Here’s our starting point. Velcro already on the board so I made a few cuts where the mounting screws will go.

We’ll be using a piece of aluminum flat bar as a mounting bracket, so holes on the pedalboard are spaced to fit the flat bar. Here I used four #6 countersunk screws, 3/4″ in length because I had them around but any small screw will work here.

Mounting bracket was purchased from eBay- it’s a 1/2″ thick piece of aluminum flat bar that’s 3″ wide and 6″ long. Aluminum flat bar comes unfinished so plan on time to paint after drilling if you care about that. I needed about 3/8″ of clearance so the power cables will have clearance over the support bars so I went with a 1/2″ to be safe. I’d recommend getting a 0.125″ or .250″ plate and using spacers to get the correct clearance since this bracket is unnecessarily heavy. It’s attached using locking nuts.

Here’s a test fit of the ISO-Brick.

And here is a picture showing the cable clearance when using a 1/2″ thick mounting bracket.

The ISO-Brick has two screws keeping the enclosure together. What’s really nice is these screws go straight through the chassis and if I replace them with longer screws I can use them as a mounting point for the power supply to the bracket. The stock screws are hex (allen) socket M4-0.7 x 40mm. I replaced them with stainless M4-0.7 x 60mm which gives the result above.

View from above of where it’s at so far. Bracket is attached, holes are drilled for the power supply mounting screws, and it’s ready to finish this up.

The power supply fits, there’s enough clearance for the cables, the power supply isn’t so tall that it touches the ground when the pedal is flipped over.

Two M4 nuts to hold the power supply to the bracket.

And a view from the back of the pedalboard showing that there’s enough clearance to allow the power cable to be unplugged if needed.

So this is everything- 6 screws and a lot of measuring to make sure the clearances all would work. The big takeaway would be to get a 0.125″ or 0.250″ at the most for the aluminum plate thickness and use washers or spacers to give the clearance needed to reach about 1/2″. Without that clearance you won’t be able to plug power cables into the power outlets of the ISO-Brick. If using a thinner plate you’ll also want to get shorter M4-0.7 x 60mm screws for the power supply itself, likely 55mm depending on the thickness of your plate.

Soldering Irons:
Hakko FX-888D – A popular mid-level soldering iron. Lots of tips available, heats up quick, good overall iron. Weller is also a popular choice but my favorite model was discontinued.
Hakko FX-971 – More than twice the price of above but is a great choice for extensive SMD soldering.

Soldering / Desoldering Accessories:
Kester Lead-Free Solder – Buy a pound so you don’t run out mid project.
Solder Reel Dispenser – Put your reel of solder on a dispenser for easier positioning.
Hakko 599B Tip Cleaner – Brass shavings to clean the soldering tip instead of a wet sponge.
Tip Tinner – Cleans and conditions soldering iron tip. Works wonders.
Solder Sucker – A great option to have on hand in addition to desoldering wick.

Hand & Power Tools:
Xcelite 170M Shearcutters – Seriously, buy a pair of shearcutters. I see so many people using wire cutters which just can’t get in tight against the PCB to clean up the leads after soldering.
Xcelite 378M Thin Pliers – Small pliers are so much easier to work with when trying to navigate inside of a pedal casing. Great for precisely bending leads, grabbing parts to be desoldered, or fishing wires through tight spaces.
ESP Spanner Wrench – This is the tool you need to remove and install knurled nuts like found on vintage MXR footswitches or Gibson guitar toggle switches. Better than using pliers and less risk of damaging the pedal’s finish.
Precision T-Rule – Accurately measure from the edge of the casing for marking where you need to drill. Down to 1/64″ so you can get very accurate center lines. You’ll need a very fine mechanical pencil to use the indexing holes.
Center Punch – Mark the hole so the drill bit doesn’t walk out of alignment. There are automatic versions but I prefer this style and find them to be less likely to slip. Wear your hearing protection because this is LOUD.
Bosch power drill – A good general purpose drill that’s not too heavy or oversized. Grab it when it’s on sale.
Seiko Step Drill Bits – Step drill bits are great to have on hand for opening up holes to a slightly larger size. Be sure to check fitment as you drill to make sure you don’t accidentally go one size too far. These are cheap ones; Irwin makes a cobalt version for harder metals (stainless steel) or heavy use.
Craftsman 1/4″ Spinner Handle – Much more comfortable and convenient for low torque applications where you don’t need a ratchet. Buy a socket set that comes with one or get one to add with your current socket collection.
Tekton 6-point SAE & Metric 1/4″ Socket Set – Covers every size you’ll find on a pedal. You’ll want both metric and SAE and up to a 1/2″ deep socket for footswitches. 6-Point sockets are more durable and less prone to rounding than a 12-point. If you’re going to use this for other projects or for daily use, buy a nice set and don’t think about it again. If on a budget, this generic set is probably fine for light use and still much better than using an adjustable wrench.
Klein Hex (Allen) Key Set – Metric and SAE, long handle with ball end for getting into tight spots.

There are plenty of reasons to build your own cables which I’m not going to get into here. If you’ve decided to go ahead and customize your pedalboard, repair your broken cables, or build new ones from scratch these are our recommendations:

Pedalboard & Patch Cables- really anything that isn’t going to be strained, pulled, and unplugged constantly:

• Jack- right angle, smaller barrel for tighter boards, gold contacts for corrosion resistance.
  • Amphenol ACPM-RB-AU
• Wire- thin, flexible, easy to work with.
  • Mogami W2319

Instrument Cable – long leads that will need to take abuse:

• Jacks- very durable, unique clamp keeps the wire from pulling out, easy to solder.
  • Right Angle: Neutrik NP2RX–B
  • Straight: Neutrik NP2X-B
• Wire- durable, coils nicely without tangling, excellent shielding and conductivity.
  • Mogami W2524