WTB bed wood floor kit??

[Red Foreman]

Where would be a good place to by a new Oak bed wood floor for my 56 GMC?
Has anyone had any experience with any of the vendors on this forum or maybe recommend another source?

[Indian113]

Red,I've been looking at the different bed kits and I feel Mar-K in Oklahoma has the best kit and nicest wood. They run sales all the time.

[entourageguy]

Given your location you might even look around for a wood worker you know and get some cool local wood to cut to size and finish. Buy some stainless from a vendor state side which should be easy to ship. Just a thought.

[Speedbumpauto]

Bought all my hardware from Mar-K. They're great. Did the wood with a sheet of 3/4 inch 4x8 Oak veneer(sp) plywood but it's more of a show'er than a worker. Could save you a bunch on freight.

[Russell Ashley]

I'm with Brian on this one. Get the metal strips from Mar-K but get the wood locally. It's easy to make the boards and shipping a set from the states would cost more than the wood. I used GMCPaul's measurements to make mine.

[OrrieG]

Cutting the bed wood is basically two passes with a dado blade or router, or a few more on a table saw and some chisel and sanding with a regular. GMC Pauls has good dimensions. Any one familar with woodworking could do them in an hour one they had the material. Making your own you can also adjust the spacing and number of strips like Speedbump did.

[Red Foreman]

Thanks for the input fellas, I might call on a couple of local wood work/cabinet makers & get an opinion, hopefully one of them will have a routing tool that can cut in the same edge?

[solidaxel]

Originally Posted by entourageguy

Given your location you might even look around for a wood worker you know and get some cool local wood to cut to size and finish. Buy some stainless from a vendor state side which should be easy to ship. Just a thought.

Red, Entourageuy nailed it !!


Look up a AD truck that came out 4-6 years ago, and he had his bed wood made out of African BUBINGA, you can make one with your local wood shops. just give them the measurments and your choice of wood.
I have used both SS hidden bolt bed strips, which one of them is located in Canada if shipping to Au. is different than Kansas.

[robin58]

Red Foreman, no routing table really required although you can do it that way. Just as easy with a table saw. And a bunch faster.

Mar-K's website has the dimensions for the rabbet and kerf that anyone can pretty much follow.

[_Ogre]

it is cheap to make your own wood kit, stock is pine but any ''wood'' can be used.
like others have said, mar-k.com has the correct width and groove cuts on their site.
i used trex recycled plastic decking for mine, two passes on a table saw was all that is required.

[mr48chev]

There should be some suppliers around Melbourne that sell interesting wood to the guys who build and or work on boats along with cabinet shops. We don't have one here but in the Seattle area there are stores that specialize in hardwoods and there my be one or more in the Melbourne area for that.

Ogre's top photo pretty shows what kind of cuts/trimming needs to be done but most people leave the rails slightly above the wood.

[_Ogre]

as mr48chev pointed out, i lowered my bed rails just under the surface to protect the paint
if you paint your bed rail recess them just a bit
ss, raise them up and it will protect your bed ''wood''



this is how i cut the trex

[01spirit750]

I bought oak boards from Lowes and machined it myself with my table saw. The board dimensions are available thru various sources on the internet.

Chris

[mr48chev]

I never though of lowering them below the surface of the bed to do that Ogre. That would protect painted strips from the luggage, coolers and lawn chair that most of us carry.

[Maximus]

Originally Posted by mr48chev

I never though of lowering them below the surface of the bed to do that Ogre. That would protect painted strips from the luggage, coolers and lawn chair that most of us carry.

lol - sad but true alot of our trucks shake their invisible head in shame

[_Ogre]

i think truk has seen it's last load of gravel
i do haul loads with it

[LostMy65]

Originally Posted by _Ogre

as mr48chev pointed out, i lowered my bed rails just under the surface to protect the paint
if you paint your bed rail recess them just a bit
ss, raise them up and it will protect your bed ''wood''



this is how i cut the trex

Great idea on lowing the rails a tad.

[Chevette]

I'm with those who recommend purchasing the wood locally. If you buy it from North America you may end up with a load of propellers by the time you install it in your truck. Propellers with cracks, in fact. Humidity changes are tough on wood. I once shipped a load of hardwood furniture from Costa Rica to Calgary, put it in a warehouse and listened to it crack for over a year. Just sayin'.

[Red Foreman]

Hello again, well I actually took some great advice from all you members & I sourced some locally produced 'dressed kiln dried tasmanian oak' that comes from the most sourthern island state here in Australia.

I down loaded the dimentions off GMC Pauls & gave them to an old friend of Dads thats is a retired cabinet maker, he was more than happy to cut & groove them for me.

Here are some pics with the first of three coats of Marine satin varnish, really happy with the natural colour of this timber.

[solidaxel]

GOOD CHOICE on colour and wood !!!
Now with all the money you saved, you can order some SS hidden bolt strips.

[Red Foreman]

Solidaxel, is thats yours? It looks real good! My truck on the other hand is of the original patina variety & I didn't want to go real flash, although I did purchase unpolished ss strips from a guy on ebay, interesting that they were drop shipped from Oklahoma (Mar-K comes to mind) to my shipper in Long Beach Ca.

[Indian113]

Red, That wood is beautifull-great choice

[solidaxel]

Yes Red that is one of my "fleet" of AD trucks.
I have Ash in the 55, Oak in the extended cab, and Cherry wood in the green 63 and Oak in the "new "54 and they were all cut and finished as part of the build, just like you are doing.

[_Ogre]

red; bed wood looks good.

the bolt kits from the truck suppliers are expensive.
short bed kits have the exact amount to do the job, but if you break one your screwed.
i bought boxes of 100 of the stainless 1/4x1.25 bolts, washers, locks and nuts for less than the standard steel bolt kits from boltdepot.com
i also bought ss fender bolts, step bolts, etc... at the same time.

[arturo7]

I gotta question, where do I find the bed wood specs for a panel? Everything I've seen is for pickups.