Bed Wood

[RACINJASON22]

I really love All of these wood floors but, I have too say that yours John Fabris is one of the all time Greatest. I love the looks of your bed floor.


RJ22

[rlm316]

Beautiful bed John Fabris. That sinches it, I'll be using the teak that I have.

[John Fabris]

Thanks!!!!

rlm316, I have been working with teak since I was a little kit sanding and varnishing teak on sailboats at the local yacht club. It you take your time and don't force the cutting (sizing the teak or using a router to cut edge grooves), you should have no problems.... (Amazing how many of my older friends would warn me about how hard it is to work with teak and that I should have a pro cut it for me. horse doo doo.... )

[manimal]

John Fabris, that is one BEAUTIFUL bed!! and to all the others, You too have really nice beds!Thanks
-Lance

[randomhero472]

let me ask a stupid question, what all is required for you to do to the wood prior to install, as far as planning and beveling the edges ect... im thinking wood will look a whole lot better metal floor... and how does wood fare when you actually use the bed, im not going to be hauling much, but dont want to be terrified about scratching the bed

[John Fabris]

randomhero,

AS far as prep, it really depends on the wood that you use.

Like in my case, with Teak, I had several options, #1 sand and varnish (which is what I did), #2, let the wood age with no protection (this would allow the teak to SILVER or turn to a silver shade), #3, rub oil into the wood (something like tungston oil, not sure on the spelling) Each one of these would give me a different look for the teak.

As far as using my bed, teak is a hardwood, and as long as I don't throw thing down onto the wood, it is really not going to hurt it. The varnish will get scratched, of which then I would just clean it, sand the varish smooth, and then apply a new coat of varnish. I am planning on just sanding the top layer of varnish and reapply one or two coats on top of that each year or two.

[Mt Man Chad]

Not to get off subject here!

I know I have seen a post before of the dimensions for a SWB wood floor.
Length to cut the wood to and depth's to cut using a dado blade for the edge relief for the retaining strips.

But I cannot find it does anybody know the post I'm talking about?

[randomhero472]

thanks for that info john.. im curious also what prep is needed on the wood as far as having to plane it down, and also cutting edges for the steel straps, im really leaning towards a wood bed afterall

[John Fabris]

http://www.gmcpauls.com/47-72_BedWood_Info.htm

This page has the measurements that you need to cut and groove your own wood!!!

[wyatt earp]

kinda forgot to mention that osage is really hard when dry, i've been thinking of using hickory for the'72 . we've been cutting trees for firewood at my uncles, may just hunk out some 8 footers and have them sawn. then take them to a family friend to be milled. may also cut some wild cherry thats nearby, should produce a nice color when finished naturally.

[dingo_dan_22]

I'm in the middle of making one out of soft white maple. I was going to go with poplar but its too green and it's really soft.

[rlm316]

John, what type of finish did you use? Spar poly? Thanks, Lane.

[John Fabris]

The varnish I used is called interlux Goldspar clear (used to be called clipper clear)

[randomhero472]

is there anywhere i can find a better measurment to cut out the 1/2 circles for the wheel wells? and john, what did you sand w/inbetween coats of varnish?

[dave-68]

I'd like to mill my own wood but I'm really confused about how the bed wood mounts and the holes are drilled. GMCPauls instructions say to drill the through hole and the washer hole on center, but how does that work with an essentric washer? You can see this in Solvers pics. In Todd's pic's it looks like he used carriage bolts? And on John's John's truck I don't even see mounting holes? Also GMPauls is missing some dimension for the wheel well cut outs. How are these done?

[wyatt earp]

o.k. asif there are'nt enough questions on this , do i have to take the metal bed floor out ? thats what it looks like to make everything flush? how hard is it to do? thanks.

[dave-68]

Originally Posted by dave-68

I'd like to mill my own wood but I'm really confused about how the bed wood mounts and the holes are drilled. GMCPauls instructions say to drill the through hole and the washer hole on center, but how does that work with an essentric washer? You can see this in Solvers pics. In Todd's pic's it looks like he used carriage bolts? And on John's John's truck I don't even see mounting holes? Also GMPauls is missing some dimension for the wheel well cut outs. How are these done?

I'm getting the wood for my bed next week and I just wanted to follow up and see if anyone had any answers to these questions? Thanks for any help

[jgrh64]

for finishes don't forget to check with a good supplier for wood boats they can take a lot more water and sun than trucks do.

[Sequoyah]

I just ordered 175 lineal ft. of IPE decking for the flatbed I'm going to build and some for the original stepside bed. It should hold up pretty well to the elements.

Natural durability, superior performance, incredible beauty. Ipe (ee-pay): is an extremely dense tropical hardwood with excellent durability and performance characteristics. Ipe is the finest quality decking material available, with a distinct patina and fine grain. This fantastic and durable South American hardwood is rated by the US Forest Products Lab for a 25 year life. It is naturally resistant to fire, having a NFPA Class A rating and a UBC Class 1 rating (the same as steel and concrete). This wood resists insects, rot and mildew, and it can be used in ground contact without preservatives or additional treatments. Testing by the US Navy in a 1962 Panama Canal study showed Ipe to be one of the top performers in resistance to decay, termites, and borers. It is perfect for exterior residential and commercial applications such as boatdocks, decking, boardwalks, outdoor furniture, pool decking, foot bridges, etc. It can be sealed to maintain its natural color and beauty, or allowed to weather to a beautiful silver gray color.This very dense wood requires no sealers or treatments for durability, ever. Because it is one of the earth’s most dense woods, Ipe remains smooth and splinter free. It tends not to absorb water, twist, splinter, or bow like softer woods. This means that if you use Ipe for your deck, you will be able to walk on it barefoot for a long time. Photo: above left: Ipe Boards ready to be installed in a deck. Finishing is optional required for this incredible iron-wood.

Characteristics Of Ipe

Density(oven-dry): 66 pcf
Specific Gravity (oven dry): 0.85
Durability: Most durable species, resistant to rot, termites decay and fungi. natural Durability Class: 1
Finishing: Does not take finishes well, treatment unnecessary.
Flame spread rating:
10 min.: 0
30 min.: 5
Smoke development values (10 min.): 3
Fuel contribution: (10 min.): 0
NFPA Class: A
UBC Class: 1
Smoke developed classification: 98
K value(12% mc):
R value: in. of thickness
Stability: Very stable, shrinkage greeen to oven dry tangential: 8,0% - radial: 6,6%
Workability: Difficult to work with hand tools, blunting efffect on cutting edges, hard to nail.

btw, that teak bed is really nice! Good job doing the woodwork

[EAST SIDE LOW LIFE]

Doing bed wood for the 70.' I'm using a product called Sikkens which means (for ever in Swedish) dark oak stain. Sikkens satin clear will be the finish top coat which has a UV protectant mixed in. This stuff is tough and weather resistant and comes in a variety of colors and clear finish clear coats. Sample that you see is oak. I know you wanted samples other then oak .... I just wanted to let you see a sample of Sikkens products

esll.

[Sammy]

That teak is great looking stuff congrats. Not sure on the price of that stuff though. I myself considered using walnut but was concerned about drying & splitting. Oak I thought was used in the beds back in the day or was it pine when they were new?

[68K20 x Drill]

Wood looks great, but as somone who regularly spills or drops gas, diesel, tranny fluid, axles, rocks, greasy motors, etc in my bed, wood may not be the choice for me.
Recently I got a nice wood long fleet bed that spent its live under a cabover camper. The original wood was totaly intact untill the Yard Gorilla poked it with his forklift
I realy want to use this bed becuse it is rust free, and has 2 nice fuel tanks, one in front of each fender, with a stock style filler out through the side.

My question is what is involved in swapping in my metal floor?
Or do I have to put the bedsides and tanks onto my old bed?
When I'm done, I'll have a good set of wood hardware for somone
But I just can't see having the back of my truck smell like gear oil every time the sun comes out.
Thanks for any advice, and please post more pics

[LUV2XCLR8]

Although at least 1 person on here beat me to it, I'm thinking about doing
this on my Jimmy, My floor is chit anyways, and it's harder to find one.

[jgrh64]

most were pine, a good southern yellow or douglas fir would hold up for awhile if treated right .most of todays wood is fast grown not old growth- old growth has many more rings (slower growing) to it hence its stronger and longer lasting wood

[68shortstep]

For all of us "poor boys:"

AdVantech OSB style 4x8 sheeting used for sub-flooring & exterior sheathing, salvaged from a friendly builder's construction site = zero $$$.

Five years x 365 days out in the weather with absolutely NO treatment, and still going strong.

A beautiful wood bed like John Fabris has is on my "someday" list..........