Rear bed wood questions

[Bullett]

O.k., I stained up my wood today that I will be using for the bed in my truck. I had access to some torque and groove 7" pine boards and I have some 1 1/2" s/s strips that came with my truck. I am trying to do this on a budget. I have $30 in the boards. I am going to cut the toungue and grooves off the boards, I am then going to put the perimeter boards in the body and fasten to the bed with carriage bolts. The rest of the boards, I am going to get them spaced where I want them and then I will have a couple pressure treated 2"x2" ties on the underside, I will screw the pine boards, on the very edge of the boards, to the ties underneath and then I will hide the screws with the s/s straps. I am not experienced with wood work but how much space do I want between my boards? Are the boards going to eventually shrink? Lengthways or width or both? I will have the 6 carriage bolts showing that fastens the wood to the body. Why are the carriage bolt washers, that hold the bed down, that come in the bed wood kits, they seem to look like their drilled off center?



Hope this makes sense, I am late to a bday party. Hee hee.

[kingchr]

I believe that the reason that he washers are drilled off center is so that when you tighten the bolts down they don't just spin, they will be captured as long as they are in holes that are counter sunk into the boards. Does that make sense? Also, why are you planning on screwing all the boards down instead of just ripping them and getting a cheap dado blade and cutting the notches like the factory wood? I am getting ready to do this same kind of D.I.Y. wood project on my truck but using Douglas Fir Clears I bought from the lumber company I used to work for until recently. Just notice you are from Maine, I ship out there next week to help install an automated lumber grading system in Dixfield.

Have a good night,
Christopher

Also, be VERY careful around all those knots, they WILL crack out on you if you drill into them!

[chevyrestoguy]

The off-center washers also give you the capability of adjusting the bed because those bolts are also the bolts that secure the bed to the frame. They are your main mount bolts, and the offset washer can be spun to a direction where the bolt will still line up when the bed is aligned and adjusted.

[Bullett]

Ah, I get the off set washer now, that makes sense, kind of like eccentrics adjustment. Thanks for that. Reason I am not notching my wood is because I don't have that style of bed wood strips. I just have 1 1/2" s/s that are 1/16" in thickness. They were on the truck when I got it and I really liked the looks of them. When I got the truck the rear wood was a sheet of some type of plywood, that I suspect probably looked good when it was done long ago. I picked through a lot of pine boards and got the best I could find so they are no overly naughted. Christopher, enjoy your time in Maine, it has been very cold and there is a boat load of snow on the ground. Dixfield is a pretty quiet area, about 1 hour west of Fairfield. If you get over towards Fairfield way, pm me, I'll show you my truck and what I am doing to it.