Bed wood installed on 8-Ball

[coralhead]

I just finished installing the wood in the bed of my '50 3600. The wood came from the family farm of 95 years. I think it turned out real nice.

[memo43]

Indeed it did, nice contrast.
You take pictures of the instalation
Posted via Mobile Device

[dubie]

that turned out incredible!!! Very cool!!!

[coralhead]

Originally Posted by memo43

Indeed it did, nice contrast.
You take pictures of the instalation
Posted via Mobile Device

Naw, I was on my back a lot anddid not take any pics. I made sure all the pieces fit and bolted together before I took it apart and finished the wood. Walnut with Mahogany stain. 4 coats of minwax spar varnish. I thenfit it all back together and did not tighten up any bolts till I had all of them in and then went back and tightened up. I wish I had a creeper but am glad the 3/4 ton is sitting stock height so I can easily get under it.

[Love2Fab1]

Looks very nice! Love that the wood has a sentimental history. The color is great!

Fab1

[Red Foreman]

That looks beautiful, I always like the thought of using recycled timber.

[Kim57]

Very nice.
Kim

[crossfire84]

good job!!

[Dan in Pasadena]

Excellent job. EXTRA nice that the wood came with sentimental value.
Posted via Mobile Device

[coralhead]

I am figuring that the tree that came down in a wind storm or ice storm (can't remember which) was a sapling when grandpa bought the place in 1916. I cut it to length and a friend sawmilled it for me and stack it for use someday. That was before I knew I was getting an old truck that I could use it on.

[Dan in Pasadena]

Did you use those stainless covers for your angle strips, or did you cut yours off and weld new ones on? Looks good.

[torchlight]

Love that your bed wood came from the family farm. Doing the same thing with my 53. I'm not as far along as you are, but it is great to see that you can get such nice results going that route. Thanks for posting these pictures!

[coralhead]

Originally Posted by Dan in Pasadena

Did you use those stainless covers for your angle strips, or did you cut yours off and weld new ones on? Looks good.

I actually took the old angles off since the end was rusted out on one end. I took the angles and rewelded them so that they supported the wood from below. If you switch sides the existing holes line up with the new angles on the top. The wood is sandwiched between the angle on the bottom and the stainless on the top. I'll try and post some pictures later.

[mknittle]

"Real nice" is an understatement. That looks great! I like the angle strip trick.

[GFY]

Nicely done!

[Denee007]

I thought something looked different! I've never seen that before, regarding the rails. You know I remember my dad putting square posts in those holes, kind of like a fence to keep our cow in when we'd take it somewhere., though I don't remember where! probably why we had fresh meat in our freezer

Your bed is awesome! That's next on my list of to do's, (sort of) so pictures would be much appreciated! I thought I was going to have to overhaul my pivot things on the rear suspension, but they all took grease, so the bed is not coming off right now. One less chore! So maybe look at the bed some time this week. I have the wood and strips

Originally Posted by mknittle

"Real nice" is an understatement. That looks great! I like the angle strip trick.

Posted via Mobile Device

[Dan in Pasadena]

Originally Posted by Denee007

.... I thought I was going to have to overhaul my pivot things....]

Every once in awhile your inner cute blonde comes out Denee!
Posted via Mobile Device

[Denee007]

I have those moments often and I just can't help it

Originally Posted by Dan in Pasadena

Every once in awhile your inner cute blonde comes out Denee!
Posted via Mobile Device

Posted via Mobile Device
Posted via Mobile Device

[coralhead]

Originally Posted by coralhead

I actually took the old angles off since the end was rusted out on one end. I took the angles and rewelded them so that they supported the wood from below. If you switch sides the existing holes line up with the new angles on the top. The wood is sandwiched between the angle on the bottom and the stainless on the top. I'll try and post some pictures later.

Here are some "from below" pics of the bed rails. I did not want to be welding on the stainless angles so I moved the existing stock rails to below and welded them to the bed sides as shown. By switching sides I was able to use the matching holes to line up with the new stainless from above. The stainless angles are basically a long washer sandwiching the wood. I had to notch the cross rails to provide clearance of the lower angles. (see pic)

I hope this can help others

[Dan in Pasadena]

That's actually fairly ingenious, thanks.