Bed Wood
 

Anyone know if these measurements are accurate for 4-5-6 Fleetside/Wideside trucks?

http://www.classicheartbeat.com/bed_wood.htm

Has anyone made there own bed wood? If so, what wood did you go with?

Re: Bed Wood
 

That's the measurements I used for mine. It's still sitting in the garage un-installed but I've heard several times that it's dead on factory correct and a tight fit.

Re: Bed Wood
 

Cool. What type wood did you use?

Re: Bed Wood
 

When I did mine years ago I used 1x6 and 1x8 fir. But I worked at a lumber yard and was able to select clear (knot free) pieces. I had thought about Oak, or Black Walnut (4x the price of Oak) but the budget said Fir.
I covered them with several coats of finish before putting them on the truck. From the underside they still look really good, from the top the years of use show. Last time I looked they were still intact (I have stuff in the bed, and it has been accumulating since I parked the truck).

Re: Bed Wood
 

What finish did you go with? Stain, linseed oil, ...?

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Wish I could remember. I did it in the mid 80s.
I definitely painted it on, so a stain or urethane of some kind.

For a while I treated everything with Bar top finish (very resistant to water, vodka, rum, etc...) because it really worked to repel water. Put it on some of my furniture when I was a bachelor, 3 or 4 coats and you could spill anything on it. :)

Re: Bed Wood
 

I went with quarter sawn white oak on advice from a cabinetmaker friend of mine. Super strong stuff. For the finish I really want the grain to show but for longevity and original look nothing beats por 15 and black outdoor paint. There's an open air test here

http://www.mar-k.com/wood_finish_testing_ii.aspx

Re: Bed Wood
 

Great test! I would prefer to see the grain of the wood, but since mine is parked in the driveway and will be a daily driver, I may have to go with the POR-15 method as well. It is holding up nicely on my cab floor since I applied it several months ago.

Re: Bed Wood
 

When I restored the pickup several years ago which Clyde in SC now owns (the one in my avatar), I took a different path with the bed wood. I didn't want the planks with steel strips in between, so I replaced them with 3/4" AC exterior plywood. Then I had professionals cover the bed floor and up the sides of the bed with spray-in bedliner material. I also had the truck, including the bottom of the plywood, undercoated.

I saw lots of people at car shows walk past pickups with nice varnished planks for bed floors stop to check out my bed floor, ask questions about it, and want to feel it. I didn't do it to attract attention, I just wanted a smooth, durable floor so I could still haul stuff and not worry about scratching the floor.

Re: Bed Wood
 

Funny you said that. As of a couple of days ago, I have been thinking about the aspects of still being able to haul stuff, but not wanting to damage a nice new wood bed. :lol: I am actually contemplating cutting out the steel floor that's in there, fixing everything under it that needs fixing, then putting it back in; but back in in a way that allows me to more easily remove it in the future. Then I could coat the steel anyway I wanted. It is definitely durable and as a daily driver, no matter how much fixing I do on it, I still plan to use it as a truck.

Re: Bed Wood
 

if you want the toughest wood, you can buy whats locally known as "ironwood" or "Ipe" (pronounced ee-pay) which is rock hard Brazilian Walnut. You cannot get screws or nails in it - has to be pre-drilled. Google it - super for decking and other weather-resistant uses.

Re: Bed Wood
 

Hmmm...never heard of that one. I'll check it out.

Re: Bed Wood
 

I don't remember the measurements, except I remember the boards are longer than 8', so I had to buy 10' boards. I think they were one inch over 8'? I measured the orig boards and duplicated the dado/shallow rabbit. I used white oak and I put Thompson water seal on mine every year. It's four years old and it's not uncommon for it to sit outside.

I painted the inside of the bed and the metal rails with bedliner paint, and installed stainless hardware.

I still use it as a truck... I can easily patch paint the bedliner paint and it doesn't look like it was patched. I carry a tarp behind the seat to help protect the wood.

If I attached the picture correctly, there should be a picture attached that I took last month for insurance.

Re: Bed Wood
 

I like the painted inside there Clarke. I might do that with Cecilia once I get her bed back to good.

Oh, and Aphaynes here's some stuff I found that I might use to treat my oak boards. I don't know that I'd bother with some exotic boards because you know they used pine from the factory and it lasted about 40 years in a working environment.

http://www.amazon.com/System-Starter...A1ZQ4RBIUH3AMZ


It cures clear and is for marine use. Tough stuff, supposedly.

Re: Bed Wood
 

Looks great! Yes, when I saw the length was 97 inches instead of 96 (8ft); I am thinking "really???" :banghead:

Thanks for all of the details!

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How far down the 'ol to-do list is your bed work gonna be Fetch?

Re: Bed Wood
 

Dot dot dot......:winter:

I don't work well below 60 degrees, I freeze up like molasses so it'll be a while yet. Here's my wish-to-do list:

• Finish my fence building
• Fix whatever's popped up to make her not start. Embarrassed me at Lowes this weekend :(
• Pull bed off again now that I don't need it every weekend
• Finish rebuilding the Rockwell T221 Transfer Case
• Change fluids and seals on front and rear differential
• Paint everything with Por 15 under there to keep it safe from the rust monster
• Paint the bumper and put some bedliner in foot areas to look more modern.
• Put the bed on some kinda stands so I can weld up holes, beat out dents, and...paint? Maybe.
• Remove old wood and the rusted through strips, replace both.
• Put my fenders back on so she doesn't look like a little girl with her skirt tucked in her drawers in the back.

Once the back is done I'll work move to the cab, then to the engine I think. That's the plan anyway, subject to change without notice :lolsmack:

Re: Bed Wood
 

That's quite the list. I should probably make me a list rather than randomly jumping from one thing to next. :jumphappy: That has kept me from getting the signal canceler installed you graciously provided. I did finish my bumper. :ahhhh: You can see that on my build thread. Speaking of molasses, you should see what i used that for on my build thread as well. :ohgeesh: