Axis Longboard double pedal facelift

Arky

Platinum Member
I got a used pair of Axis Longboards yesterday, bought them from our member David Floegel. Never seen Axis pedals in the flesh or tested them before but I'm sure they'll make a great repacement for my first double pedal, a dw2002. I even didn't test them after delivery but went straight ahead to give them a thorough cleanup (a habit of mine - first get it clean, then check it), repolishing the aluminum parts with a special polishing paste. Once started, I realized that I'd want to resand everything (using fine sand paper) to get it super shiny and then do the polishing - which will enhance the cosmetics but also serve as a kind of protection coat.

Still working on the main pedal after a couple hours. Will upload progress/comparison pics. I'll try to dismantle a few parts to have an easier time reworking them. Also noticed that the heel part can be flattened by a few mm. Before doing any mod on the heel block I'll definitely test the pedals to determine whether it's worth doing the mod.

Dumb to do all that work? Possibly yes. The as is look of the Axis pedals just seemed so raw/crude to me so I decided to do something about it. Also, there were a few scratches/nicks here and there so reworking/resanding seemed like a great way to get rid of all this, plus I'd have individualized pedals. Should look killer afterwards.

(BTW, I've done some modding on the dw2002 also. Not sure yet whether to keep it as an additional/spare double pedal or let it go.)

Here's a pic from the previous owner (w/ non-original beaters, drums = Sonor SQ2).
 

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I am OCD in the same way. I buy a majority of my gear used, and the first thing I do is a through cleaning and functionality check. Even cymbals I will clean up a bit before they ever make it to the kit.

Enjoy the Axis', I tried them out before I bought my 9000's, they are amazing peices of engineering.
 
I tried Axis for a while and they were just not the pedals for me but hopefully these will aid you in your quest for world double bass domination : )
So the pic below is the "before" photo? If so, they don't look all that bad to me but be sure to post the "after" photos post-cleanup!
 
Todd - yes, that's the "before" pic. I agree the pedals look rather nice on that one but they do look 'uglier' in real. If I weren't listening to music while sanding (haven't even gotten to polishing yet) I'd have given up already. I need to turn off my mind and just get this huge work done. Looks damn good so far. (Already have a blister but that's typical when doing stuff like that.) Honestly I simply assumed that Axis pedals are made of polished/brushed aluminum but I was wrong ;-) I'm simply converting them to the cosmetic state that I expected them to have to begin with.
 
Ok, here are some pics.

Haven't disassembled the slave pedal yet. Wanted to first finish the main pedal and then do the slave pedal. This is still work in progress and the parts are all unpolished yet. (I did polish the main pedal footboard at first - it looked ok - but then decided to resand it, then repolish, which I haven't done yet). But I think you can see the difference between the orig. and reworked pieces. I guess I should use some power tools for the plates. Let's see.

Pics were taken in the morning, with "lo-fi" sunlight. I added a tad of contrast in the pics. There were 6 velcro type strips at the bottom side of each groundplate which I removed for better cleanup. I have similar tape (3M DualLok, leftovers from my guitar fx stageboard) that I can use.
 

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That's it with the pics for now.
Will make some more when I get close to finishing the main pedal.
 

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Duncan, at times I wondered what I even started - but I know this feeling from previous (similarly crazy) projects. - It's coming together slower than I'd like to. Plus, I didn't have the full weekend to work on it. About 1/3 of the work is done now. At first the cleaned up areas didn't stick out too much as there weren't too many of them. But with more and more areas being reworked, the overall cosmetic impression has changed drastically. Now it's vice versa - the eye would detect anything that still looks unworked, haha. Looking forward to the finished result. Hopefully, the polishing will do the Trick so I can get my Hoofs on the Axis ;-)

What has helped me a lot (mentally) was listening to music - Symphony X, Tarja Turunen (singer, ex-Nightwish), Animals As Leaders, some soundtracks... haha.

You've got a nice project running! Some work is worth being done properly. That snare will definitely come to new life!
 
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You're a much more patient man than I, Arky. I've watched your guitar videos a few times and have some idea of the amount of serious practice that goes into developing a technique like yours' on the guitar. It's the same kind of patience that goes into making projects like these really work. Needless to say, my work usually comes out reasonably well but I get tempted by shortcuts and often take them out of frustration and boredom! I iron listening to Merzbow. Does that count?!

Props as ever.
 
I've done some metal polishing on motorcycles and drum pedals and various other things.

It can be tedious work, but somehow it's rewarding seeing it change. If it's something you're keeping for the long haul, the work will be worth it every time you see it.
 
Just tried using a power tool for sanding/polishing - wow, quick progress and great results! Definitely going to use this for the bigger areas. I'll still add some additional hand polishing in the end. Looks gorgeous!

Later... Decided to start working on the slave pedal, too - that fast progress (using power tools) motivated me.
First did some rough sanding (80 grit), then continued with 150 grit. Then 280. Reworking the edges is next, then hand polishing.
The footplates started looking so good so I continued sanding and tried to get rid of the 'structure' and get a plain/flush surface.
After taking the pics I did another sanding round though... damn perfectionism, haha! So the pics aren't up to date but I was too lazy to shoot some new ones.

You can clearly see which edges have been reworked - and those aren't even polished.
The 150 and 280 grit sandpaper is high quality stuff that I bought from a luthier - haven't finished modding an el. bass guitar, that's what I bought that stuff for.
 

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Had a lot of work over the weekend but got rid of it now. Buffed the pedalplates and ground plates yesterday. That aluminum is totally unforgiving... When I did some fine sanding the day before it was slightly raining and a few raindrops made it onto the pedals. Some fingerprints also got engraved - couldn't get them out by buffing, I'd have to resand it but I don't want to. I need to finish them and start playing. I used some Paiste Cymbal Protector after the buffing (I did the same with my DIY bells).

The last few pics show the difference between reworked and raw parts.
 

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Stop and go for the last few days...
Decided to rework the footboards and ground plates - they look better now but it seems I can't get them perfect, aluminum is too unforgiving.

Cleaned up/polished the beaters and a few smaller parts yesterday.
I think I can finish this project within the next few days.

I learned that it's time saving to sand the areas with coarse sand paper first before switching to some finer grit. Thus, sanding the slave pedal post and the stuff attached to it takes less time than the main pedal post. I've been wasting some time working with uneffectively fine sand paper grits... lesson learned.
 
The trouble with aluminum is that it oxidizes over time. Your work will not be permanent. They will oxidize again and get ugly over time. Just like brass.

Axis used to anodize their pedal components but they stopped because of cost.

Frankly, many direct drive pedals I see are not anodized. As an anodizer and a drummer, that ticks me off.
 
The trouble with aluminum is that it oxidizes over time. Your work will not be permanent. They will oxidize again and get ugly over time. Just like brass.

Axis used to anodize their pedal components but they stopped because of cost.

Frankly, many direct drive pedals I see are not anodized. As an anodizer and a drummer, that ticks me off.


The polished aluminum on my motorcycle needs constant maintenance. Looks great after a polishing though. Chrome or anodizing would be a lot less headaches though.
There are also some clear coat sprays for mag wheels and things that would probably work for the larger, non-contact parts.
 
Jeff, I've treated the worked areas the same way I treated those DIY bells/chimes I made, and it looks like it's working. I used Paiste Cymbal Protector directly after the polishing (I cleaned the polishing paste off before applying the protection). Those bells have kept their nice look so far so I guess this protection will work. Paiste recommends to reapply the protection once in a while though.

No progress for the last few days (time constraints). Eager to get it finished and try out those pedals eventually ;-)

----
UPDATE (Oct. 5)

I can't believe it - finished reworking and just assembled both pedals.
Pics and testing will follow tomorrow. Tired and fed up for now.
The drive bar isn't polished yet but that's not a big thing.
 
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Pics...
Drive shaft isn't finished yet. I started reworking but it'll be a few more hours.
That project has taken a crazy amount of time. Was it worth it? Cosmetically - yes. Mentally - not sure... ;-)
And it's even not perfect. I got some surfaces rather perfect but then I still managed to get some marks/colourations on it - maybe from fingerprints, sometimes even the finest buffing pads I used created some colourations so at one moment I simply stopped caring - to prevent going mad.
 

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In the end I fastened some 3M velcro type strips to the bottom side
It was quite some fumbling to attach the main pedal to the kick practice pad - with the dw2002 this was a piece of cake. I had to add some rubber and then it worked.

Oops - that last pic - gigantic courgettes and cucumbers in various sizes... harvested a few weeks ago.

So how does it play? Hard to say, I need more time. In a way it feels cool and classy. I feel there's some inertia to those pedals - they keep rocking like crazy but they seem to have a bit less response than my dw cheapos. Well, short vs. long board. Plus, I haven't experimented with the setting options. Spring tension is slightly above average for now. What I don't like is the heel plate being too high. That heel block below the footplate is high enough so I could flex away a few mm and get the footplate some lower.

Sorry for the modest pic quality - I did them in the afternoon and we had poor weather/lighting.

When I got the pedals there were 2 screws missing - the footplates were attached to the heel block with one screw each, that would be 2 screws from stock. Additionally, I managed to somehow lose 1 more screw from that bass drum hoop holding piece. Good news is that I found 1 perfect replacement of those heel block screws in our garage - same thread, same colour (black), same length, same head! Plus a few more screws with the right diameter/thread but excess length but those can be shortened of course.
 

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