A great American competitive struggle broke out in truss shops around Miami in 1957. The owners of these shops learned that two new plates had hit the market, and both worked without supplementary nailing. The Sanford Grip-Plate that they were using required hundreds of nails to be hammered into...

I’ve been asked: do you always need a shop drawing or the engineering to inspect a truss? The quick answer if you are conducting an ANSI/TPI 1 Chapter 3 audit is that you must have a design drawing that specifies plate sizes, placement, and lumber grade requirements in addition to overall...

Inspirado por las frecuentes solicitudes de una referencia rápida, he creado una hoja única de la guía del Capítulo 3 de ANSI/TPI 1, similar a una versión de CliffsNotes del estándar. Tenga en cuenta que se omiten detalles importantes; para una comprensión completa, consulte el estándar...

The news of trusses being built with newfangled plates was so well received that it raced across the country in the late 1950s. The first to take notice were homebuilders who built with stick framing, who then wanted to try trusses. The first to respond were lumberyards, who were well positioned...

We enjoyed a productive week at BCMC in Omaha, strengthening relationships and renewing our commitment to the truss industry, and we hope you can say the same! Timber Products Inspection (TP) returned with our popular ANSI/TPI 1 Chapter 3 challenge truss, designed to test participants’...

Enventek has once again set a new truss industry standard with the introduction of NEXPLATE at BCMC in Omaha last month. NEXPLATE is Enventek’s latest lean manufacturing solution, poised to revolutionize truss plate picking. [For all photos, See PDF or View in Full Issue.] This...

The 2025 Building Component Manufacturers Conference (BCMC) in Omaha was an incredible week for the Paragon team. [For all photos, See PDF or View in Full Issue.] This annual event brings together the heart of our industry – the innovators, the veterans, and the problem-solvers pushing...

Before there were truss machines, how did fabricators press plates? They were able to use hammers and nails on the Grip-Plate, but when they started using the plates that didn’t need extra nailing, they had a nearly impossible time getting them pressed. When they went to their local...

In multiple jurisdictions across the country, building code authorities questioned the viability of the curiously shaped metal plates being used on trusses during the last half of the 1950s. In South Florida, for example, four radically different looking plates appeared, with different...

Inspired by frequent requests for a quick reference, I’ve created a single-sheet ANSI/TPI 1 Chapter 3 guide—similar to a CliffsNotes version of the standard. Please note that important details are omitted; for a complete understanding, consult the full standard, National Design...