Screen Side Top Wood Laths

[Guest ff48]

I am writing to ask if anyone knows the species of wood that was used for the laths that run from over the windshield to the back of the pickup bed on the DB Screen Side. It appears to me to be some kind of cedar, but I could be totally wrong.

If you have replaced this wood on your Screen Side and have any suggestions about the species of wood that could be used as well as any sources for the wood laths, that information would be extremely helpful as well.

By my measurement, each lath appears to be ¼ inch thick by 2 inches wide. Since the wood laths are only ¼ inch thick, I am assuming that the wood will bend over the top bows without having to be steamed, but any recommendations on whether to steam or not to steam would also be appreciated.

Thanks in advance for any assistance you can provide.

[jan arnett (2)]

Mine were ash.

[dwollam]

I used old straight grain fir for the lathe and oak for the frame. Did not have to steam anything. I ripped 2x8x 10' from old shelving and used wood glue and staples to attach to the oak frames, which were glued and screwed. Has held together very well for several years of hard use on horrible back roads!

[gboy]

I have an original 1918 screenside with the original wood. I needed to repair one broken slat. I tried staining different types of wood without any good results. I had some scraps of cherry of the right dimension to make a repair slat. It matched the original wood perfectly, I'm not saying cherry was the right wood, but it did match both color and grain.

[Guest ff48]

To: jan arnett, dwollam, and gboy. Thanks for all your help. I will check out options you have listed.

[juanatejeda]

Ours are Red Oak. The original slats were used as the mold for making the new ones. I can send pictures of the milling if you send me your email. juantejeda@yahoo.com

Edited September 22, 2010 by juanatejeda (see edit history)