Does anyone know how to convert sq ft to linear feet? Do you just measure the length and multiply that by the number of boards? So 10 8 foot boards would be 80 linear feet?

 

Great thread! This was one part of the build i wasn't sure where to start with. Considered bed kits but wasn't sure who's was better or what would be the best species of wood to use.

What about using Poplar? I hear it rot resistant and supposedly pretty dense. I think it's a dark wood, isnt' it?

 

Poplar has a lot of variation between boards. Color ranges from light cream color but can vary from a very dark green or in some cases a deep purple. I wouldn't use it outdoors. We use it for paint grade cabinets because it's stable and is inexpensive and paints well. Doug fir in our neck of the woods. I have about 3 log truck loads decked up right now by the sawmill. I'm gonna cut boards for my script flatbed at 1 1/8". Come on down......

 

GB-
I might just take you up on that offer. Be a cool road trip this summer. Can't say I've ever been up that way, so it'd be neat country to see. Thanks for the advice on Popular. I wasn't sure about it and know that some builders have used the in door sills and whatnot because of it's rot resistance. (or so they say) The bed floor in my '56 definately needs attention, but had planned on do it in the timeframe of it getting painted. That may have to be put off for a while so i may just go ahead and replace the wood soon anyways.

 

[QUOTE=Dano78;11540255]Great thread! This was one part of the build i wasn't sure where to start with. Considered bed kits but wasn't sure who's was better or what would be the best species of wood to use.

What about using Poplar? I hear it rot resistant and supposedly pretty dense. I think it's a dark wood, isnt' it?[/QUOTE
Poplar is ok if you put it up as barn siding where it doesn't stay wet.

 

[quote=Dano78;11540255]Great thread! This was one part of the build i wasn't sure where to start with. Considered bed kits but wasn't sure who's was better or what would be the best species of wood to use.

What about using Poplar? I hear it rot resistant and supposedly pretty dense. I think it's a dark wood, isnt' it?[/QUOTE
Poplar is ok if you put it up as barn siding where it doesn't stay wet. It's considered a soft wood. Real easy to nail into and cut and the like. SORRY to double send; so much for using the tiny smart phone.

 

Poplar makes good barn siding and good fencing. Easy to work.

 

Poplar is one of the softest of the hardwoods, not much harder than pine, and does not weather very well unless painted. It's not a particularly attractive wood with often heavy green streaks against a mostly light cream color. Lowes and Home Depot carry poplar around here in their hardwoods section so if yours does you can see what it looks like.
Hardwoods are usually sold rough cut by the board foot, not running foot. A board foot is a measurement of volume, a board foot is defined as being 1 foot wide x 1 foot long x 1 inch thick. A 1" thick rough cut board is usually referred to as 4/4 said "four quarter". Rough cut thickness is called out in "quarters", a rough cut board typically loses 1/4" in finish planing and sanding. a four quarter (4/4) board will have a finished thickness measurement of 3/4" (this is why a finished board 3/4" thick is referred to as a "one by ..." relating to it's original rough cut thickness).
A rough cut hardwood board that is 6" wide, 48" long and 4/4 (1") thick would be 2 board feet abbreviated bdft (.5 x 4 x 1 = 2). if you need a ready to use/finish board that actually measures 8-1/2" wide, 6' long and 1" thick you would ask the hardwood lumber yard for a 9 x 72 x 5/4 board, and they would charge you for 6 bdft (.75 x 6 x 1.25 = 5.625 which would usually be rounded to the next 1/2 bdft).
If buying hardwood lumber be sure to ask if it is "green", "air dried", or kiln dried (KD).
green is as cut,contains a lot of moisture and is likely to shrink, crack and/or warp as it dries. Air dried can mean a lot of things as it is not standardized except it has been cut and set out to dry naturally, moisture content and stability unknown unless measured with a meter. Wood piled and stickered out of the weather will air dry at the rate of approximately 1" of thickness per year of drying storage. Kiln dried means it has been put in a kiln and slowly baked to remove the excess moisture then allowed to stabilize to environmental moisture content. KD lumber is as stable as it will ever be, but can and will move if placed in a new environment. You should specify KD lumber for furniture or truck bed floor and place the lumber flat where air can circulate around it in a similar environment that it will be used in for at least 48 hrs per inch of thickness before cutting and using. Wood shrinks or swells with changes of environmental moisture changes, primarily across the grain (width). Never lock boards tight across the grain if it will be subjected to environmental changes, allow room for it's natural dimensional changes and use the same finishing methods and thickness to all sides and ends of the boards.

 

Just bought 4 beautiful kd flatsawn 4/4 X 13" X 8' white oak boards. Cost me $130. I'm hoping I can cut them up, surface them and rout in the rabbets this weekend.

 

That white oak sounds good. I think 13" is too wide for a truck bed, as each board will shrink and swell quite a bit. 6 1/2 would be better so I'd rip them down. Quarter sawn is better than flat sawn, but heck Ford used flatsawn material and mine is definately 53 years old.... And axracer how did you get to know so much about wood? I thought you were a metal guy. Having spent 40 years in boats, cabinetry and furniture, it's rare to find someone who understands the crazy nature of wood, but you definately get it.

 

My masters degree is in jewelry design, with a minor in wood design. I do a lot of fine woodworking as well as jewelry. My wood design professor spent a lot of time on the properties of wood and how to work best with them. Wood grain violations was his pet peeve. flat sawn oak has great grain patterns, but tends to cup. To reduce cupping or at least reduce open cups that will catch rain and be more noticable, look at the end grain pattern of the grain lines, they will curve. Orient the curves to form "smiles" and the boards will tend to cup downwards and be less noticable. Orienting the grain lines in "frowns" will make you "unhappy" when the boards cup up. The wider the board the more it will cup. Avoid any flat sawn boards with the pith down the center, they will almost certainly crack.

 

Back to the composite decking for a moment. I'm thinking of going that route when I finish my bed because of the durability. The additional thickness of 5/4 over typical 3/4 oak or pine may be an easier fit on an early F1 that came with the steel over wood bed. The early beds (raised panel) need to have 3/4 boards spaced up a 1/2 or so on each crossmember to go around some bed structure and get a flat floor. The 5/4 would let you dado the bottom of the outer boards in the appropriate spot and place the boards right on the crossmember. I think the composite would still look good even after being scratched by engines, bicycles, coolers and golden retreiver paws.

 

My Long Beach '48 F1 has a steel bed; the wood beneath looks like oak crate wood that was repurposed. No way to know if it is original. I can't imagine that a Highland Park or Dearborn truck, for example, would use southern yellow pine. Ford had a plant in Kingsford, MI that made wooden parts for the older vehicles, hence Kingsford Charcoal from the scraps. I don't know if this plant operated into the '50s.

 

Just a little FYI from a life time wood worker .I would rip those 4 boards into 8 bds ,mill to 3/4" thick x 5 3/4 "w. x 78" long . The wide bds . will cup on you . That is why narrow bds. are used in furniture ,table tops & etc.Orient the grain as axracer suggested .He is right on the money with all his info .

 

Good info, thanks all