The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Making a Stovebolt Bed tempted by Ipe

Picturing a nice looking replacement wood
for flatbed 1960 C20.
So, I did the math. Ipe - being much harder
than oak, would last past my lifetime.
And it's about the same price.
Just need new blades / drill bits ... etc.

Opinions ?
Has anyone done this yet ?

I did an experiment where I replaced the wood side boards of my barbeque with Ipe. It sat out on the weather for several years. One piece split over time even though it was drilled and through bolted. It turned gray but did not rot. It was in the weather for 5 years in Washington State.

I used Beach on my 46 bed. Closed grain and very hard as well. It lives indoors though.

I say go for it. Ipe is one of the few woods I would use in a truck bed. Common hard woods like Oak, Maple or Beech are only about 1/3 the hardness of Ipe, which is the 13th hardest wood in the world and the 16th heaviest. It will sink in water. The main reason to use it is it's durability to weathering and its rot resistance. You will not have to use any sort of finish on it if you park indoors it will look the same for decades. If you park outdoors it will turn a nice dark grey color (my preferred look for a truck bed) that can be renewed with a pressure wash a quick coat of a Tung Oil type of finish.
The other woods to look at with similar durability (but not as hard or heavy) are Osage Orange and Black Locust. Osage starts out yellow and turns to a medium brown with exposure to UV rays. Black Locust starts out a light brown and darkens with age also.
If the car manufacturers had used these timbers as original equipment, our friends at Mar-K would be only sell sheet metal.

Don't forget to post pictures when your done.

I am using Cypress, very durable will post a photo when complete

Make sure you wear a dust mask with Cypress. Very bad for the lungs.

Can you buy teak wood in lengths that would work in our beds? It's really weather resistant.

Hmmm maybe thats why teak wood is used in boats. I never thought of it b4

Gordon&Fran,
Thank you for your concern. You really got me to thinking because I didn't wear any mask. I did some research and it appears there are many type of wood dust that could harm you. Again, I really appreciate your warning.
Pete
https://www.mountainwoodworker.com/articles/toxic_woods.pdf

I've used Ipe on many deck projects, some covered some not. All tongue and groove. It does hold up very well. It needs a light sanding and replacement oil once a year if exposed to constant sun, otherwise it turns a teak-like grey. You can let it go grey if you like that look, and the wood itself will still last. On covered porches that get more shade than sun, you have to sand and oil every two years. It's not that hard of a task and takes a day to do with a palm sander.

Here's the interesting element: it swells with immovable force when regularly soaked and will buckle itself or anything next to it. With T&G deck boards this was a challenge. I took to attaching 1x Ipe boards to the underlying deck joists and then screwed through the tongue of the deck board into that 1x Ipe. Never had a buckle since then on an exposed deck. Covered decks were never a problem as they didn't get nearly as much rain on them.

I don't know if it's a better strategy to leave a lot of room in the boards for your bed to handle the swelling, or to rely on the strength of the metal and bolts to resist the buckling forces. A little bit of water won't cause this problem, the wood does not absorb water quickly, it has to be consistently wet for a long rainy season (winter in San Francisco for example).

I'm a woodworker and use Ipe for PNW decks< I wouldn't hesitate.

Considering the vast majority of these trucks are never going to see daily use on a farm, will never see rain or snow, will never be loaded with hundreds of pounds of cargo on a regular basis, and will live a pampered life in a covered garage, does it really matter what kind of wood you make the bed out of?

You could make it out of balsa wood or compressed cardboard and it will outlast you and all of your descendants.

Otto, it sounds like you need your own project to work on. Maybe a truck with a cardboard bed?

its the underside that needs the most protection and wood choice use.

I don’t know about that my 54 had new wood in 1988 ,when I changed it this year the wood was cracked and weathered on top but underside was like new The truck had a tonneau cover for a few years but the sun got at the varnish and started the process but underneath like new .

Gosh, this title was driving me nuts. So I just searched "ipt" and got THIS website --

What is Ipe?

Ipe Wood Decking, also called Brazilian walnut (Pronounced E-Pay), is a beautiful exotic wood from Central and South America. It is hands down the best choice you can make for your new deck. We welcome you to read all about why Ipe should be the material you use for commercial and residential projects. Please do not hesitate to call us if you have any questions. We love to teach people about this amazing wood!

each case is different. I use mine daily. Lot of limerock dirt and mud under mine. But it long leaf
southern yellow pine so its holding up well. 8 coats of varnish. Both top and bottom side of mine still look good.
On my panel trucks the underside is worse than inside. But still there. Wood lasted longer than metal in this case
of marine grade plywood.

In college, I had a part time job unloading tractor trailers at UPS. I found out the wood used on the trailer floors was Brazilian hardwood, able to withstand incredible abuse. Flash forward, (ahem), many years later and I found a local selling his used Ipe deck wood. When I showed up in my 1949 half ton he couldn't believe his eyes and he offered the board feet I needed for a very reasonable price. I used a Tung oil blend gifted to me by Grigg, multiple coats with particular attention to the ends.. The finish is absolutely clear grain beautiful, rock hard, and will last for a good while I am told by those who know.
I assisted Tim Welsh from Lexington in milling the boards for the metal wear strips to be slightly proud of the wood. A borrowed Forstner bit was used for the four offset washers.