What Thickness for HDPE pedalboard

[Randy4Guitars]

I'm putting together a pedal board to hold the FC12 and three mission pedals. They occupy about 34" x 10". I was going to mount them to a piece of plywood or 1x8 but I'm thinking of using a piece of HDPE plastic instead. I'm wondering what thickness to get so it doesn't flex too much when lifting in and out of the case. The Fc12 and 3 mission pedals weigh about 20 lbs total.

The "board" will be about 36"x10" allowing a little for grab handles at each end. I think 1/2" would be plenty thick but wonder if I can use a thinner piece. I talked to the seller and they thought I might get away with 3/8" or 1/4" thick but said they weren't sure. Any advice or ideas would be appreciated. A 36"x10"x1/2" piece of HDPE weighs about 6 lbs. I believe.

I'm doing this because I have a rifle case sitting around that has nice wheels on the end and it weighs 20lbs with all the foam in it.

Amazon product ASIN B00009UTA8


The weight of everything minus the board (case, foam, FC12, 3 mission pedals and a few cables) is about 40lbs.

 

[Jack Napalm]

The width with three pedals seems like it would bend some at 1/2". I would go 3/4. Much more stable, at the very least 5/8. I have a 2x4x3/4 sheet of HDPE and I know it would be stable.

 

[Randy4Guitars]

Really, ok I'm glad I asked. Guess I will go with the 3/4!

 

[RevDrucifer]

I'm putting together a pedal board to hold the FC12 and three mission pedals. They occupy about 34" x 10". I was going to mount them to a piece of plywood or 1x8 but I'm thinking of using a piece of HDPE plastic instead. I'm wondering what thickness to get so it doesn't flex too much when lifting in and out of the case. The Fc12 and 3 mission pedals weigh about 20 lbs total.

The "board" will be about 36"x10" allowing a little for grab handles at each end. I think 1/2" would be plenty thick but wonder if I can use a thinner piece. I talked to the seller and they thought I might get away with 3/8" or 1/4" thick but said they weren't sure. Any advice or ideas would be appreciated. A 36"x10"x1/2" piece of HDPE weighs about 6 lbs. I believe.

I'm doing this because I have a rifle case sitting around that has nice wheels on the end and it weighs 20lbs with all the foam in it.

Amazon product ASIN B00009UTA8


The weight of everything minus the board (case, foam, FC12, 3 mission pedals and a few cables) is about 40lbs.

Damn, had I known about this stuff I would have built my board out of it.

Every board, literally, every single one, I’ve ever built, I’ve used 3/4” Baltic Birch plywood. Really, only because my father told me when I was 12 that that was the best wood/size for that purpose and I never questioned it.

I’m curious if 1/2” of the HDPE is as sturdy as 3/4” plywood.

BTW- how big is that rifle case? I’d like to do something similar for my board. Kinda silly to travel with $1000 sitting there unprotected.

 

[Randy4Guitars]

Per Jacks reply above I'm thinking about going with the 3/4" thickness. He said he thought the 1/2" might flex a bit and he has used 3/4". I think my board at 3/4" will be about 9lbs which isn't too bad. The HDPE sheet would be 3/4"x 44" x 10" and I'll cut it down. It's $86 plus $27 shipping + tax so $117 for me. But I can retire my old scuba bag.

Yeah man check out that amazon link for that rifle case it's a Pelican so pretty stout. It's got 3 handles, good latches, is lockable and good wheels. I might put a little lip on it so I can strap a guitar case or the AF3 case to it and use it as a dolly. Not sure about that yet.

Interior dimensions are 44.5"x16.5"x6.25" tight, including the space in the lid. It comes with 5 pieces of solid sheet foam that are 2", 1 - 7/8", 1", 3/4" and 5/8" thick if I'm reading my tape right. It's the stuff you cut with the elec turkey knife, not the pick-a-pluck.

I originally got it to hold the FM3, FC12 and two pedals, plus misc gig stuff (I think it could hold a third pedal but sideways). BUT I was playing in church regularly back then and as I was putting it together I realized it probably wasn't a good idea to show up to church with a rifle case. But hell here in the Arizona bars, they won't think twice about someone bringing a rifle with them, lol. They'll probably ask to see it.

 

[mr_fender]

Plastic kitchen cutting boards are often made of HDPE, so that might be a decent point of reference. I've got a 14"x11" inch one that is 7/16" thick and it's pretty stiff. I can flex it a bit if push it down across my knee from both ends. Scale that up to 30+ inches wide and I'm sure it would flex quite a bit more. 3/4" thick should be considerably more stiff.

I used cheap 1/2" plywood with extruded aluminum edging all the way around from Home Depot. Maybe $50 total including paint, rubber feet, and handles. The dust was free... Built it a few years ago for my MFC-101 and VPJr's, but luckily the FC-12 still barely fits.

 

[Randy4Guitars]

That's nice! I had some 5/8 plywood I was saving for this project but got rid of it a few months ago. I was looking for that aluminum channel stock here at home depot and they don't have anything that would work. I think that have have been lighter than my hdpe board. oh well, its on the UPS truck now.

 

[crossthestyx]

This case cost me $78 bucks with shipping. Took me 45 minutes to modify it. Not a touring case for sure (a bit flimsy), but was a good solution for my fm3 and fc-12 + a ev2. [Reverb .com - Sold by Rondo Music - CNB PDC 410 SSL Pedal Case 39 1/2" inside length, 15 3/4 inches inside width, 5 1/4" inside height] Only thing I velcro'd was the power bar, cables and ev2. Didn't take the rubber feet off anything.
Just a thought.. and another option before you go killing yourself with plywood.

2 - 18" zip ties connected, per attachment point. (Lowes)
Came with a fuzzy velcro bottom and a strip of rough velcro side.

 

[Randy4Guitars]

Good job on that case. I was looking at a smaller case but went with a slightly larger one which had wheels. It's a little bigger than my guitar cases, so a little big for a pedal board, but I'll put my tools, cords, and the normal gig necessaries. Thanks for the info!