ggdad1951 Posted July 12, 2012 Report Share Posted July 12, 2012 you want a "forever" bed find Brazilian Ipe....stuff the boardwalks are made of in Atlantic city. Has the fire rating of CONCRETE! Hard as heck and durable as heck. When I built my deck at my house I used it for the decking...rock solid stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HanksB3B Posted July 12, 2012 Report Share Posted July 12, 2012 (edited) Jeff, That bed is "Definitely You". Very fine job as I would expect from you. Think it will contrast very nicely if you do decide to paint your truck tan. After the grain and gloss come out it'll look fine no matter what color paint you choose. Hank Edited July 12, 2012 by HanksB3B Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Balazs Posted July 12, 2012 Report Share Posted July 12, 2012 Wally; That is true too and is not the case with red oak. You would be hard pressed though to find a better readily available domestic species for these beds. Mark; You know I was thinking of Ipe but could not find material wide enough locally. Doing glue ups with it is a pain because it is so oily. Hank; Thanks I think it will look fine. It's funny but I think tan is going to be it. Yesterday young Sean my helper was telling me about a tan truck he saw the evening before. A few minutes later we were out and about and here comes a tan 55 Chevy truck....the same one Sean saw the night before. Seeing it sealed that decision. Jeff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ggdad1951 Posted July 12, 2012 Report Share Posted July 12, 2012 Mark; You know I was thinking of Ipe but could not find material wide enough locally. Doing glue ups with it is a pain because it is so oily. Jeff yah, that would be the issue with the Ipe, unless you just did more boards and bed strips, but that might get too busy. If you find a source for wider Ipe boards ever, let me know, that is my wood of choice for PHTD's flat bed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave72dt Posted July 12, 2012 Report Share Posted July 12, 2012 yah, that would be the issue with the Ipe, unless you just did more boards and bed strips, but that might get too busy. If you find a source for wider Ipe boards ever, let me know, that is my wood of choice for PHTD's flat bed. You might want to consider a tongue and groove setup for the flatbed with recessed flathead screws to fasten it. You can stray a bit from factory design on TD since it's not stock to start with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Balazs Posted July 12, 2012 Report Share Posted July 12, 2012 Mark; I talked with several commercial suppliers......you can get 1x8s but as you know they are only going to be around 7 1/2" and may need to be straight edged. The 4 central boards for mine are 7 5/8" trued. The outer two are much wider. If you are doing a flat bed then you could spline it rather than doing a tongue and groove. Would be easier to mill this way. Ipe is really tough on tooling. I once had to make 90 mortise and tenon deck railing posts from it. Great stuff when it is all done but some milling operations are brutal. Jeff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monkey Truck Posted July 12, 2012 Report Share Posted July 12, 2012 Recessed yes but I don't believe stock is flush or below surface. I believe they should be just proud of the wood surface. I ended up partially recessing mine, leaving the tops of the radius above the wood surface. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ggdad1951 Posted July 12, 2012 Report Share Posted July 12, 2012 Mark;I talked with several commercial suppliers......you can get 1x8s but as you know they are only going to be around 7 1/2" and may need to be straight edged. The 4 central boards for mine are 7 5/8" trued. The outer two are much wider. If you are doing a flat bed then you could spline it rather than doing a tongue and groove. Would be easier to mill this way. Ipe is really tough on tooling. I once had to make 90 mortise and tenon deck railing posts from it. Great stuff when it is all done but some milling operations are brutal. Jeff true, I blew thru several blades for my little DeWalt saw cutting the edges of the deck....good stuff tho! You might want to consider a tongue and groove setup for the flatbed with recessed flathead screws to fasten it. You can stray a bit from factory design on TD since it's not stock to start with. yah since not stock I'm pretty open to anything. I ended up partially recessing mine, leaving the tops of the radius above the wood surface. is there a gasket/anti-squeek between the boards and the support steel? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pflaming Posted July 12, 2012 Report Share Posted July 12, 2012 Isn't wood self lubricating? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monkey Truck Posted July 12, 2012 Report Share Posted July 12, 2012 is there a gasket/anti-squeek between the boards and the support steel? Yes, I put a rubber washer under each connection point to the steel to keep the wood from resting directly on the steel and to provide a buffer between the two surfaces. I figured it would act as an anti-squeek and keep water from getting trapped between the wood and steel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ggdad1951 Posted March 2, 2013 Report Share Posted March 2, 2013 Mark; I talked with several commercial suppliers......you can get 1x8s but as you know they are only going to be around 7 1/2" and may need to be straight edged. The 4 central boards for mine are 7 5/8" trued. The outer two are much wider. If you are doing a flat bed then you could spline it rather than doing a tongue and groove. Would be easier to mill this way. Ipe is really tough on tooling. I once had to make 90 mortise and tenon deck railing posts from it. Great stuff when it is all done but some milling operations are brutal. Jeff Jeff, just picked up 2 pieces of Ipe at the local specialty wood yard. A whole stack of it was there and half of it was 10"+ in width, so I picked up 2 boards at 12". Sadly they only had 12' lengths! It's out there, you just gotta find it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allan Parkhurst Posted March 2, 2013 Report Share Posted March 2, 2013 (edited) Edited March 3, 2013 by Allan Parkhurst Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Balazs Posted March 3, 2013 Report Share Posted March 3, 2013 Jeff, just picked up 2 pieces of Ipe at the local specialty wood yard. A whole stack of it was there and half of it was 10"+ in width, so I picked up 2 boards at 12". Sadly they only had 12' lengths! It's out there, you just gotta find it. Mark; That is the way supply is these days. Might have it and might not. No one is keeping the large inventories like they used to. With something like Ipe you never know. Might be a hot item for a while.....starts getting spec'd on big jobs......and then supply get's scarce. And sometimes our "friends" across the ocean buy such huge quantities that it can just about be impossible to get what you need. I would have preferred using it for the truck bed.......but the walnut bed I made will work just fine. I am actually waiting on the bed sides etc.. from the painter right now. I am getting excited to get it all put back together. Of course it won't be factory correct like yours......but I can live with that. Jeff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scruffy49 Posted March 3, 2013 Report Share Posted March 3, 2013 (edited) If anyone feels particularly ambitious, we're getting ready to drop some 2-4 foot diameter sweet gums and honey locusts. If you'll come haul the logs, you can have them... Both would make good planking stock for 1/2 ton up beds. Or we can drop some giant osage orange, but you have to slab it and drill it while green, otherwise it WILL destroy any metal you try and work it with, dries harder than steel. Per the book, species unspecified oak bed floors through end of model year 1952, 1953 and newer are yellow pine. Closed deliveries like the Canopy and Screenside used mahogany. Pickup and flatbed wood was flat black from the factory. Edited March 3, 2013 by Scruffy49 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HanksB3B Posted March 3, 2013 Report Share Posted March 3, 2013 Or we can drop some giant osage orange, but you have to slab it and drill it while green, otherwise it WILL destroy any metal you try and work it with, dries harder than steel. Wow! Scrufy where do you live? Hank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scruffy49 Posted March 3, 2013 Report Share Posted March 3, 2013 About 35-40 miles north east of downtown Memphis. Have a couple that are pushing 100 years old. And are in the way. We can make available: white oak, pin oak, water oak, sweet gum, 4 species of elm, black and honey locusts, black walnut, 5 or 6 kinds of pine, pecan, hickory, persimmon, paw paw, sycamore, TN/VA cedar (moth ball/closet cedar), osage orange, lynden/basswood/tupelo, maybe a few other types. I'm on 54 acres of mixed pecan orchards, gardens and native timberland. A lot of the trees have serious burl in them or lots of curl. Had a 400 year old white oak full of burl and curl blow over in 2011. Unfortunately it is also full of lead and iron (minie balls, round balls and cannon balls). Old plantation. I cut, you haul or arrange shipping after the logs are harvested. No local sawmill will touch over 18-24 inch diameter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ggdad1951 Posted March 3, 2013 Report Share Posted March 3, 2013 About 35-40 miles north east of downtown Memphis. Have a couple that are pushing 100 years old. And are in the way. We can make available: white oak, pin oak, water oak, sweet gum, 4 species of elm, black and honey locusts, black walnut, 5 or 6 kinds of pine, pecan, hickory, persimmon, paw paw, sycamore, TN/VA cedar (moth ball/closet cedar), osage orange, lynden/basswood/tupelo, maybe a few other types. I'm on 54 acres of mixed pecan orchards, gardens and native timberland. A lot of the trees have serious burl in them or lots of curl. Had a 400 year old white oak full of burl and curl blow over in 2011. Unfortunately it is also full of lead and iron (minie balls, round balls and cannon balls). Old plantation. I cut, you haul or arrange shipping after the logs are harvested. No local sawmill will touch over 18-24 inch diameter. honestly the "shot" trees would make cool furniture. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scruffy49 Posted March 3, 2013 Report Share Posted March 3, 2013 (edited) Makes great smoker wood, that's all we use it for. Fireplaces are converted to natural gas. Had a lot of black heart rot, the "solid" trunk walls are all spalted. Ran an ad on CL for local artisans and such to come get the wood, couldn't give it away. I've got hardwood compost piles all over the place, slash pile burning is illegal in Shelby County and I'm not dragging all of it onto the 2.75 acres in Tipton County to burn it. Firewood isn't worth the fuel to cut it, seasoned ready to go hardwood is all of 30 bucks a cord here, IF you can find a city dweller that wants it. Country folk can get firewood for nothing all day long. Oh do have a 5' diameter sycamore that needs to go away and a friend with a blasting license on another forum I frequent... Here's the big one that a micro-burst or down draft ripped out of the ground... I'm 6'2" 240#... that is a branch behind me... 2nd largest/oldest white oak in a 3 or 4 county region according to the state forestry office several years ago. Edited March 3, 2013 by Scruffy49 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lugnut123 Posted March 4, 2013 Report Share Posted March 4, 2013 I have replaced the wood in beds with oak and also a sheet of plywood. With plywood you have to drill all your holes on the sheet. You can go to the 39-47dodge truck site on yahoo forums. They have a good how to for replaceing the wood. noel in nm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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