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CJ-8 Scrambler wood rail specifications

walkerhoundvm

Just trying to stay upright
Lifetime Member
City
Cave Creek
State
AZ
Hey all, I thought I'd give back to this forum which has occupied so much of my time over the past ~4yrs and put together a write-up on how to build wood side rails. Some of you may know that I had been doing this in my spare time for a while, some of you were even kind enough to purchase a set and give some great feedback on them. I had all the routing done by a professional cabinet maker, who did an awesome job with that aspect. Next I'd take them over and do all of the drilling, assembling of rear supports, staining, sealing, and my (least) favorite part - shipping. Always worried how they would hold up through delivery via the USPS then FedEx, but they all made it to their destination intact, some as far away as Australia :) (Thanks Brent, awesome experience working with you!)

Most of the information I garnered from this site and the internet, where I got the dimensions and estimated the routing work and color schemes.

OK, enough with the shout-outs, here are the details:

Materials needed:

1) White Oak, not red - white. It's more than just the color here, these are different species of oak and their colors can vary across white to red regardless of species. White oak is more resistant to water and rot, and is better for this application than red oak

2) Measuring tape. Measure twice, cut once!

3) Table saw +/- miter saw

4) Routing bits - you'll need a 3/8" cove bit and a 1/2" radius round over edge

5) Drill bits - 1/8" bit, 3/8" bit and 7/8" bit

6) Spade bits - 1/2" diameter and 1 1/2" diameter

7) Stain of your choice - I used MinWax "natural oak" and "dark walnut" for the board and cove, respectively

8) Sealant - there are two basic types: polyurethane and acrylic. I've used both with very good results. Polyurethane is what most people think of for outdoor applications, but there are outdoor acrylics as well. Polyurethane usually takes 4-12hrs to dry before recoating, and is best done outdoors in warm weather. Usually you need 2-3 coats, a light sanding, and then a final coat.

With outdoor acrylic, dry times are usually less than an hour per coat, can be done indoors, and typically I've done 5 coats followed by a light sanding and then recoat.

Most of my dimensional information I got here: http://mfaile.tripod.com/rails/rail.html

I'm going to assume that site won't be around forever, so basically, your boards are going to be 58 3/4" long x 5 3/4" wide x 15/16" deep.

Your rear supports (per each) will require two lengths of white oak at 4 1/2" x 2 3/8" x 7/8" stacked on top of each other, then another that's 11 3/4" x 2 3/8" x 7/8" with a 45* cut at the top - facing out as in this picture:

IMG_2226_zpsd57a93bd-1.jpg


For the boards:
1) Once you have the boards to the correct dimensions, start by routing the cove. The cove requires a 3/8" cove bit, that's placed 1 1/8" edge to center from all edges:

rail2-1.jpg


The depth is approximately 3/8" deep as well - it all depends on your preferences, though. Deeper can make it stand out more :)

This can be done face down on a table router, or by hand face up with a hand router. Be very careful with this cut, if done poorly your boards could end up looking like this:

attachment.php


2) With the cove routed, next step is the corners. You'll notice the corners are rounded, and you'll need a 3/4" radius at the corner. This means that if you measured 3/4" from the corner and instead pretended it was a semi-circle, you'd get a 3/4" rounded edge. As an example, three edges below. The first is a 0.5" radius, the second a 0.75" radius, and the last a 1" radius. The measurement is from the circumference of the circle to the center.

edges_zps64955c4c-1.jpg


3) Next, you want to work all of the edges. Notice that it's not just a flat edge, there's a step there:

rail4-1.jpg


To do this, you'll need a 1/2" radius round-over edge routing bit. They typically come with a 1/2" bearing on the bottom, but we'll need one with a 3/8" diameter bearing to get the step. You'll want to take it down 1/8" to get the side step and the top step between the edge and the cove. If the picture above isn't clear, contact me and I'd be happy to try to explain.

That covers the routing, now on to the drilling. The engine side of the board that mounts to the roll bar requires two holes drilled - both are 3/8" and their measurements from the edge are as follows:
* 1 3/4" from the front edge
* Top hole is 1 3/4" from the top edge
* Bottom hole is 1 7/8" from the bottom edge
* Between hole distance is about 2 3/16". Note - measure the holes in your roll bar first, as this is the most important measurement for proper fitment!! I often found that I had to round out the holes just a tad to get the bolts to feed and thread properly, so don't get down if you're just a tad off.

The tailgate side of the board also requires two holes to mount to the brackets. These I typically wait to do until mounting, so you can line the board up with the tub and the brackets. You just need to make pilot holes here, about 1/2 the thickness of the board and you DON'T want to go all the way through!!! I use a 1/8" bit for this.

For the rear brackets:

Assemble the lengths noted above. I use wood glue to bond them before doing any drilling. After letting them sit for an hour or more, you can drill the holes. Make sure you're working with the right side when doing this - you don't want to countersink on the wrong side of the brackets! :)

* The top holes that mount to the board are kinda free-drilled. You want them 1 1/2" inches apart or so, and you don't want your screws going into the cove. Again, the hole requires a 1/8" bit and the countersink is done with a 1/2" spade bit, to a depth of about 1/4 - 3/8"

* The bottom holes that mount to the tub are more precise. They are centered width-wise on the bracket, with the top hole being 3 1/2" from the bottom edge and the bottom hole being 1" from the bottom edge. You'll use a 7/8" bit for this, then countersink to a depth of about 1/2" - 3/4" using a 1 1/2" spade bit.

The next thing some of you are familiar with is the differences between roll bar styles. There's the 81-82.5 variety, distinguished by lap belts only. Then there's the 82.5-85 variety, with three-point belts mounted to the roll bar.

* The early variety with lap belts, you'll need a 1/8" rubber washer on the top hole where it mounts to the roll bar. I found these at my local Ace hardware for about 50c apiece.
* The later variety with shoulder belts require a 1/2" wood shim for both the top and bottom holes:

Aspacers.jpg


I basically cut these from left over bracket wood to 1/2" thick, then glued them to the board and drilled through using the holes I initially drilled for the roll bar mounts. Clean up any remnant glue before it dries, then stain and seal with the remainder of the board.

That about covers assembly. Staining is as you see fit, but what I did was (as mentioned above) used "dark walnut" for the cove (two coats with a fine paint brush) and "natural oak" for the remainder of the board (single coat, and you can wipe down when it starts to reach your desired color). Note that both of these lighten up a bit after drying for 3-5 days, which I recommend prior to sealing.

As mentioned, sealing can be done with either polyurethane or acrylic. I'd recommend sanding down and resealing about every other year, depending how much of the elements the boards see. Mine were usually run year round, and didn't see much snow or rain, and I still had to do them after two years.

Some other points - the stain you use can greatly enhance the grain on the board. I love lots of grain, makes it look more artistic. You can also bring out the grain by running over the face of the board with a propane torch. It usually takes quite a bit of contact time to blacken the grain, so try this with caution and maybe on the back of the board where it won't be seen if you mess up. I'd still stain if using this approach, it'll help keep moisture out as the stains are oil-based.

You can use oil based stains with water based (acrylic) sealants no problem, just make sure to dry a few days in between steps.

Hope some of you find this useful, and if any of you are inclined to offer compensation for the information - please feel free to register for a year's membership or more! I'd prefer you gave back to the forum, I wouldn't have been able to develop this information without the forum :)
 
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