Are You Counting Your Teeth Correctly? Glenn Traylor On occasion, we are required to utilize a detailed tooth count to qualify a connection on a metal plate connected wood truss. Fortunately, we have several tools that can assist us. My June article, “Which is Better: Plate Placement Method or Tooth Count Method?”, includes a... Read More October 2022 Issue #14279 Page 33
Are You on Target for Quality? Glenn Traylor Is your operation on target when it comes to quality? September is your chance to find out! At BCMC Omaha last year, our Timber Products Inspection booth gave all attendees the chance to test their skills and acumen for Quality Assurance. This year at BCMC Columbus on September... Read More September 2022 Issue #14278 Page 31
Time to Review the National Design Standard Jay Jones, P.E. It’s important to review our standards on a regular basis, so that we can update and improve them over time. Businesses evolve, technology evolves, and so too should our definition of best practices. For wood trusses, our current standard is ANSI/TPI 1–2014 National Design Standard... Read More May 2022 Issue #14274 Page 75
Has More Automation Resulted in Too Little Information to the Truss Builder? Glenn Traylor Today’s technology has made life easier for the truss designer and others in the truss fabrication process. In the early days of the truss industry, we used, reused, and modified existing designs to create new designs using paper, pencil, and a handy Smoley’s Book. Soon we graduated... Read More March 2022 Issue #14272 Page 43
All Things Wood: Structural Design Topics in Wood Construction Course Frank Woeste After a three-year absence, Virginia Tech is offering its popular two-day course on topics related to wood construction. On May 17–18 in Blacksburg, VA, the Structural Design Topics in Wood Construction course will address wood truss design, in-service performance, and installation... Read More March 2022 Issue #14272 Page 90
Can I Substitute Lumber of Another Grade or Species? Glenn Traylor Can you make substitutions of different lumber grades and species? The short answer is: yes. Even so, you have to take several factors into consideration when making a substitution. To narrow the discussion, let’s focus on southern pine. The substitution must have design values equal to... Read More December 2021 Issue #13269 Page 49
Do You Know What You Don’t Know? Glenn Traylor Lewis Carroll had a great line: “If you don’t know where you want to go then it doesn’t matter which path you take.” This advice came from a cat in Alice in Wonderland given to Alice when the cat asked Alice, “Where are you going?” Believe it or not, this... Read More October 2021 Issue #13267 Page 45
Is Your Equipment Up to the Challenge? Glenn Traylor Let’s face some facts. Eventually your truss building equipment needs repair or replacement. Exactly when do you pull the trigger? When do you take the big jump? In a perfect world with endless resources, it’s an easy calculation—replace or repair the equipment when there is a... Read More September 2021 Issue #13266 Page 47
Can Designs Be Modified During Truss Manufacture? Glenn Traylor The simple answer to the title question, can designs be changed during manufacturing, is yes. But, the situation is rarely straightforward and simple in reality. The better question is: What considerations are necessary when making modifications to the design while manufacturing a truss? To... Read More June 2021 Issue #13263 Page 41
All Things Wood: New Table 4G in NDS Supplement – Multi-Species and Country Grademarked Lumber Anna Stamm As a follow-up to our January 2021 All Things Wood article by Frank Woeste and Don Bender, “Hybrid Lumber” Grade Stamps Require Special Attention, we are pleased to report that additional information is now available for designers and code officials. The following article appears... Read More May 2021 Issue #13262 Page 74