Our timber framing operation does not typically get to do traditional joinery. In our part of the country the structural details generally include steel plates. We also end up using all thread / bolts in many cases. Again, this is all following the engineers structural requirements. We have recently been noticing our top chord joinery (see image below for basic knife plat detail we often use) tends to open up at the bottom once install and under load. When possible we are going to push harder to use traditional joinery (i.e. running the king post long in-between the top chords and using mortise and tenon and pegs, tongue and fork connection with pegs if no king post), but in the meantime, does anyone have good ideas for keeping out top chord joinery tight? Specific ways to use additional fasteners, how to incorporate traditional concepts into the structurals our needs.
