#8
TheSlug said:
Don't know what you're saying here. I'm not taping the lego to the pedals. This is the method I'm using:
If you're wondering how two lego pieces put together can be strong enough, then that's my question.
Click to expand...


So paper wrapped around the pedal bottom then duct tape or similar then Legos? What I was saying is that I don't see how the duct tape will hold to the Legos, given that they are not flat on either side. (I mean, such Legos that are flat on one side do exist but they are usually very small pieces.) The same concern would apply to attaching the big Lego plate to your board, I guess if you glued it like you said it would be okay. I'm pretty aware of how well two Legos can stick together, I can see how that would work. But I see the tape-to-Lego connection as being weaker than, say, Velcro on metal.

TheSlug said:
Because it would look cool.
Click to expand...

Maybe? Not trying to diss the idea, I just don't think you would see a whole lot. I wasn't thinking about looks, I was thinking it would be less functional.
 
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#9
Wait. Are you this guy?

5b940af05de02e49c8f3547ed980c47c.jpg
 
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#10
Jonny5bass said:
That is an astounding waste of material. A full 8x10 piece of paper, probably at least a foot of duct tape and a bunch of time. If anyone is truly that concerned about putting Velcro directly on a pedal, just put a layer of painters tape on it then put the Velcro on that.

I don’t want to sound like a jerk but that seems like a massive waste of time and material.
Click to expand...

I don't want to sound like a jerk, but you didn't answer my question. I was going to use painters tape, but chose to attach this video, so I didn't get alot of "don't glue your legos to your pedals, it will ruin the pedals in case you're going back to velcro" comments.
 
#11
Sounds like it would work a lot better as a novelty “for fun” project than a functional Velcro replacement. Like the bass pictured above.

And this is coming from a guy whose TGP avatar is two Lego figures :thumbsup:
 
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#12
Adamixoye said:
So paper wrapped around the pedal bottom then duct tape or similar then Legos? What I was saying is that I don't see how the duct tape will hold to the Legos, given that they are not flat on either side. (I mean, such Legos that are flat on one side do exist but they are usually very small pieces.) The same concern would apply to attaching the big Lego plate to your board, I guess if you glued it like you said it would be okay. I'm pretty aware of how well two Legos can stick together, I can see how that would work. But I see the tape-to-Lego connection as being weaker than, say, Velcro on metal.
Click to expand...
I was thinking about using the ones who are flat on one side for the pedals, they are called tile pieces. I have glue that is strong enough to hold the lego in place, but I dont know if the lego pieces will hold together if I held the board sideways :unsure:
 
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#14
Having played with lego A LOT as a kid, I think you'll find that lego is suprisingly tough. It will likely handle most smaller pedals if you cover at least 50% of the bottom of the pedal in plates, maybe the heavy ones too if you don't throw your board around...

... therein lies the problem! You have to have coverage, you have to stick multiple pieces together straight, and you have to make sure they're all straight.

It honestly might not be worth the effort when velcro and wood is so cheap and easy. Lego is suprisingly expensive. If it still tickles your fancy, go download Lego's designer software and build the pedalboard in the software. It's relatively easy to use and will tell you the exact cost if you order all the pieces directly from Lego.
 
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#15
Jonny5bass said:
If anyone is truly that concerned about putting Velcro directly on a pedal, just put a layer of painters tape on it then put the Velcro on that.
Click to expand...

I am not an effects user (unless you count the fDeck HPF) and don’t have a pedal board, but I am always appreciative of simple, no hassle solutions being shared. This is sheer genius! Thanks for sharing!

-robert
 
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#16
LSMFT6 said:
Sounds like it would work a lot better as a novelty “for fun” project than a functional Velcro replacement. Like the bass pictured above.

And this is coming from a guy whose TGP avatar is two Lego figures :thumbsup:
Click to expand...
The biggest issue I find is that I have to place the pedals on the "knobs" of the lego, and if I want to move it to either side, it will have to be in a multiplication of 8mm.
 
#17
I see where you are going with this, and I say it would probably work ok as long as it wasn't subjected to a lot of force. I guess the only way to find out is to try it.

Velcro is light weight and has a very strong bond factor when properly applied, and an even stronger shear factor. This is why it is normally used in applications such as that. Temps and humidity don't seem to effect it as well. I don't think you will get the same factors out of the Lego boards, but it still might be enough to work for pedals.

Worst case scenario it doesn't work, and you switch to Velcro.

If you do follow through, report back with pics so we can see. That would be interesting if it works.

Good luck.
 
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#19
You really do need good coverage of the tile pieces on the bottom of the pedals. The more the better.

Because of your mounting methods, flex will be your biggest enimy. If those tiles bend and dont fully seat, you will have pop off issues. And if you dont have full contact, the regular weight required to switch will fatigue the fit between the two tiles.

Put some care into doing this as a neat project, but dont expect it to hold up like Velcro, or that it will be lighter.

For bonus points, figure out how to make all your pedal knobs Lego blocks.
 
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