What is the Best Way to Handle Defects Under the Plated Area? Glenn Traylor Everyone who uses lumber in trusses understands that defects in lumber can impact truss performance in different ways. Some defects are not important but others will affect truss performance and can even cause truss failure. [For all photos, See PDF or View in Full Issue.] In the first photo,... Read More March 2024 Issue #16296 Page 35
Batch Cutting vs. Cut By Truss Edmond Lim, P.Eng. What weighs more, a pound of muscle or a pound of fat? In truss jargon, the question would be: What produces more trusses, 200 pieces of batch cutting or 200 pieces of cut-by-truss cutting? The answer, of course, is that both cutting methods produce the same number of trusses. So what’s... Read More March 2024 Issue #16296 Page 44
All Things Wood: Substantial Wood Truss Content at Virginia Tech Course Frank Woeste Sponsored by the Virginia Tech Continuing and Professional Education program, a three-day program on light-frame and mass timber construction design topics will be offered on May 14–16, 2024 in Blacksburg, VA. Joining me as instructors this year are Scott D. Coffman, PE, John Holland, MBA,... Read More March 2024 Issue #16296 Page 64
Opportunities Abound at 2024 MSR Workshop in Charlotte MSR Lumber Producers Council Spring is in the air and that means it’s time to register for MSRLPC’s annual MSR Workshop! Join attendees from across North America as they convene on April 17 in beautiful downtown Charlotte, NC, for three days of valuable learning and networking opportunities with an incredible... Read More March 2024 Issue #16296 Page 74
Can Eased Edge Lumber Usage Impact Truss Design? Glenn Traylor Originally intended as an improvement in lumber manufacturing, most dimensional lumber used for framing has a radius corner created during the planing process. The rounded corner radius is intended to make the lumber easier to handle and can improve the lumber’s performance because sharp... Read More February 2024 Issue #16295 Page 33
Accommodating Your Catch-as-Catch-Can Edmond Lim, P.Eng. Catching and stacking lumber can make or break productivity at the truss build tables. In an imaginary world where money is irrelevant, a linear saw in front of each automated truss jig would be ideal, cutting pieces in order from, let’s say, 60 ft finger-joined lumber, and robots grabbing... Read More February 2024 Issue #16295 Page 42
AWC Releases New Wood Design Standards Madison Stephens The American Wood Council (AWC) released its three new 2024 wood design standards: the National Design Specification® for Wood Construction (NDS®), Wood Frame Construction Manual (WFCM) for One- and Two-Family Dwellings, and Fire Design Specification for Wood Construction (FDS). These... Read More February 2024 Issue #16295 Page 90
Floor Truss Technology, Part VIII: Inside Floor Truss Details Joe Kannapell Builders have been testing the viability of floor trusses, and they are now considering the results. Many of them switched from I-joists only because they were forced to do so. Either they couldn’t get them, or they didn’t want to pay double the price. Yet today, as they are seeing... Read More January 2024 Issue #16294 Page 10
Inspiration to Feed The Beast! in 2024 Edmond Lim, P.Eng. As we all plan for a productive and profitable 2024, I would like to celebrate three 2023 Feed The Beast success stories: a multi-million-dollar plant expansion, a complete saw shop makeover, and a plant renovation. All three of these projects implemented some or all of Enventek’s... Read More January 2024 Issue #16294 Page 42
Creating Your Own Commodity Market Performance Measures Valerie Hansen If you haven’t considered BuyMetrics yet, I have one more reason for you to check it out in 2024 – our new Commodity Analysis and Visualization Module. This new module will give BuyMetrics’ clients the power to control their own market analysis and measure their own... Read More January 2024 Issue #16294 Page 64