Hello,
I'm a woodworking novice, and I'd like some help thinking through a design I've got going for a guitar pedal board project. For anyone that doesn't know, a pedal board provides a guitarist with a way to organize effects pedals that modify the sound of an electric guitar. They are typically used on stage to minimize setup/tear down time and ensure a consistent layout of pedals. Numerous examples can be seen here.
I've attached a picture of a rough sketch I made in SketchUp for the sake of measurements. In my plan, you can see my pedal board will consist of a frame with a panel affixed in the middle. So here's where I'm asking for help. What are some options for joining the top panel to the frame? I'm interested in, perhaps, a decorative choice. I intend to join the back and front of the frame to the sides using a sliding dovetail joint. I intend to place a dovetail slot on both sides of the back and front frame boards, and then I plan to cut a dovetail into the ends of the side boards. I understand this is a common way to build drawers, and I think this frame is a fairly similar concept.
One idea I have is to hand cut (Lord help me) a single wide tail into the each of the side boards of the frame (see "Top idea.png" attachment). Then I could cut a wide pin into each side of the panel and simply lay it into the side boards. The sides are 3/4", and I'm doing all of this in oak. Does this make any sense? Is there any chance of this thing holding together? Should I reinforce the top panel from underneath?
I'm not sure I know what I'm doing. Please help! Any and all ideas are welcome!! Thank you!!