Carriage bolt holes for wood bed

[HKanada182]

Afternoon lads,

I have searched this forum high and low, and all of the other internets for some information. I could not come up with anything to solve my problem, and I really do not think I am the first to come across this.

I found some decent bed sides that needed a little repair (see pictures) They were off a 67 and I got a 72 so I added side marker light holes, and needed to repair the inside lip where the bed side bolts to the wood floor and through the cross members. My issues is this: How does anyone get a square hole into the steel? I am hoping the wood is strong enough to hold the square on the bolt in place, but I would feel a lot better if I had the steel bedside flange to hold the carriage mounting bolt. Aside from drilling a hole just a bit smaller than the square and filing the corners in, I am out of ideas for how to get this to work. Has anyone out there 1/ replaced these flanges and 2/ what did you do to hold to carriage bolt??

Thanks all,

Mark

[RenoKeene]

https://www.cjponyparts.com/bed-wood...All%20Products

There are many suppliers for what you need, the angle COVER strips come in SS and steel. Mar-K has good info on their site also

[RenoKeene]

Here you go...
https://www.mar-k.com/PDFs/Instructi...trip_Cover.pdf

[HKanada182]

Thanks Reno,
I have never even heard of those before. There is a lot less options for us up in Canada than there are in the US. I only see options for a step side so I will have to reach out and see how they will work for a fleet side. I dont think there would be much difference. It'll basically be a jalopy for now anyhow so I'm not too worried about looking too original.
Thanks

[Smitty]

You need a Brooch to create a square hole. Lay out location of holes and find a sheer metal shop with a press. Need to do this prior to final installation. May be able to find some information on how to do this at home. Also google “How to Brooch square hole in sheet metal”, for more ideas and information. Good luck.

[HO455]

To make the square holes for my Burban wood floor hold down strips I drilled the holes under sized, then marked the square i desired with a template I made from some card stock. Then I used a square file to "Square" the hole. It takes less than a minute with a good file.

[sick472]

You could try to create the square hole by drilling a hole about 1/16" larger than the square portion of the the carriage bolt (flat to flat, NOT corner to corner), then drill a hole in a piece of wood (harder wood than pine) that same size, insert bolt through steel and block of wood, then pound the carriage bolt into the hole. The square portion of the carriage bolt should pound through pretty easily and create the square hole. You will have some clean up grinding to do on the backside and some reverse pounding to flatten the hole back out.
The corners may split out some. I have done this with sheet steel with good results. The trick is getting the drilled hole the right size and ponding the bolt through in a centered position. Too small of a hole and it will spit real bad, too large and you run the risk of the carriage bolt twisting in the hole. Definitely practice on some scrap sheet steel until you perfect your process. Drawing the bolt through with a nut and thick washer on the other side of the block will also be less risky than the hammer, but will still take a hammer to get it started in the hole. Impact wrenches work well here.

Buying the aftermarket pieces is your best option, but not always in the budget.