The use of plywood in our old fords
 

There is currently a discussion on this forum about floorboards for a '36 pickup and the discussion has turned to the subject of plywood. It has been verified that the truck's floorboards were originally made from this material. The discovery and early use of plywood has always been of interest to me for a variety of reasons. Does anyone here know when it was first incorporated in the building of our cars or trucks? First time I saw it used was the seat frame of my '38 tonner. I always assumed it was home made, but now I'm re-thinking.

Re: The use of plywood in our old fords
 

Don't know about Fords but google threw up some interesting general info:

https://www.google.com/search?q=plyw...story+timeline

More interesting info:

https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/a-his...in-ten-objects

Re: The use of plywood in our old fords
 

Funny you should ask as I was about to ask if the plywood lower seat cusion fram was correct in my 41 pickup. If my mrmory is working right my 42 pickup was steel. I home constuctin it becam common in the 1920s in the pacific north west where you are and I was.

Re: The use of plywood in our old fords
 

I've heard but don't know for sure that Henry specified exact dimensions for the box that the seat springs came in from the manufacturer for Model A's. The crate was then used for the floor boards. Pretty smart if it is true. If not makes for good urban legend.

Re: The use of plywood in our old fords
 

In the Model A Judging Standards it states that plywood floorboards began to appear in March of 1929.

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I'm sorry for the terrible spelling in my last post. I didn't proof read it before posting. Tim

Re: The use of plywood in our old fords
 

Thanks guys, great info! and Tim, you'd be hard pressed to find a post by me that didn't say 'last editted on----'. I read them after posting and since I never took typing in school I have to have all eyes on the keyboard and am shocked most of the time when I read my post. Both index fingers have been pretty much mutilated in the sawblade and have no feeling. Then the essential tremors set in and now my trifocals are so scratched and clouded that a friend looked through them the other day and said it's like looking through a sheet of waxed paper. Did I mention my daughter bought me hearing aids for Christmas?

Re: The use of plywood in our old fords
 

Gary, I don't need hearing aids anymore due to the surgical removal of a large cancer from my nose.
They used my ear lobe for a skin graft, so now I hear loud and clear if I stick my nose in your business.

Re: The use of plywood in our old fords
 

Secrets to glasses with scratches is to look through them not at the scratches:cool:

Re: The use of plywood in our old fords
 

They don't just have scratches here and there. The lenses are more like sea glass. Maybe I shouldn't have tried polishing out the scratches with toothpaste as seen on youtube. My first rodeo with eyeglasses. They lasted about a year so far. Well, foggy last six months. Let's get back to plywood. Seems I have figured out how to hijack even my own thread! In the mid sixties my shop teacher insisted that A-C fir exterior plywood used the exact same glue as marine, but the marine had no voids. In 1972 at age 19 I started a business building 12' wood skiffs. Traditional planking on sides but 1/2" A-C bottom. Built 17 of them and some were still in use 20 years later. In the water year 'round as tenders for lobster boats in Massachusetts. So Mr. Brock was pretty much right.

Re: The use of plywood in our old fords
 

In the 70’s just out high school I was building houses with a local contractor. A lot of developments going up around here then. Some of the older builders didn’t like plywood and still used boards. There was still a number of mills sawing pine then. The argument for plywood was you could put a sheet across saw horses and stand on it, boards you couldn’t. And you didn’t have a horizontal gap between each board all the way around the house. Some of the old guys would use eight sheets on the corners and boards in the middle. Plywood was much faster too. We used to start with a capped foundation and sheath the roof of a two story house in one day. Five guys with hammers, no nailing equipment. Never got used to heights and staging. Got in a trailer truck and never got out. Glad I learned to build stuff though………Mark

Re: The use of plywood in our old fords
 

My '34 pickup has the original floor board and it is plywood(black stain/black paint).

Re: The use of plywood in our old fords
 

Its over fifty years ago since I made new plywood floorboard where the pedals go through for the 39 Ford Deluxe. Far as recall the original was plywood just like the new piece I used to replace it. Ford also used plywood panels for part of the trunk floor covering. Still original on mine.

Re: The use of plywood in our old fords
 

So, back to when did ford start and stop using plywood? is my lower seat cusion plywood base in my 41 pickup correct ? Tim

Re: The use of plywood in our old fords
 

I'll answer one of your questions... YES, plywood is correct in your application.
Here's a photo that I hope will help you.

Re: The use of plywood in our old fords
 

Thanks Kube. That is exactly what the seat base looks like in my truck. So Gary, is my memory correct in thinking the 1942 jailbar had a steel seat base? Tim

Re: The use of plywood in our old fords
 

Yes Tim, The jailbar trucks had the steel frame with some kind of fiber enclosed in a steel channel so the upohlstery could be attached with staples.

Re: The use of plywood in our old fords
 

Thanks Gary . I like to think I still have a good memory of/from my highschool days and that first flathead truck. Tim

Re: The use of plywood in our old fords
 

I have read a few articles online about early plywood and seems the standard 4x8 sheet was adopted in 1929. My mother's uncle was a founder and the general manager at Harbor plywood in Aberdeen Wa, not too far from Olympia Tim! I found that Harbor Plywood opened their plywood mill in 1924.

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I believe Olympia's Hardel Plywood mill had the biggest and mabey the last steam powerd peeling lathe for making vanier for plywood. My good friend Todd worked there until the mill burnt to the ground around 2000. Back to our trucks, 41 was the last year of the non standard 46" wide beds. Was this true in the ton pickup as well?

Re: The use of plywood in our old fords
 

Yes, completely true. There was a 2 1/2" width increase in 1/2, 3/4 and tonner pickups and panels in 1942. Always figured it was because of plywood and drywall. I started my cabinet business in 1983, was buying 30 sheet units of 3/4 birch plywood for boxes, hauling from the mainland by ferry in my '38 tonner express. It made no sense at all, but you couldn't pry that truck outa my grip. I finally settled on a 4x6 on edge against one wheel well. But the sloping load was always a pain in the rear. I finally bought a '47 tonner panel truck. Sight unseen, in Parker's Prarie Minnesota. Was in rough shape, but that didn't phase me a bit. What DID, was that the rear door opening was something like 46"-47". Almost impossible to load and unload. Slide in on a slight tilt, then they'd drop down flat and be locked into place. Imagine unloading that by yourself. Been driving ex govenment DNR HD 3/4 ton 4x4 suburbans ever since. Roll up windows, vinyl floors, no AC. First one had a granny low 4 speed and I just bought it back after 15 years. Can't have too many of those.

Re: The use of plywood in our old fords
 

Spare air-holding truck tires - 6.00 x 20 - aren't easy to come across so I used plywood to create a set of garage "wheels" so I could move my truck chassis around in my garage. I was able to cut four 27" diameter pieces from one sheet of 4'x8' 3/4" plywood.

Not a factory approved accessory, but it got the job done until I got some good wheels and tires.

Re: The use of plywood in our old fords
 

Wow! That sounds like a gravestone looking to happen! Plywood having strength only in its longitudinal direction, I’d say you were lucky to not have had one wheel collapse while pushing around your shop! In my own experience, I learned of that risk while sheathing a roof having rafters on 24” centers.

Re: The use of plywood in our old fords
 

The plywood wheels were actually very strong but I never stressed anything too hard. The truck wheel flanges provided quite a bit of contact surface area for the plywood. It was mostly just to roll the chassis straight out of the garage and then straight back inside.

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Re: The use of plywood in our old fords
 

Very small contact surface, I bet it rolled and steered quite effortlessly.

Re: The use of plywood in our old fords
 

Guys,
Sounds like 1929 has been mentioned as the first use of plywood. I know our 32 truck floor boards are original plywood.
Regards,
Chris and Cheryl