With high lumber costs and volatile pricing, it is very reasonable to look for options to normal resources. Many fabricators and lumber manufacturers have been experimenting with using non-regular channels for lumber, including some choices that have created problems and issues with their...

Although devices have become far more intelligent over the last decade, during which microprocessors have penetrated deeply into the world of manufacturing and provided a wealth of diagnostic and operations information, the real value of this information only materializes once a customer is able...

In today’s volatile economy, there is comfort in knowing the significant housing backlog will rely on the components industry to keep on supplying. Trusses are the original off-site construction industry begun more than 60 years ago, and the number of truss plants and capital investments...

“We were pleased to welcome 77 individuals to the MSR Workshop in Salt Lake City this past April,” reports MSRLPC President George Hamilton of Canfor Southern Pine. “It was wonderful to be together again with a great group of industry members – from MSR producers, to...

In the year 2000, a transformation, like none other, gripped our industry. Jim Urmson’s TCT started it by breaking our component-saw-centric paradigm. Then in 2002, Dave McAdoo’s ALS quickened its pace by adding the capability to cut every conceivable truss part. But even before his...

To answer the question of which is the better method, we should start with a little background. A critical plate is a plate with a Joint Stress Index of 80% or greater. The ANSI/TPI 1–2014 Standard stipulates that critical plate inspections must be conducted when completing the three...

Trusses are complicated yet the fabrication description is quite simple – pick the lumber, cut the lumber, and assemble the lumber. Now try doing this profitably at high volume and you will need to automate some or all of these processes, which all truss plants have done within their...

From the quirky advance of truss machinery described in my Sixty Years of Machines series, one might conclude that we’re a quirky industry. We may be, but innovation in truss manufacturing is no different than advancement in U.S. industry in general. And, in fact, we are the epitome of...

Downstream and upstream, the linear saw continues to improve the flow of truss manufacturing. Increasingly, cutting and assembly are treated as interdependent processes and have begun to be tied together. Jim Urmson started this, others have followed, and a “cut truss-by-truss”...

Due to the nature of wood, lumber characteristics can vary in every piece. Even “in grade” lumber can have drastic variations in performance. How can we deal with and adjust for natural defects and variability? We have discussed roof trusses in previous articles, including...