The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Making a Stovebolt Bed DIY Oak Bed Wood for a '46 Half Ton?

I've been looking around for bed wood kits and the best price I think I found was $330.

Has anyone cut their own from 3/4" stock from a home improvement store with success? Does anyone have patterns or are they available here or elsewhere onlne? I kinda assume its just knowing the dimensions and the shape of the groove. I have a router so it doesn't seem like it could be all that hard..or am I dreaming?

Advice appreciated.

It would be extremely easy. I was going to do it with some white oak I bought but then decided to go with the original yellow pine.
Check this.

I have a buddy that has a new, uninstalled oak bedwood kit for his '66 shortbed. I wonder if the edge treatment on his already-cut wood is the same as I need/could use on my '46? If so, I can just make a tracing of his wood edges and buy a router bit to match. I'd still have to buy the strips and bolts but I'm gonna have to buy that stuff anyway.

Anyone know if the contour for my truck is the same as the later trucks?

After measuring my bed I had a local mill works supply 6 white oak boards (can’t hardly find white oak at the local big box store), I cut them to length and width and datoed the edges. Then sanded and finished them. The stainless steel strips came from Chevs of the 40’s and the stainless bolts from the local big box store

Thanks Neil (or is it Roy?), that $330 price was for red oak and I'm with you, I'd much rather have white for this project. As to the dado, do you recall the exact size? Because I know when installed the load is NOT SUPPOSED to contact the wood directly.

..... to bad you guys don't live close by. We had a bad wind storm not long ago and my niece now has over 10,000 Board feet of white oak going to be dried..... and then some cut into hardwood floors for the old homeplace. She has told me I could have some to put up... never know when I might need some!!

Dan, You will find some dimensions for the edge groves in the tech tips. All of the bed strips that I have seen are the same so dimensions from a 47-49 should work. Be aware that the width of the 46 bed boards was unique to that year. The 41s and 47s are different.

If you need some more info let me know. I've got a write up I did some time ago on the bed I built for my 46.

George
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Alvin
It may be profitable for you and cheaper for us to get some cut to rough dimensions and ship it.
If you decide to check into that count me in for wood for my one ton bed.

53 monster: I picked up a piece yesterday that I want to use to replace a bad piece on my trailer and man, that stuff is heavy!!
Its all "rough sawn" and is currently air drying. Then my niece plans to have it all kiln dried. I've told her I wanted maybe a least a dozen boards to hold for future use (enough to do 3 or 4 beds) so it may be possible to ship it rough cut but kiln dried and then you have it planned to your dimensions. It is some good stuff.... its all off my old home place...which the home place was built with it when I was only months old! You may say me and those Oaks "grew up together"!!

FYI, the "dado" cuts can be made with a table saw by setting the blade depth and fence spacing. They could even be done with a "skill" saw, if a guide was used.