Wood bed dimensions

[parkbro]

Good morning folks....I've researched the wood bed layout for my 1966 C10 Fleetside and have my Red Oak planed, jointed and ready to rip to width and groove(rabet). I have measured twice to cut once.....but I have a question concerning the groove......I find a 5/8" rabet versus a 3/4" rabet a much cleaner/finished/tighter edge, but at the same time the 3/4" rabet is specified in all my research. I am concerned about expansion and contraction from season to season and was wondering if anyone had any experience with a bed not having enough clearance to expand?

 

[Hotrodkilroy]

Red oak can move as much as 1/8 " Especially when exposed to the elments , Be sure to seal all 4 sides of each board it will help.Have you ever seen a bed where the boards have bowed up and made an ugly hump . Kilroy was here!!!

 

[parkbro]

Thank you Kilroy, I will seal all (4) sides and also all the holes to make sure it is sealed as completely as possible. I cut my boards to width last evening and plan to groove them this evening....I thought I'd start with my 5/8" offset and prefit all the boards and examine my gaps. If it appears they're too tight I will remove a bit more. Thank you for your response.

 

[parkbro]

Measure twice cut once

I wanted to share my progress with the Red Oak I picked up locally from my Sawyer. I have it cut, bored to dimension and have applied my second coat of stain. I hope to have Sealed and finished by weeks end and hopefully post some photos

 

[parkbro]

Bed Complete

Hi folks I wanted to share the end results of the wood bed installation. I stained the Red Oak with one heavy coat of Minwax Golden Pecan and 3 coats of Spar Urethane Satin with a 400 grit sanding between coats.

 

[LEYLAND]

Nicely done, it looks great!