thanks for the responses! still curious to hear commentary about modified king post trusses where the rafter passes the tie and the tie tenons into rafter instead of the other way around...i think called "raised chord kp truss"? is there a tradition behind these or is it modern aesthetic flourish? in these cases do people cut the back of the tie tenon square, rather than diagonal as in a brace, so that the thrust of the rafter bears on something more than pegs?