I'm glad to see there's finally some action on this post. As far as why design a truss with a discontinuous bottom chord: there's all the stuff you mentioned, i.e., not readily available local long timber, expensive to ship from elsewhere, etc., plus, compare moving a 15 footer to a 30. I could go on, but I think the convenience (not to say the
'advantages', these may be dubious) is self-evident.
Anyway, if anyone else would like to weigh or re-weigh in, I'd still like some light on why a discontinuous bottom chord on a kingpost truss is so antithetical if it does the job in a raised bottom chord, as in TF 73. Also, why are compression rings (and what are they in this instance?) necessary in plate w/ bolt tension and not in the traditional joinery?
thanks all,
Matt
