3rdmdqm
Active member
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- Location
- Woodbine Maryland
One of my cargo bows recently broke in half. I can't seem to find anywhere to get just 5 bows to replace the old one's in my area and don't have a steam box to steam my own, so I came up with this cheap and easy fix using the below steps:
1) Draw a rectangle 75" long by 5" high on a flat surface (in this case my deck). This is the length and desired height of a bow.
2) Screw a 2 1/2" deck screw at each corner of the bottom edge of the rectangle leaving about 2" exposed.
3) Screw a 2 1/2" deck screw on the top edge of the rectangle in the center of the long line. (These screws create your jig)
4) I cut two strips of 4x8 OSB scrap I had lying around into 8 ft. strips each 2 3/8" wide.
5) Apply wood glue to one side of the strip of wood and using your finger or other tool spread the glue evenly covering the entire face of the wooden strip.
6) Place the two strips together gluing them together and place them between the screws (your jig). This will bow them to the correct dimension. Clamp the pieces together once in the jig tightly and let dry.
7) Let dry a minimum of 8 hours.
Remove from the jig and remove the clamps. It will retain it's bowed shape.
9) The edges will be rough, use sand paper or a sander to round/smooth the edges
10) Measure from the center 37 1/2" to each end and cut off the ends with a miter saw. This will give you a 75" bow which is what you want.
11) Install new bow on truck. Paint OD green if desired.
This cost me nothing and seems to be working well. Only time will tell of course, but for now it works. I think regular plywood would be much stronger than the OSB but I didn't have any of that lying around. The two strips of OSB wood glued together makes a perfect thickness of 7/8" - 1" just like the original oak bows.
1) Draw a rectangle 75" long by 5" high on a flat surface (in this case my deck). This is the length and desired height of a bow.
2) Screw a 2 1/2" deck screw at each corner of the bottom edge of the rectangle leaving about 2" exposed.
3) Screw a 2 1/2" deck screw on the top edge of the rectangle in the center of the long line. (These screws create your jig)
4) I cut two strips of 4x8 OSB scrap I had lying around into 8 ft. strips each 2 3/8" wide.
5) Apply wood glue to one side of the strip of wood and using your finger or other tool spread the glue evenly covering the entire face of the wooden strip.
6) Place the two strips together gluing them together and place them between the screws (your jig). This will bow them to the correct dimension. Clamp the pieces together once in the jig tightly and let dry.
7) Let dry a minimum of 8 hours.
Remove from the jig and remove the clamps. It will retain it's bowed shape.9) The edges will be rough, use sand paper or a sander to round/smooth the edges
10) Measure from the center 37 1/2" to each end and cut off the ends with a miter saw. This will give you a 75" bow which is what you want.
11) Install new bow on truck. Paint OD green if desired.
This cost me nothing and seems to be working well. Only time will tell of course, but for now it works. I think regular plywood would be much stronger than the OSB but I didn't have any of that lying around. The two strips of OSB wood glued together makes a perfect thickness of 7/8" - 1" just like the original oak bows.
