- Thread starter bigegg
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bigegg
Scream Not Working Because Space Make Deaf
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Lol.
I've made welded trusses in the past - I used to make car ramps big enough to lift a van 2ft off the floor.
Those are basically big triangular trusses .
I can cut and glue a wooden beam and have it on the roof before I've cut the diags for a steel one
"Crane trolley" is something I've never needed in 40 years. A pallet truck and an A-frame engine hoist has been more than sufficient.
bigegg
Scream Not Working Because Space Make Deaf
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I just did a quick "top of my head" calc.
Each truss would cost around£70 (3 lengths of 25mm x 2.5mm SHS) - around £20 more than an ibeam made with new timber, and take about 2-3 times as long to make.
<Edit> could reduce the price to about the same as an I-beam by using 25x25x3 angle. Hmmm...
Agroshield
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A couple of observations:
Selco only do free delivery for £100 + VAT minimum order.
I think it is 100% certain that the flanges of a 16' long commercial one will NOT be made of continuous lengths.
The whole purpose of engineered timber stuff is to use fast growth, young timber that will not be available in long pieces. That is where the engineering comes in - the selection of adhesives and joints so the composite item behaves in a predictable way.
As above, commercial ones use finger joints, which maximise glue area. Axminster among many others sell the cutter:
www.axminstertools.com
If you can only buy your OSB in 8' sheets, how will you join the web? That, I think, is a more critical question, and less easily achievable in a DIY-environment.
The video to which Gaz1 links is for US practice. Our building regulations and their building regulations are not the same.
If you want something strong made of wood, look up Peri GT24.
Selco only do free delivery for £100 + VAT minimum order.
I think it is 100% certain that the flanges of a 16' long commercial one will NOT be made of continuous lengths.
The whole purpose of engineered timber stuff is to use fast growth, young timber that will not be available in long pieces. That is where the engineering comes in - the selection of adhesives and joints so the composite item behaves in a predictable way.
As above, commercial ones use finger joints, which maximise glue area. Axminster among many others sell the cutter:
Axcaliber Finger Joint Cutter
The extra gluing area produced by using this cutter makes for an incredibly strong edge to edge joint. With a maximum cutting depth of up to 38mm, most board thicknesses can be accommodated. Recommended for router table use only.
www.axminstertools.com
If you can only buy your OSB in 8' sheets, how will you join the web? That, I think, is a more critical question, and less easily achievable in a DIY-environment.
The video to which Gaz1 links is for US practice. Our building regulations and their building regulations are not the same.
If you want something strong made of wood, look up Peri GT24.
bigegg
Scream Not Working Because Space Make Deaf
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I can spend that, just in the clearance section.
That was my thought.
As above, commercial ones use finger joints, which maximise glue area. Axminster among many others sell the cutter:
Axcaliber Finger Joint Cutter
The extra gluing area produced by using this cutter makes for an incredibly strong edge to edge joint. With a maximum cutting depth of up to 38mm, most board thicknesses can be accommodated. Recommended for router table use only.
I have one of these - using it on the end of an 8ft piece of timber is going to be problematic - until I've built the bigger woodworkshop.
3-5 layers of 3mm ply laminated with staggered joints into a 16ft length was my first thought - impact adhesive will make a single composite sheet.
(I have lots of thin ply)
If I go with OSB, some beams I've seen in various videos appear to just have the webs butt joined. Possibly t&g, finger jointed, or half lapped, I suppose.
Any of those could be done with a handheld router.
I even saw one video where it appeared the web had vertical 6x1 braces over the joint.
If it came to it, i could laminate two sheets of 11mm OSB and make the web 22mm thick.
I suppose I could also cut 3" wide strips of OSB/ply and laminate those to make the flanges - using new 18mm ply, it would work out the same price as 16ft 3.2s.
But: second hand boards are 1/3 the price...
I like the idea of a lamination to make up the length - much stronger than 2 lengths "butted" together with a finger joint.I can spend that, just in the clearance section.
That was my thought.
I have one of these - using it on the end of an 8ft piece of timber is going to be problematic - until I've built the bigger woodworkshop.
3-5 layers of 3mm ply laminated with staggered joints into a 16ft length was my first thought - impact adhesive will make a single composite sheet.
(I have lots of thin ply)
If I go with OSB, some beams I've seen in various videos appear to just have the webs butt joined. Possibly t&g, finger jointed, or half lapped, I suppose.
Any of those could be done with a handheld router.
I even saw one video where it appeared the web had vertical 6x1 braces over the joint.
I think fi could just fish the web with relatively short pieces of the same osb glued & covering either side of the butted Web.
Also I use the foaming polyurethane adhesives for engineering components & many many clamps
Where are you, anywhere nr Oxford?
Erie Fred
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But as you get older......an overhead crane, even a single trolley on a beam is great.
Speed of building is not a big factor, the utility is.
Your wood beams only do (1) thing.
I'd rather be in the rafters with a cutting torch slung over my shoulder and a stinger, than a framing hammer or screw gun.
And I much prefer to pre-fab something on the ground from steel, complete with predrilled
purlin clips, and then quickly put it all up.
To each his own then.
Last edited:
Shame, I was going to offer the loan of clamps. Good luck with the project, post a few pics as you go along.
I love a folding wedge
bigegg
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I think clamping two sheets of ply, 16ft X 1ft, together using wooden wedges, would be an interesting engineering puzzle.
4 lengths of firehose, sealed at the ends, and filled with compressed air, however...
gaz1
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bigegg you asked for the cheapest way to build them out of wood
however its not the cheapest way whilst welding 3mm angle iron is
both need a flat structure surface and blocks to hold it while you work on it while one needs to be held until the glue sets
the structure can be used with wedges thats not a problem its time and length needed until its set
your framing will be x2 lengths top and bottem and the osb glued inbetween cut on a table saw to form the u channel whilst the osb will be cut down to the widths and jointed
look into z purlins a well
however its not the cheapest way whilst welding 3mm angle iron is
both need a flat structure surface and blocks to hold it while you work on it while one needs to be held until the glue sets
the structure can be used with wedges thats not a problem its time and length needed until its set
your framing will be x2 lengths top and bottem and the osb glued inbetween cut on a table saw to form the u channel whilst the osb will be cut down to the widths and jointed
look into z purlins a well
Farside
Badly Welded Man
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It's still there. I've tried to get rid of it a couple of times but the local-ish farm/industrial museum couldn't be arsed to come and get it. If I'd delivered it to them, they'd probably have taken it, but would then likely eventually have scrapped it.I like the old lineshaft left on the wall
For now, it's not in the way, but it will be sooner or later, so it will be feedstock for the lathe.
