The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Making a Stovebolt Bed Fir for bed

I am thinking of using fir. It is plentiful here in the N.W. and there is a mill near by. Any thoughts?

Fir has little decay resistance and it is soft. If you are in the wet part of WA, I don't think it is a good species choice.

I'm also thinking about wood for the bed on our truck. One of the guys I have coffee with has a sawmill and kiln. He thinks that since the truck will be kept in the garage and the only load it will carry is a picnic basket and a couple of lawn chairs, almost anything will work. We have talked about douglas fir, yellow cedar, big leaf maple and garry oak. Yellow cedar is a softwood, but it will never rot. I'm leaning toward the maple as I really like the look of it.

I suppose if the truck is kept indoors and driven only on sunny days, wood decay resistance is not very important.

I thought about cedar for it's water resistance but the price and softness changed my mind. Thanks for the ideas. Anyone ever use fir?

I used salvaged fir flooring in the 58, well painted all 6 sides w/ marine enamel - still fine after over 20 years of all weather daily use on the Island above you - need dry, clear, tight grain wood

Bill

Haven't used fir for this application, but from my perspective there is a lot of work that goes into making the bed pieces, assembly, finish etc.. Given the time and effort involved it would boil down to deciding if the tradeoff to save a $125 or so bucks would be worth it. My guess is somewhere nearby there is a speciality lumber supplier that sells mostly to cabinet/furniture makers and building contractors. My experience has been they will sell to hobbyists too and their prices are much better than a lumber yard or big box vendor. Their wood quality is also superior.

The Mrs. came across a slightly used planar, so
I'm excited to find some salvage wood and clean up
for my flatbed. It won't be garaged, but I'm sure
I'll have it covered. Right now, outside, all cold
and shivering.

Don't get Western Red Cedar and Yellow Cedar mixed up. Yellow Cedar is pretty tough.

Red vs Yellow

Thanks for that information. Too bad it does not grow here.

You are in Washington (the real Washington, a few miles South of me), right?

UOW

Just browsing this . . . interesting.
http://tinytimbers.com/janka.htm