The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Making a Stovebolt Bed Bed Board Length

This weekend I will try to assemble the bed on my '41 3/4 ton. There are many pieces from around the country and some fabricated locally and a few of the original in various degrees of "rebuild". It will be the first time they have all been connected.

The purpose behind this "exercise" is to determine how long the bed boards should be and where the holes for the hold down bolts to the frame are supposed to go.

I have the new wood, some good looking White Oak, all nicely plained and datoed on the edges. However the boards are not yet cut to length. I'm thinking that determining the overall length from the bed front panel to the edge of the recess in the rear cross member should not be too difficult once the bed sides, front and cross member are assembled. My question is...should I allow some extra room at each end for the boards to expand in the heat of the Michigan summers?? Or in the case that the truck gets South to some place with real heat. I sure would not want the boards to push the panels into some sort of a bow shape.

Kip's 41
It sounds like real progress on the bed. We suggest making the boards 1/8" shorter than the measurement between the rear sill and the front panel. http://www.mar-k.com/bedwooddimensions.pdf Boards expand mainly across the grain rather than along the length, and mainly due to moisture changes in the boards. Dry winter air tends to draw moisture out of the wood making them narrower and warm humid air tends to replace moisture into the boards, making them wider. The length does not change much during that process. If you anticipate wide changes in the climate you will experience, be sure to allow plenty of room for expansion and contraction across the bed. Don't try for a real precision fit side to side and allow room for the finish you will apply, as it will build up in the dado edges.

Mar-Ktech

Thanks a lot, sounds like you guys have done a few of these. In writing the progress always sounds better than actual. I have a long ways to go

Thanks again

If you want to minimize the effects of extreme weather variations on wood dimension, seal all six sides of the board. By that I mean, seal all surfaces ( ends, edges, bottom surface)in addition to your bed floor surface. This won't eliminate slight dimension variation with moisture content, but it will minimize it. This is especially true if you are using kiln-dried lumber (moisture content 10% or less)