Bed Wood Thickness

[Sicboy]

I'm gonna have some local (oregon) wood milled for the bed of my '66. Any of y'all know the exact thickness the plank should be? What is the width of each board? Are there step-by-step instructions posted anywhere?

Cheers,
Gary

[chevysbest92]

msgross sent me this.

hope it helps

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

[Chevy Fleetside]

3/4" thick.

[Alan's Classic]

Originally Posted by chevysbest92

msgross sent me this.

hope it helps

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

That's a great link.

[chevysbest92]

Originally Posted by Alan's Classic

That's a great link.

yes it is, i want to go ooutside the box and make all my boards the same sizes, itll look better IMO

[Sicboy]

Originally Posted by chevysbest92

msgross sent me this.

hope it helps

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

Thanks for the link.

Originally Posted by Chevy Fleetside

3/4" thick.

Thanks.

[justbad]

be very carefull about the thickness of your bed wood .if it is to thick your body lines wont match up,as far a making them the same width that would be a real job,i just finished putting a wood bed in my 66 and aligning the mounting holes and the space between the wood is a bear.my sugjestion is no matter what you put in prefit everything first before you put a finish on the wood

[chevysbest92]

thanks justbad, will do

[justbad]

here is the kit i bought from classic truck parts complete kit cost about $700
for polished stainless and oak

[chevysbest92]

ouch, i already have the polishes stainless, im going to cut and varnish the wood myself, i have a woodshop here

[Alan's Classic]

Originally Posted by justbad

here is the kit i bought from classic truck parts complete kit cost about $700
for polished stainless and oak

Nice job

[justbad]

about the wood you are going to use i would go for a hard pine instead of oak
pine gives a much better finish than oak and is also a much smoother one too.
in that pic there are 14 or 15 coats of clear and you can still see the grain above the clears surface i tryed to make it look like it had a piece of glass on top of it and thats the best i could do.use helmsman spar oil base clear it holds up better than anything you can buy .you can also use a water base stain there are a lot of realy cool colors in water base but a very limited amount in oil base

[Chevy Fleetside]

The bed looks good in the picture.

If you want real good results. Wet the wood and let the grain rise and then sand it.
I personally like the grain in wood. I am a carpenter so I guess that is why. I was going to use White Oak as it has a tighter grain the Red Oak and will hold up better outdoors. I still don't know what I am going to do for bedwood so it is a good thing I am far from that at this time.

[Sicboy]

Thanks for the info. Like I said, I'll be using local Oregon lumber. We've got a variety up here in the PNW. I'm considering using madrone. I too like woodgrain...I'm a woodworker.

[justbad]

i cant hammer a nail good luck

[apachedaddy]

I'm sure most of the parts houses get there wood kits from MAR-K. I got all my bed parts from them and would recommend them to everyone. And if ya watch the parts forum you can catch some good sale's to boot.

[502tripower]

I build these beds all the time and recommend using the factory specs shown on Paul's GMC site. For the best results on your finish it is best to use a good marine varnish sealer with UV protection first. I like Pettit and recommend three coats. This seals the wood so your varnish will now build. Then use a good Marine Varnish with UV protection. I like Epifanes Easy Flow. I also recommend using a bronze wool or wet sand between coats once you start with the varnish. The bronze wool will not rust like steel. I would not recommend using any kind of water base materials at all. They just do not hold up. Good Luck