Here's the Thing

The Paul Ramey Band played at a student conference this past weekend at Crossroads Church in Vancouver. Brock Gill, the speaker/illusionist, was really good. It was a regional conference for high school kids in the Southern Baptist denomination, which carries a certain amount of cognitive dissonance for me, but overall it was a really good weekend.

It's always a good time hanging out with the guys, especially when there is a green room or hotel involved.

I finally had the chance to finish my pedalboard case project today. I finished the aluminum trim, added the foam for the inside of the lid, and attached some small chain to hold the lid while open. I rubbed some stain inside on the unfinished poplar, even though I know that poplar isn't really a wood worth staining, and I'm done!

Here is the inside without the pedalboard...

... and here's the inside with the pedalboard.

While there are certainly things I would do differently next time, I am happy with the final results, and even a little encouraged that woodworking can be a lot of fun. I think I may have found a new hobby. Now, I just need more power tools...

After looking high and low for a good long-term solution for the guitar pedalboard situation, I finally decided to take matters into my own hands. First, I got my grubby mitts on a good quality power supply, and bought a piece of oak. Then I picked up an old bike chain that was headed for the trash in the Bike Gallery shop. I rubbed a little stain onto the board, attached handles, and added rubber feet. Then I disassembled the bike chain, and used the link pieces to attach the pedals and power supply to the new oak pedalboard. In a few short hours I had solved one problem. Now I would just need a case to protect the pedals themselves.

I picked up some poplar and thin plywood from the hardware store and built a frame for my case. Since I only have a circular saw and a compound miter saw, I had to make lots of rough cuts and do loads of sanding. I painted the outside with a glossy black, and attached hinges and latches.

I built in some partitions for various other gear, and lined the edge of the lid with some adhesive rubber insulation.

Now I'm cutting aluminum to protect the edges, which is taking some extra time, but should help the case last longer. After that I'll just need some gray eggshell foam for the inside of the lid and a way to limit how far the lid can open.

Overall, I am having a great time with my project. Generally when I decide to build something it turns out a little bit hillbilly, and if you look closely you can certainly see it's no work of art, but it will serve its purpose.

Molly has finally finished her training in Minneapolis, and is back in town for real. She had a week in MN, followed by a week in Portland, followed by another two weeks in MN. Needless to say that was ridiculous, and not the most enjoyable two weeks for either of us. We did talk on the phone almost every day, but that gets pretty insufficient after the second or third day.

We also did some thinking, and decided that this was actually the longest we have been apart since we met in Septemmber 1998. That's a strange thought, and it makes me feel a little old.

On a related note, I helped our friend Keven (aka GirlKeven) move on Saturday, which made me pretty sore for a few days. That really made me feel old. I need to get myself back into some kind of respectable shape.