lightest/strongest wood for a pedalboard

I'm a wood dork almost as much as I am a guitar gear dork (and really, I truly am a dork). I actually got my degree in Wood Science and know more about wood than I ever wanted to know.

Head on down to Home Depot or Menard's and get some birch plywood. I'd think 3/8" thick should be enough for you unless you're building a BIG board, then maybe 1/2". There's some imported Baltic Birch from Asia (China and Russia, mostly) but it tends to off-gas a lot of formaldehyde. I'd try to stick with a domestic, or maybe a Canadian maker. In the end, though, most veneer core plywoods are going to weigh about the same and behave about the same.

Good luck!

 

+1 on the Home depot 3/8" birch. I've made several boards with that stuff. My largest board is 15x30" and loaded down with 14 pedals. It flexes a little bit but it hasn't snapped. Much lighter than 1/2" plywood. I would recommend a coat of primer on the whole board to keep it from warping. If you use any glue to put down a velcro freindly surface(carpet) it will warp if it hasn't been primered cause it's so thin. I don't think 1/2" plywood has these issues but it weighs twice as much.

 

A Spruce face veneer is rather uncommon. In fact, I'm not sure if there are any veneer suppliers in the country peeling it as a face veneer. It will probably be in the core veneers of the plywood (cross-plies).

Then again, you'll probably be painting or carpeting this board, right? So the specie of wood really won't matter that much, anyway. But if you wanted something really cool, find a veneer core plywood with a spliced A Maple face that could match the fretboard of your guitar? Man, that's enough to make me want to build my own board right there....

 

1/2" isn't quite twice the weight of 3/8", but it's not far off (stick with a veneer core, not an MDF or Particle Board core - it adds to stiffness and keeps weight down). If warping is a concern, you should make sure it's a balanced panel (ie - the same primer or varnish on both sides, or carpeted face and primer/varnish back).


Okay, wood dork off...

 

Here is a pedalboard someone made.
Don't know who did it or I would give credit.
http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?p=999&gid=15964539&uid=2981932&members=1

 

I used Knotty pine for my board. That's what was laying around my garage. Basically old barn board. It's super light, and incredibly sturdy, considering how soft a wood it is. I have no fear of standing on my elevated (puma-trailer trash style) board and jumping up and down. =)

 

Home Depot: 5 Ply Luan (roughly 1/2"), it's just the right size, light enough and smooth finish. Smoother than ply.

 

Western Red Cedar, Redwood, White Pine 5/8" thick if you have access to a planer, 3/4" if not. Also 1/2" Poplar plywood is another great option and is very light for plywood.

 

I use birch as well -- bought about 3 4x2 1/4" and 1/2" sections for my many revisions. Sturdy, light, and as long as you engineer the flat top correctly, no flexing at all (ie, don't use a single flat piece for the top).