The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Making a Stovebolt Bed Bed wood thickness

Hello!

I just took delivery of my first old Chevy truck, a '59 Apache. It's complete and running, although the bed is off. It came with brand new bed wood that's already been finished, new metal strips, and new mounting rails. My question is this - the bed wood, which is properly milled for the metal strips, is only about 1/2 thick. Is that about how thick the wood should be? It just seems a bit thin to me, but again, I am BRAND NEW to these old trucks (but not to old Chevies...I sold a '51 Fleetline to buy this truck).

I'm not certain how to put the bed back together, but I know that I can get directions from one of the many vendors out there, so that will be my first purchase.

Thanks for your help.

Chris

Mar-K has lots of info and parts you can use. Their Tech Guy posts here often. Search their site for any thing you need. In the meantime, here is a previous post to get you started. Hope you can post pics. We ALL enjoy them.


http://www.mar-k.com/bed_mounting_information.pdf

I did my own bed wood. I planed the wood to 3/4 inch! Everything fit back in the bed very well. The boards are milled a little deeper for the bed strips to fit in, but just in the bed strip groove!

treat the end grain of that Oak properly or you will be dissapointed in a short time if your truck sees any amount of water.

Good point Radial!!!

Check out this site, This is where I got the dimensions to make my own bed boards and they fit perfectly.
http://www.classicheartbeat.com/bed_wood.htm
Darren

Good information here too:

http://www.speedprint.com/deves50/bedwood.php

If is really 1/2" thats a little skinny in my opinion. Milled dressed boards ( S4S ) run a heavy 5/8" to 3/4" depending on mill. If you are not planning to load the bed up you might be OK.
Sounds like you have a " bed kit " from someone.

I wouldn't use 1/2 inch boards. I believe this is too thin. I planned my own boards at 3/4 inch.

Looking for responses to using wolmanized pine.

Jerry

Well.....won't rot out for a long time ! Surface will mark easily from use, but should be durable. You may have an issue with preservative salts in pine reacting with metal surfaces.

It would be interesting to have the original factory dimensioning. I suspect the boards were right at an inch thick with grooves to 3/4" at the strips. I put the trex (fake wood, composite) deck boards in my bed and they are 7/8" thick. They fit really tight along the edge strips and almost perfect in the Mar-K front panel.

My boards from bedwood and parts seemed thin. Along with having to wait sooooo long for the product.... Wood came fast but the hardware is taking forever.

ok for hauling firewood -I guess. Not much more than that. Would go to [censored] faster than anything else in my mind. And look like [censored] as well. JMHO

Is there a recommended product to use on the board ends as a sealant? I'll be using white oak, just getting started on the cuts. Thanks.

The key is to sand the end grain smooth/closed... Makes for more even expansion and contraction of the pores/grain. A copper sulfate solution like they dip fence posts in would work but I'd hate to get a sliver with that s#*t on it!

Thanks for the tip, Have sanded the ends thru #320 grit, they seem smooth as glass. Still looking for a clear end grain sealer as I'm afraid copper sulfate would leach into the surface areas.

Aren't these the factory dimensions for AD's?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/advance-design_parts_co/9689547056/
Dimensions
A. 3/4" (Board Thickness)
B. 1/4"
C. 1/4"
D. 1/2"
E. 1/8"

Pretty sure that's correct.

That is what I figured the boards were originally 7/8" originally, but they tell me on here they were 3/4". Lumber use to run bigger than it does now.....

John