Ok, hopefully someone out there has some suggestions. Last week, I finished installing the bed kit I bought from our host. I was singing praises for the quality of the materials and the price (bought it on sale), but maybe I spoke too soon, or hopefully it is just my lack of experience. As you can see from the photos, it may look good 5-10 feet away, but the bed strips do not fit in the pre-cut grooves in the boards as I had expected. The original holes in the bed sills predict where the strip bolts go and all of the boards fall between the bed sill holes, so this leaves very little wiggle/wriggle room for the boards. My understanding is that the metal bed strip is suppose to cover the grooves in the board so the groove does not fill up with dirt/manure/feed and rot the wood. And the top ridge of the metal bed strip is up to keep your load/shovel from gouging into the wood and making your load slide out easier. I installed the hardware and only finger tightened and after moving the boards one way or another to split the difference, MOST of the boards/strips do fit the way I expected, but there are a couple that don't and that is what you see in the pics below. WHAT else can I do? One more NOTE: the boards that fit up along the bed sides I had to pound with a BFH (protecting board edge with a scrap piece of wood) to fit up under the angle strips. I checked up from underneath and saw the boards were up tight against the bed side. BUT the original holes in the bed sill and frame would not align. I ended up taking 1/8" and 1/4" off the outer edge of each, re-fit, and holes aligned properly. I then pulled in bedsides with a large clamp, marked the position of the square holes from the angle strips, drilled boards, varnished the new holes and cut edge 4 coats, then re-installed. These 2 boards now fit. At least I am pleased with the paint color and most of the bed, but any suggestions on how this should/could fit better would be appreciated. Is it possible that the wood was not cut properly or the strips are not right? Maybe the lip along the groove edge of the board is supposed to be shaved off a bit from the top so the strip sets down lower into the groove? Thanks for any help.
Sigh Obviously , you have ruined the entire bed ~ I'll be over this weekend to pick it up Woodwork is a bugger unless you're good at it , I am not , I bet someone here will know what to do .
bed wood did the boards come predrilled ? it looks to me like the boards should have been pushed together and drilled .
Wood does expand and contract with humidity. Pine would move more than Oak and it looks like your wood is Oak. That is the direction the wood will expand as it picks up moisture. It looks like you used Spar varnish, so it will be difficult to dry it out now but not impossible. Texas has been like a kiln all summer. Has it been humid where you are? Did you store them in your garage while waiting to assemble them? It would have been better to keep them in the house until you were ready About the only thing I can suggest is remove the strips and park the truck out in the sun for a few days (not if it's raining). See if the wood shrinks back to it's original shape. Just a thought. Greg
Yes - the bed wood kit came pre-drilled, pre-grooved, etc Gary - the wood came in the kit all pre-cut, pre-drilled, and pre-grooved. The only pre-drilling was where there was one of the six frame to bed bolts goes. The rest of the bolts fit between the boards and go trough the strips - some then go thru sills and some not - just a large washer on the back side of the board. Like I said - there is very little wiggle room for the boards because the holes in the sills determine the placement of the boards and consequently the strips.
OAK was used and stored in house 2 years Greg - yes, the wood is Red OAK and I believe came kiln dried already in the kit. I did the staining and varnishing 2 years ago and stored upstairs of 2nd story house in central Illinois. I would say it is pretty cured by now. Once I have the truck, I will do as you suggest and park it in the hot Florida sun and let it bake and see if that gives me some shrinkage to move the boards around more. Thanks.
this does look wrong, like the metal strips are to thin, or the wood slot cut is to wide.. i did mine last year.. got kit from dreamers nw, up here near seattle. see attached photo of how mine fits..
MOT - thanks for posting that picture and that is how I expected it to fit and it does on all but 2-3 of the strips. It looks like the bottom of the flat part of the strip is to rest up on the lip of the board edge next to the groove, and then the rest of the strip, cover and fit just down into the groove making a nice tight covering over the gaps between boards. All my strips are exactly the same width and they do fit correctly in some places. At this point, after seeing this and understanding further, either a few of the boards I received in my kit were not cut wide enough OR the holes in my bed sills were not in the standard/typical position. I am not sure what else it could be. In 40 years, someone else might pull it apart and figure it all out.
I would take a block plane and plane it to fit. Looks like you could chamfer the edge & make it work. If you do make sure and try it on some scrap first. Make sure the plane is razor sharp and will shave hair off your arm. If it won't shave don't put it on those expensive boards. A block with sandpaper will also work.
Your bed is probably as good or better than from the factory. We were starved for new vehicles after WWII so everyone of these trucks were sold as fast as they could build them. Absolutely no attention was given to coach work or panel fit, even more so in trucks. A new truck wasn't washed and polished, it was taken from the show floor to the local farm co-op where a bundle of steel fence posts and a couple rolls of barb wire were tossed onto it's brand new bed. The farmer didn't give a whit about board or bed strip gaps and the big three manufacturers knew it. That said, here are some pics of custom fit boards and strips in a bed that make the truck completely worthless as a truck and cost the owner big bucks. When washed it must be immediately dried bone dry and not submitted to big temp changes or high humidity because the wood would buckle up and form "tents" at each joint. Big gaps between the boards and along the edges of the strips are a necessity if it's going to remain a useful truck. We never use pre-drilled wood or strips because tweaking is nearly always necessary.
As Usual . Even is dead on ~ even if I had the $ to fully rebuild my '49 , I'd not have a dressy bed as it's a TRUCK and I work it . Looks so nice yes but I'd kill it in short order . give me hard Southern Pine any day .
Bed Wood Hey gypsy, From your pics it looks like the boards need to go under the metal strips more. You want the flat part of the metal strip to make contact and rest on the wood before the rounded edge of the strip. This allows movement without cutting into the finished material in the groove. -Tom
Evan - thanks for the pics and I certainly understand your comments - you too Nate. I am not able to do much of the work on my truck myself, but this? working with wood? and bolts? I was sure I could handle this portion of the overall restore. I figured buying a top of the line kit all pre-cut would get me a perfect fit. SILLY ME! If I had to do it over, I suppose I would have measured my own holes, and followed the directions from the Mar-K site (lots of great info on beds there). But then that path would not have been in my budget, so I guess I get what I paid for. I did find this diagram that shows how the strips should fit in the wood grooves. I also found out (now) that the raised lip before the groove in the wood is supposed to be 1/4" LOWER than the main field of the rest of the board. Mine are the same height and that adds to my problem fit. And for when I do want to haul something, I did find some very dense rubber 1/4" pad at my local farm supply store that is 48" wide and comes $6 per linear foot - so for about $40, I can keep my ill-fitting bed wood look'n good! - G I also found this diagram that specifies the dimensions - showing the cross-section of the groove. Dimensions: A. 3/4" (board thickness) B. 1/4" C. 1/4" D. 1/2" E. 1/8"
Just don't get lazy and leave the mat in the truck. My truck came from Florida, there was a piece of plywood left in the front of the bed, and it held the 4 o' clock showers every day and got the rot off and running.
