another floor board question

larry harding

Senior Member
i went by lowes this morning and looked at plywood. the really nice stuff with hardwood veneer costs as much or more than ordering them already cut from the vendors. i have macs catalog (just for the color photos) and their floor boards look like regular plywood. what are you guys using to make your own floorboards. i also found a better website with the pdf drawings that have good details on cutting your own. when i printed them out they were slightly cropped on the sides, but i easily wrote in the missing info.
 
Haven't price plywood lately, I would use a/b plywood, b side up it will be covered! What are you going to use to treat the plywood? Stain or paint?
 
A lot of lumber yards have a discount area where you can buy slightly damaged wood real cheap. About 5 years ago I got a 3/4" 4 x 8 piece of oak veneer cabinet grade plywood for $2. I should have kept it to make some nice furniture, but I let me friend have it, and he cut it for garage shelves.
 
i'm going to use a black stain like i used on my body wood, don't remember the name right now. i used some and spilled some and now the can is gone. i'll recoginise it when i'm back at lowes or hd.
 
... i also found a better website with the pdf drawings that have good details on cutting your own. when i printed them out they were slightly cropped on the sides, but i easily wrote in the missing info.

Can you share the link for the site you found?

Thanks!
 
it is steve watrous site. the first time i looked it up it only showed the floor and not the front slanted panel i now can get the whole set of plans. go to my earlier floorboard post, theres a link on one of the replys.
 
Just buy new floorboards from one of the vendors. Why go to all of the trouble making your own? I just put new floorboards in my sedan. They fit great. Biggest job has been painting and installing the anti-squeak webbing.
 
i thought seriously about ordering the floorboards, but there is shipping on top of the price of the floorboards, that's is one excuse. in reality i'm one of those nuts who will spend $30.00 and hours of labor making something i could have bought for $25.00. i have spent nearly two years and a bunch of money on this project. i could have paid somebody to do the wrenching, body work, painting and so on and probably have bought a nicer one for less than i'll have in this one, but what kind of fun would that be? i like to keep busy tinkering on something plus being able to say i did it myself. i'm probably nuts, but i'll bet some one else in this hobby knows what i'm talking about!!
 
I made mine of 3/4 inch cabinet grade plywood, from Home Depot. Treated with a black wood stain. Used old damaged floor board as pattern. It is a little work, but you can say I made it myself.
 
Just buy new floorboards from one of the vendors. Why go to all of the trouble making your own? I just put new floorboards in my sedan. They fit great. Biggest job has been painting and installing the anti-squeak webbing.

We have to make our own. No vendors sell suitable floorboards.
 
I will be building my floor for my 30 roadster. I will use cardboard and make a pattern. I would suggest whatever plywood you use make sure the outside layer is not paper thick as most cabinet plywood is now days. I have some fur plywood that the outside layers about 3/32" or more thick.
I have a true lumber yard in town that has this type of wood. I have ordered wood from Lowe's that was not stocked in the store but it could cost more.
 
I have seen some pretty cheesy floorboards sold by parts suppliers. Some of the plywood ones are to thick and have splintered edges from the veneer being to thin on the top and bottom. I have heard Murray Linker in North Carolina makes very nice planked and plywood floorboards. I have never seen one of his floorboards, so I can't be 100% sure of the quality.
Rusty Nelson
 
i thought seriously about ordering the floorboards, but there is shipping on top of the price of the floorboards, that's is one excuse. in reality i'm one of those nuts who will spend $30.00 and hours of labor making something i could have bought for $25.00. i have spent nearly two years and a bunch of money on this project. i could have paid somebody to do the wrenching, body work, painting and so on and probably have bought a nicer one for less than i'll have in this one, but what kind of fun would that be? i like to keep busy tinkering on something plus being able to say i did it myself. i'm probably nuts, but i'll bet some one else in this hobby knows what i'm talking about!!

I understand what you are saying Larry. Just be glad that yours are supposed to be plywood. Making them with the sliding dovetail joint is a bit more of a challenge.
 

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