Replacing Bed Wood

[DT1]

I finally got some time to work on my 72 and the first thing is to get the wood out. Harder than I thought it was going to be. Anyway, I'm looking for some advise about where to get the replacement stuff. It seems that almost everyone sells wood kits and hardware but experience tells me that some are probably better in the "Fit and Finish" category. That's where I need help.
Please chime in if anyone can tell me who might be the best bet to buy from.
Thanks

[bs46488]

Hello,

I know a guy down here in San Diego that makes wood kits. I saw one of his kits on a '52 Chevy he had, looked good.

In my research, you need to watch out for the "over sized shipping" charges when ordering online. Some places will hit you with a $35 - 50 PER ITEM, for these parts.

I need the wood and a couple of the big reinforcement strips for my bed and it was like another $100+ on the bill.

The best deal i've found is Classic Parts.

[davepl]

Mar-K provided beautiful stuff. When one board arrived damaged in shipping, they promptly sent me a replacement. The quality remains long after the price is forgotten, which is to say, I don't remember if it was expensive or not. But great quality.

[CC69Rat]

GMCPauls.com has all the factory specs as far as the measurements go on their website. It's pretty easy to cut your own bedwood actually, I've done two myself for just my time and the cost of the materials.

[davepl]

How do you dato out the channels for the metal strips? Not rocket science, but I wasn't ready to "guess" on what router bit or whatever I needed, so it was worth it for me to have it precut. But I'd be happy to learn how its done.

[FirstOwner69]

Mar-K! The best you'll find. They have everything you'll need. Great installation info from them also. http://www.mar-k.com/installation_hints.aspx

[CC69Rat]

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

We just used a stacked dado setup on a table saw. The key is to get them straight on all edges, planed to thickness, then the dado for the strips. I think we had $157 in the materials, plus about $30 for a gallon of SPAR varnish.

Patience grasshoppa.. it just takes patience.

[57larry]

I need wood and the metal strips for my stepside. it's missing both

[CC69Rat]

Just an example of what you can do in your garage. I know the Bed Wood kits are nice but shipping is a killer as mentioned above.

[davepl]

I don't think a photo proves much, but here's the Mar-K stuff. It was the first "carpentry" I'd ever done, so I did the undersides first as practice.

My biggest surprise was that the bubbles in the urethane always disappeared... I worked like a madman (probably agitating and making things worse) to work them out but they always went away on their own.

I went semi-gloss, and am glad I did, and would recommend it to others.

[special-K]

Originally Posted by davepl

How do you dato out the channels for the metal strips? Not rocket science, but I wasn't ready to "guess" on what router bit or whatever I needed, so it was worth it for me to have it precut. But I'd be happy to learn how its done.

I've done dozens of wood floors. I've got all the woodworking tools, but over at a friends place I made some up making multiple passes on a table saw. Just pass each board through on one setting, then move fence to cut right next to prior cut. In woodworking, you can do all kinds of stuff with basic tools while the right tool serves to make it more time efficient. Having a dado or bit the correct dimension would save the multiple passes. But none of the cut shows. I could do a nice looking floor using a circular saw if I didn't have a table saw, router table, or shaper

[RonG]

I've helped friends replace bed wood and when I did my '54 I went with Mar-k. Don't remember the cost of wood, parts and shipping. I do remember that it was the easiest bed job I ever did. Instructions were complete and exact. Customer service was excellent. My next bed re do will be Mar-k...can't beat their quality and service!

[special-K]

Bruce Horkney was the first replacement wood business I am aware of.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=...J-iP0PZcvbN9JQ

Mother nature makes the wood and people grade it. Just have to buy wood that is of an honest good grade. The millwork couldn't be more basic. If you can read measurements and push a piece of wood through a tool, and not your hand, you can do just as well as anyone