The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Making a Stovebolt Bed Bed Wood Dimensions for 63

ok so id like to mill down and finish up the wood part of the bed myself for my 63 short fleet c10. my dads a carpenter and definitely knows what hes doing with this kind of stuff. anyway, i emailed mar-k about the bed wood dimensions and they sent me a very helpful pdf on the bed wood dimensions ( http://www.mar-k.com/bedwood_dimensions.pdf ). it shows how wide to make them and how tall and finished measurements. however, going off of this guide, i would think all of the pieces are the same width, but i see on a lot of beds that some of the pieces look thinner, usually the center 2...is this just an optical illusion, or are there specific width measurements for each piece? Also, how do I determine where to drill the holes for the bolts in the wood. I know im asking a lot here, but I havent really seen a guide that deals with these things. Thanks.

Patrick

This should help.

http://www.gmcpauls.com/47-72_BedWood_Info.htm

thanks this helps a lot, but i also need to know where to drill the holes. is it just supposed to be where those supporting cross members are or does it bolt to the frame, or what? thanks again.

The sponsor of this section probably answers all of your questions on this page from their website:

http://www.mar-k.com/installation_hints.html

Look in the first section for "Drilling Mounting Holes in
Bed Wood".

Patrick:
You are correct, the boards are not all the same width. The most accurate way to figure the width of the boards is to make the measurements of the hole spacing in your cross sills or front bed panel and calculate your board widths from the pdf drawing. Your bed strips have to bolt to those holes and the wood just fits under and between the strips. As you see, the hole spacing is not the same all the way across the bed, so you have to measure each one, then your bed wood will fit perfectly, with no adjustments needed and you won't need to elongate any of the holes. We make all our bedwood according to the calculations in the pdf on the website. Follow it exactly and your wood will fit.

What holes are you wanting to locate? The bed to frame holes are usually located from the cross sills as you assemble the bed floor.

Use caution when using dimensions found on the internet. It is always best to make test pieces of each size board and fit them together to see if the floor will be correct in your bed. Bed strip bolts should line up exactly with the bolt holes in the cross sills when it is right. Take time to verify all dimensions before cutting that expensive cabinet grade lumber and you will be glad you did.

Mar-Ktech

alright ill do that thank you. oh and can you tell me how many regular cross sills I am supposed to have? ive heard 2 and ive heard 3. and then ontop of those i know i have the reinforcement strip and rear cross sill. Thanks again.

Man, this has really been informative. I really dig it!