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The City of Denver is the latest in a growing number of cities, states, and municipalities to recognize the possibilities of tall mass timber construction. Following states such as Oregon, Utah, and Washington, the City of Denver voted in late December to adopt the 2019 Denver Building Code,...

In the day of a CM’s and framer’s life, lumber buying is considered the most enjoyable and easiest task to perform. Buying lumber is a huge ego booster. By your own admission, lumber is 40–50% of the cost of producing the finished product. I find it simply stunning how very...

CS16 coiled straps. I can’t tell you how many thousands (maybe more) I specified during my time as a consulting engineer. Straps are used everywhere. They were then, and are now, a go-to solution for drag and uplift loads. I didn’t have to look them up in the catalog — I knew...

Forty years ago, a frenetic fray raged over the World Record for truss production. While CMs across the country competed, the two main players, Littfin in Minnesota and Dickie Vail in Louisiana, produced numbers that may never be equaled. The massive trophy, displayed today in the lobby of...

Writing this column as one year ends and a new year begins, I started to wonder about what I hoped to see and experience in the coming months. Although a new year always brings us both possibilities and pitfalls, I prefer to focus on the positives as long as I can. So, here are 20 words that...

Why reflect on the oft-derided C-Clamp as it fades into truss industry oblivion? Because it holds the world record for truss production, unmatched yet, even by robots. And although it debuted half a century ago, its design has never been equaled. And remarkably, this deceptively simple machine...

Bringing in a new cutting saw – even a high-tech version – is a surprisingly straightforward experience, but it succeeds or fails based on the quality of service and know-how. From purchase through installation to on-going support, Spida will help you automate successfully. One...

Here we are at the start of 2020 — Happy New Year! As we begin the year, we’ll likely have times when we look at the past and then look forward, as we plan our strategy and set the tone for our teams and work with our colleagues. But… there are others who will trod out the...

Do you vertically stack your trusses or horizontally stack them? How does the method impact quality? How does it impact safety? Do you know the arguments for either preference? Almost as if it was a regional inclination, some areas of the US vertically stack their finished trusses and some areas...

Not so long ago, the concept of “lean manufacturing” was embraced and implemented worldwide for manufacturing. But these days, lean manufacturing is old news. Today, you need to be on the “Industry 4.0” bandwagon if you want to survive into the next decade. Governments,...