The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Making a Stovebolt Bed Bed repair - a good plan?

The flanges where the bed wood meets the inner walls of this 1963 bed are all decent enough to not need repair- except this one.
Two inch patch X 23.5” piece with a 90 degree flange at the bottom.

I think on the last pic, I would extend the horizontal cut line all the way off the end at the fender opening to include the hole. There appears to be some pretty deep pits at your vertical cut line that may cause some blowouts when welding back in. On a flat panel like that, you have to be sure to do the dot and planish weld method to keep it flat. It's pretty easy to get it warped. Review MPandC's thread on MIG welding up at the top of the forum.
Otherwise, your plan looks good to me.

Don't bother with "patina" metal". Have a sheet metal shop bend a new piece to the dimensions you need, paint it with white vinegar, and toss it out into the weather for a few weeks. "Instant Patina" and it won't give you as many headaches when welding it into place.
Jerry

What if I tack weld a strip of metal behind the original bed wall? That would help avoid warp, right?

Nice tip Jerry. I tried H2O2 but it didn’t make much rust. Might try your idea.

That won't necessarily help. Each tack shrinks the metal in all directions, so you want to planish the welds to remove that shrinkage. A sharp corner will concentrate shrinkage there. I learned that when I repaired my bedsides and then used radiused cuts afterward, which were easier to deal with.

Chop completed. Coat hangers to hold cross sills.

Welding like you want to will warp just as bad. I had to replace similar but smaller and mine warped. Took some doing to get it back into place. If you are going to weld strips back to bedsides they will straighten the side out. I have the step side so I could not do a bolt in front of the fender as it was exposed.

I hear that warp is the new "patina". Weld away and be free! Merica!

I did read the welding tips. It all makes sense. “It’s a truck . . . not a Ferrari” . . . has always been my motto because I know my work will be less than the skilled and professional level. Still, I want to learn and not make bird poop welds.
Here’s a start.
Reminds me of dot candy on rolls of paper when I was a kid.

Back in the dark ages when I ran a high school paint and body shop, we used a tool like this with an air hammer to put a flange on patch panels. It reinforced the joint better than a butt weld, and also helped to minimize warp when the panel was installed. The flea-bay seller is in UK and the shipping is outrageous, but there's probably one on this side of the pond that's less expensive.

www.ebay.com/itm/364539187666?

Jerry

Robert (MPandC) recommends as tight a gap as possible, which minimizes shrinkage and warping. But that looks like a good start. Flatten (planish) those dots and then zap more dots between them.

Jerry, Those flanging tools are available from Harbor Freight or Eastwood, just plug in an air hose. They do reinforce the joint, but can't really be made invisible like a good butt weld can be. Maybe Lugnutz would be OK with that, since he's going with "patina". Also susceptible to rust between the layers.

I have this air tool. One side makes flanges. Other side punches holes for plug welds. Works on thinner metal.

The good, the bad, and the ugly. Honesty first.
I’m pleased with the final results.
The patch piece did not warp with waves, but the bottom of the patch piece did pull in towards the centerline of the vehicle as if it were trying to turn horizontal. I took clamps and pulled it vertical again. So it does look pretty good now.
The ugly? Well I can say that the back side of the weld does show SOME full penetration, but there are plenty of areas with incomplete penetration too.
Overall, it will blend with the rest of the patina just fine. Time to drill the holes and trim it at the wheel well.

Looks good to me.

Nicely done 👍👍

I agree, Looks good.

Grind it smooth and you should be good to go.

Since this involves work on a bed, I'll move this over to Making a Stovebolt Bed.

Realized I need to order a bed bolt kit.
Had to lay out the boards though.
For fun.
You know . . . . just like holding new wheels up to your truck just to see how she’s gonna look. 👀 LOL!

Bed repairs and rebuild are mostly complete. Stainless hardware and bed strips. Wheel house flange overlays made by me to hide the rotten wheel house flanges.

VIDEO

Good work! The beauty (bed wood) and the beast (patina'd bed metal).

Not sure what you are doing about bed bolts. If you are going polished stainless for the strips you can save a few bucks buying a box of bolts from HD and 5 seconds on a buffing wheel you can't tell the difference between them and the ones that come already polished. A little bit of work but if you are on a budget, every dollar counts. I splurged on the polished stainless bed strips but went cheap on the bolts.

I bought a bed bolt kit from a friend of mine because he didn’t need it. I think I saved a few dollars, plus I helped out a friend who had invested money, but just had the parts laying around.
You are correct. I polish the heads of the bolts and the upper surface of the large washers and they look great.
I’m ready for this project to be done so I can move on to something else.