pickup wood

White oak or Ash. Quartersawn if you can find it. Be sure to leave space for expansion/contraction.
John
 
If there is a sawmill near you, check to see if they have black walnut or cherry. Both look beautiful in the bed,depending upon the color of the truck.
 
Bruce Horkey has an amazing variety of both common and rare woods for pickup beds. They are great to do business with.
 
I was lucky enough to find some "reclaimed" black walnut for my 37 pickup. The price wasn't too bad. It was down right beautiful. Wish I had pics downloaded. There are places that sell wood that have been saved from old buildings,barns,floors,and furniture. It's well worth the time to check in your area,and see what you can find.
 
A friend of mine did a pickup and used birds eye maple from a tree in his wood lot. Id' never seen it before, it looked like birds eyes all throught the wood. Walt
 
I'm using the original steel bed and staining the shellacking the wood that shows from the bottom.
 
Cedar looks pretty nice JMO. ~~Walts37~~
 

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I used Apiton with a coat of hand rubbed Tung oil on my 40 Tonner. We use it on our equipment trailers - its bullet proof and looks good.
 

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Butch, What did you use as a finish on your red oak, that is what I'm using in my 48..I have seen a lot of finishes flake such as urithane and marine varnish, I was watching a Chip Foosh show and he said he never uses anything but linseed oil, just retreat about once a year..what do you think.. Ernie
 
makemc said:
Butch, What did you use as a finish on your red oak, that is what I'm using in my 48..I have seen a lot of finishes flake such as urithane and marine varnish, I was watching a Chip Foosh show and he said he never uses anything but linseed oil, just retreat about once a year..what do you think.. Ernie
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Linseed oil by itself won't penetrate into the wood. A 50-50 mixture of linseed oil and turpentine sometimes called "bar finish" penetrates into the pores of the wood sealing out moisture. The problem with a linseed oil type finish is that it never completely dries although it may feel that way to the touch. The result is dust will stick to it and eventually darken the appearance of the wood. I've found Tung or Teak oil to be better for preserving wood exposed to the elements. I recoat the bed of my truck annually with Tung oil - a simple process of wiping on a light coat of oil, let dry for 1/2 hour and wipe off the excess.
 
Most lumber yards have a place where thay put their used plywood thai is broken or stained. This makes a great floor for a pickup. I did one in Black cherry amd it was no longer a pick up, but a beautiful piece of furniture.
 
1/4 sawn red oak is beautiful....mahoganey will also last a lifetime. i had a front prorch made with a brazilain hard wood called ippay (not sure how you spell it) but this stuff is hard as nails and will never rot in our lifetimes.
 
" I've found Tung or Teak oil to be better for preserving wood exposed to the elements. I recoat the bed of my truck annually with Tung oil - a simple process of wiping on a light coat of oil, let dry for 1/2 hour and wipe off the excess."

And make sure you get TUNG oil and not Tung oil finish. Two different items!! I had to go to www.woodcraft.com to find a source and you need some marbles to fill the void as you use it or it goes bad. Follow the directions!
 
I got my hardwood for my last pickup @ Lowe's - not original looking but it did look good and it was fairly inexpensive. Check out the pic ....

Another possibility is cabinet grade plywood - seal the ends real well and varnish top and bottom, it will be good for years and one 4x8 sheet will do ya.
 

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