The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk bed side boards

i am trying to decide what wood to use. number one pine, poplar, or oak. i will stain or paint depending on the wood. opinions????????????????????

I prefer varnished oak, but might paint them if the truck was stored outside. I think it is all a matter of what you like personally. Any wood that is properly protected should work fine.

aluminum

Being from the northwest, I would say do not exclude cedar or redwood. Nice looking and naturally resistant to rot. Cedar is fairly light as well, but not super strong. Untreated will turn grey, simply oiled or stained will keep it looking good.

i kinda like yellow oak , but apt-one looks real pretty ,kinda red ! they use it on trailer floor's .i got some in a flat bed but i just have Thompson's on it you could use poly urethane ,would look good .

if its going on your truck ron my vote would be for stained oak.i'd definatley research the finish options though.............dave

I would avoid any pine. Any hardwood would be more resistant to rot. Like was mentioned redwood is really tough stuff.
70+ year old cypress will never rot but must be at least 70 years old. Make it purty...

Somewhere along the way someone put Southern Yellow Pine in "Lucille" and it has seemed to have held up over the years. Of course she has been "garage kept" for a long time.

I've thought about changing mine out to another wood with more of a reddish tone. Just do what you feel "you" like.

I think someone told me along the way that the '40's era trucks came from the factory with pine beds. Don't know if that is true or not. Anybody know the answer?

As a woodworker I vote oak, however if left outside it may not be the best choice. I just love the grain. Mar-k did a test on bedwoods you may want to read. Keep a good finish on any boards and keep them out of the elements as much as possible will add to the longevity. Have fun and good luck
Dan

The next thing you will be asking how to build a hay rack for it.

gazim, hey thanks for the idea, i hadn't decided on a design yet but that gives me another idea. i am planning on building a two or three board design and have made a vinyl cap. click here to see the dilemma, the spare tire mount and it would interfere with a ready made cover so i have to work around the mount. i designed it and had it fabricated and don't want to do away with it. ron

I would use whatever matched the bed floor.

Hi Lucille, Yes , the original wood used was "southern yellow pine" which is much harder than the pine that is commonly used in building construction today. The S U P was painted black in all the trucks. If you find S U P (hard to do), it doesn't stain evenly and can look blotchy.
If you varnish your wood, pleas eremember to use "marine or spar" varnish- it isn't quite as hard as indoor varnish and will expand & contract with tempature changes, thus lasting longer before cracking and needing redone.
Good luck.

What is [b]"S U P"[/b]

"Southern yellow pine" is still used in construction down here.

"SUP" = "SYP"

and i though you were getting hip, whasup.

The various yellow pines are more or less rot resistant, depending on resin content. High quality yellow pine is more resistant than cedar and nearly as strong as oak. The white pines have no resistance what so ever.

As for hardwoods, only the heartwood is ever rot resistant, so species which are predominantly sapwood are unsuitable for exterior use. Red oak actually has no resistance either, as opposed to the far superior white oak. White oak costs a little more, but it is very rot resistant, a little harder, available in wider boards (I have a board almost 2 feet wide sitting in my basement), and has tighter grain. I think white oak is better for outdoor projects than cedar because cedar is so weak and because white oak at a sawmill costs 1/2 as much as cedar of similar quality from Home Depot.

Something I just thought about regarding yellow pine heavy with resin. I have seen the Loblolly (yellow) Pine after being stained and sealed and after a while in the hot sun, resin seeping out and ruining the stain.

anybody have an opinion on poplar????????????/

Just my opinion ,go with oak

Poplar is a useless wood for anything other than shelving. I has little grain, no knot holes and is light in color and weight.
I assume your truck is not going to be exposed to the weather 24/7 so just use a wood that looks good and spar finish it. Try a sample piece and experiment with stains.

hey
it's a start ................. http://s67.photobucket.com/albums/h298/1951otter/?action=view&current=4495365-R1-044-20A_1.jpg

Big Chevy 3600,
Thanks for correction- ya know, it's hell getting old-- can't type, can't see, can't pee!
Glenn

Southern yellow pine was used around here for many applications such as trailer floors and side boards for cattle trailers. The best way to treat the wood is with linseed oil and let it "cook" on a hot day. Something like stove black can be added for color. There are still some trailers around here with a serviceable floor that was installed in the 50's.

Since you asked for opinions, I'll weigh in:

They are "only" sideboards. It isn't like it is main bearings or transmission gears. I wouldn't over-engineer a solution since it isn't a huge commitment if you don't like what you end up with.

I think it all comes down to your color scheme. The sideboards I've seen are painted white to complement the truck's secondary color, and look fantastic. Grain is fine, but I prefer it on furniture, not sideboards.

When I got my truck, it had varnished oak bed boards. I'm going to refinish them in (original) black. If I were re-bedding the truck, I'd probably go back to the black coated SYP. Mar-K's research, if I recall correctly, showed the black coating treatment to last the longest. Stands to reason, being that it probably is the most UV resistant.

Of course, it comes down to YOUR personal preference. Factors that may come into play are color scheme (including whether you have black walls, narrow whites, or wide whites,) current bed treatment, your truck's storage situation, your pocketbook, and how deep your commitment is.

Good luck, and please post a photo once you finish it. I'd like to see it!

Bill

As a wood worker I will give some input. One my 26 "C" cab I used Ash and sprayed it with Automotive lacquer. If you are going ot use SYP and want to stain it, to get an even stain, brush on a coat of shellac cut 50/50 with denatured alcohol. The when dry sand with 220 sand paper. Apply stain when dry, apply clear coats. This works for any softwoods to get an even stain.
John

Here is a subject that even I have some experience with. My own truck has side boards that are about as old as the truck, the truck also has as the original bed. The side boards are pine, painted green to match the truck. They are as high as the bed, look kind of goofy, but I sure can load a lot of firewood or lawn scrap.
I work with a lot of wood, mostly pine and white oak. As a rule, wood will last longer of it is more slowly grown and has tight rings. As a woodworker, I always prefer quarter-sawn lumber because it is more stable, but neither the original bed or the wood sides are quarter-sawn on my truck. Somebody mentioned the problems with pitch/resin in pine. I would point out that old woodworkers, when making windows and doors - other applications where wood tends to rot - prefer to use pine which is rich in resin. The lowest part of the tree - by the root - has the highest proportion of resin, and lumber from this part of the tree can be extremely rot resistant. When you see resin running from the end of boards, you can be sure that this wood will last.
It is however not so easy to get this wood to hold a finish. And since in my branch I never have to deal with such finishes as are mentioned on this page, I'll leave that subject alone. I can say that while my old bed is pretty worn, the bed sides are in excellent shape. I am sure they haven't been painted in over 35 years, probably a lot longer. I think you will not have to worry about the finish on vertical bed sides like we all need to worry about the floor.
Karl

Thanks Karl, good stuff!!!