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dgrinnan #1484505 Sat Jan 21 2023 09:31 PM
Joined: Oct 2021
Posts: 3,171
O
'Bolter
Coat the wood liberally with a 50/50 mix of linseed oil and turpentine. Let it fully soak in and dry for at least a month.

Then paint the boards with oil based primer and let dry for a week. Apply two coats of the paint of your choice - like porch paint.


1939 Packard Standard Eight Coupe (The Phantom)
1950 Chevrolet 3100 (Ol' Roy)
1956 Cadillac Coupe de Ville (The Bismarck)
1956 Cadillac Sixty Special Fleetwood (The Godfather)
1966 Oldsmobile Toronado (The Purple Knif)
1966 Ford Mustang (Little Red)
1964 Ford Galaxie 500 coupe
1979 Ford F-100
1976 Ford F-150 (Big Red)
1995 Ford F-150 (Newt)
52Carl #1484562 Sun Jan 22 2023 06:33 AM
Joined: May 2015
Posts: 8,093
Housekeeping (Moderator) Making a Stovebolt Bed & Paint and Body Shop Forums
Originally Posted by 52Carl
It depends on what you are calling "poplar." There it yellow poplar (AKA tulip poplar, Liriodendron tulpifera). It is not rot resistant.
Cottonwood is a species of true poplar which is commonly used for heavy equipment trailers. If treated with used engine oil it will prevent rotting, and that wood is very durable.
You must have a different species of Cottonwood there. The stuff up here (we call it Cottonweed) isn't even good for firewood. It's brittle and branches break off just from snow accumulating on them. There's no way I'd try and make bed wood out of it. The fuzz covered seeds blow everywhere and the pods dropping on a car will ruin the paint.


Kevin
Newest Project - 51 Chevy 3100 work truck. Photos [flickr.com]
#2 - '29 Ford pickup restored from the ground up.
First car '29 Ford Special Coupe
Busting rust since the mid-60's
If you're smart enough to take it apart, you darn well better be smart enough to put it back together.
klhansen #1484659 Sun Jan 22 2023 11:20 PM
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 10,724
5
Renaissance Man
Originally Posted by klhansen
You must have a different species of Cottonwood there. The stuff up here (we call it Cottonweed) isn't even good for firewood. It's brittle and branches break off just from snow accumulating on them. There's no way I'd try and make bed wood out of it. The fuzz covered seeds blow everywhere and the pods dropping on a car will ruin the paint.
Populus deltoides. Eastern cottonwood. Likely different than your "popple" or "quakey" trees. Eastern cottonwood trees reach an immense height and diameter.
The name cottonwood refers to the way the wood fibers stay together, making for a durable board for a big trailer. I certainly wouldn't recommend it for our trucks.

Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 10,724
5
Renaissance Man
Originally Posted by tinnerjohn
I didn't realize there were other varieties. This was tulip poplar from the sawmill. There were a lot of hay-racks that were painted with grain oil every fall, thin the oil with diesel fuel to make it soak in better. Probably frowned on (creosote too) today.
Tulip poplar has a tendency to shrink dramatically after milling. Needs to be completely dry before cutting to size. It is straight grained and as usable as southern yellow pine, just don't let it get wet.

dgrinnan #1484671 Mon Jan 23 2023 12:53 AM
Joined: Oct 2021
Posts: 3,171
O
'Bolter
That's one advantage of Southern Yellow Pine. It has a lot of resin in it that acts sort of like a self waterproofing agent.

The best is the stuff from out west, Ponderosa pine.

Last edited by Otto Skorzeny; Mon Jan 23 2023 12:56 AM.

1939 Packard Standard Eight Coupe (The Phantom)
1950 Chevrolet 3100 (Ol' Roy)
1956 Cadillac Coupe de Ville (The Bismarck)
1956 Cadillac Sixty Special Fleetwood (The Godfather)
1966 Oldsmobile Toronado (The Purple Knif)
1966 Ford Mustang (Little Red)
1964 Ford Galaxie 500 coupe
1979 Ford F-100
1976 Ford F-150 (Big Red)
1995 Ford F-150 (Newt)
dgrinnan #1484683 Mon Jan 23 2023 03:48 AM
Joined: May 2015
Posts: 8,093
Housekeeping (Moderator) Making a Stovebolt Bed & Paint and Body Shop Forums
An option for guys in the Pacific Northwest is Alaska Yellow Cedar.

From Wikipedia. "Due to its slow growth it is hard and, like other cypress woods, it is durable; it therefore offers good dimensional stability and is resistant to weather, insects, and contact with soil. It works easily with hand or machine tools, turning and carving quite well."


Kevin
Newest Project - 51 Chevy 3100 work truck. Photos [flickr.com]
#2 - '29 Ford pickup restored from the ground up.
First car '29 Ford Special Coupe
Busting rust since the mid-60's
If you're smart enough to take it apart, you darn well better be smart enough to put it back together.
Joined: Mar 2010
Posts: 10,724
5
Renaissance Man
Originally Posted by Otto Skorzeny
That's one advantage of Southern Yellow Pine. It has a lot of resin in it that acts sort of like a self waterproofing agent.

The best is the stuff from out west, Ponderosa pine.
The key to southern yellow pine resiliency back when these trucks were made was the availability of old growth trees. These trees were slow growing due to stiff competition for sunlight in unthinned natural conditions. This resulted in many more growth rings per inch in diameter than what our modern plantation pines have. Tighter growth rings results in more resin in the boards thus less prone to rot.

dgrinnan #1484836 Tue Jan 24 2023 02:55 AM
Joined: Oct 2021
Posts: 3,171
O
'Bolter
Yep. My last house was built entirely out of old growth SYP in the 1920s here in Atlanta.

I counted over 200 rings in a section of 4x6 framing I removed. The tree was probably 500 years old or more.

The 1x8 clapboard siding was so tight and full of resin you had to pre-drill it to use nails, and screws were even tough to get into it. No rot or termites anywhere. That stuff was harder than oak.


1939 Packard Standard Eight Coupe (The Phantom)
1950 Chevrolet 3100 (Ol' Roy)
1956 Cadillac Coupe de Ville (The Bismarck)
1956 Cadillac Sixty Special Fleetwood (The Godfather)
1966 Oldsmobile Toronado (The Purple Knif)
1966 Ford Mustang (Little Red)
1964 Ford Galaxie 500 coupe
1979 Ford F-100
1976 Ford F-150 (Big Red)
1995 Ford F-150 (Newt)
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