Coping steel pipe prior to welding.

[McMXi]

FWIW The '50s Freeman loader on my #1 tractor is 2 and 3" round pipe with gussets.
The 'problem' I see with coping is you need a real good tape measure and precise cutting/welding techniques, proper cuts, welding jigs, time.
Nowadays anyone can buy the equipment,hopefully know how to use it to save time,material.
Curious, do you have to have an engineer 'sign off' on the trusses to pass local building codes ?

No engineering sign off is required for any structure in Montana outside of city limits. But if you're concerned, I have a BS and MS in mechanical engineering and have calculated the truss design to meet snow load requirements up here which are 60lb/sq.ft. I've also accounted for wind and static loading.

I have decades of welding experience having worked both below and above the surface of the water, and have passed numerous welding tests over the years required for many welding jobs including stick, MIG, flux-core, dual shield etc. I also have an ASME 5G pipe welding certification (1/8" root gap, 7018 rods, uphill) which is one of the hardest tests to pass so I feel that I'm fairly well qualified for this job.

 

[McMXi]

Welding those clips to the pipe should be straightforward, but you seem to have a lot of experience with coping so go for it.

There is another possibility, you could flatten the ends of the web members, cut them to length and angle, then weld each side to the chord. The fancy way of doing this requires a die, though.

The connection method you choose should be considered by the truss designer.

View attachment 147851

There's no practical way to flatten the ends of the pipe that I'm using (1/4" wall) but I like the way that you're thinking. I'm going to be coping the joints so the only thing to resolve now is how I can efficiently and effectively mark the ends of a bunch of pipes with different angles.

 

[GreensvilleJay]

yeesh must get a LOT of snow in Montana !!! kind odd, to me anyway, about 'no sign off' but hay, different place different rules ! Up here local building department wanted timber framer to drill and insert 20' long x 1" threaded rods into the 'bents'. Still shake my head over that.
Obvious you have he tools and talents, just thinking about 'options'. usually the owner will want the project done 'yesterday. If all the trusses are same, master jig should make quick work of them.

 

[PoTreeBoy]

There's no practical way to flatten the ends of the pipe that I'm using (1/4" wall) but I like the way that you're thinking. I'm going to be coping the joints so the only thing to resolve now is how I can efficiently and effectively mark the ends of a bunch of pipes with different angles.

I've made and used heavy paper wraparounds, but for the quantity you're looking at I like @Russell King's plastic templates, especially since you have a printer.

You can be making templates while waiting for the snow to melt.

 

[McMXi]

yeesh must get a LOT of snow in Montana !!! kind odd, to me anyway, about 'no sign off' but hay, different place different rules ! Up here local building department wanted timber framer to drill and insert 20' long x 1" threaded rods into the 'bents'. Still shake my head over that.
Obvious you have he tools and talents, just thinking about 'options'. usually the owner will want the project done 'yesterday. If all the trusses are same, master jig should make quick work of them.

I'm the customer! I plan on starting out with a 40'x50' barn with the option to add on 10ft at a time. This is purely a structure to keep equipment out of the sun, rain and snow. Snow load up here is based on the 100 year worst case scenario, and the angle, material, insulation, shop heat etc., all factors in.

 

[GreensvilleJay]

Well as the 'contractor', you can tell your 'customer' it's TOO SMALL ! Heck another 20' won't cost that much more.....Friend built a 40x60, come move in day, there was STILL 'important stuff' laying outside....... sigh......
My old shop was 40x72, 7 trusses, wood with aluminum siding. Not much of the contents would fit into my 24x24 garage.

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

No engineering sign off is required for any structure in Montana outside of city limits. But if you're concerned, I have a BS and MS in mechanical engineering and have calculated the truss design to meet snow load requirements up here which are 60lb/sq.ft. I've also accounted for wind and static loading.

I have decades of welding experience having worked both below and above the surface of the water, and have passed numerous welding tests over the years required for many welding jobs including stick, MIG, flux-core, dual shield etc. I also have an ASME 5G pipe welding certification (1/8" root gap, 7018 rods, uphill) which is one of the hardest tests to pass so I feel that I'm fairly well qualified for this job.

Ditto we don't have any codes or inspections to follow either, but I had my trusses engineered to 120lbs just so I never had to worry about it.
I think my place is built pretty tough!

You've got plenty of skill so your good to go!
Pipe trusses are incredibly strong!
You really could use the 2" for top and bottom cord and sucker rod for the web.
Theen you would just drill holes in the 2" Insert the sucker rod in the holes, quick weld and you would be good.
But we have, what we have to work with and that stuff has gotten real expensive over the last few years to try and change it.
I'll come over and help, I can weld worth a hoot, but i can use a plasma and can toss steel around.
I can bring one of my fancy carbide chop saws too if you need it.
Make cutting anything super fast.

 

[GreensvilleJay]

OK, making them is one thing but... yeesh , how HEAVY are they going to be ??
yeah, curious like my cat....

 

[Russell King]

@McMXi

I assume you have to have some type of breather hole in the web piece for welding so you don’t get blowout. But if there is a way to weld it to both the top and bottom chords without a hole I would be interested in knowing how you would do that.

Curiosity has always been my weakness so I can’t help myself asking!

 

[GreensvilleJay]

dang...still thinkin....
rough stuff..
2" pipe, 1/4" wall is 5# a foot( well someone on the web says it is...)
say 40' flat truss (easy for me, though I suspect 4/12 in the real build ?)
2 pcs 40' long (chords)
10 pcs for braces ( use 3-4-5 triangle,) 3' high, 4' spacing,= 5' long brace)

so (40*2)+(10x5) = 130'
130 x 5 = 650# weight of truss..

yes, rough calculation but yeesh , a mighty dang HEAVY truss !

best have TWO bowls of Wheaties before lifting !

 

[PoTreeBoy]

dang...still thinkin....
rough stuff..
2" pipe, 1/4" wall is 5# a foot( well someone on the web says it is...)
say 40' flat truss (easy for me, though I suspect 4/12 in the real build ?)
2 pcs 40' long (chords)
10 pcs for braces ( use 3-4-5 triangle,) 3' high, 4' spacing,= 5' long brace)

so (40*2)+(10x5) = 130'
130 x 5 = 650# weight of truss..

yes, rough calculation but yeesh , a mighty dang HEAVY truss !

best have TWO bowls of Wheaties before lifting !

He's got two tractors to help!

 

[McMXi]

Ditto we don't have any codes or inspections to follow either, but I had my trusses engineered to 120lbs just so I never had to worry about it.
I think my place is built pretty tough!

You've got plenty of skill so your good to go!
Pipe trusses are incredibly strong!
You really could use the 2" for top and bottom cord and sucker rod for the web.
Theen you would just drill holes in the 2" Insert the sucker rod in the holes, quick weld and you would be good.
But we have, what we have to work with and that stuff has gotten real expensive over the last few years to try and change it.
I'll come over and help, I can weld worth a hoot, but i can use a plasma and can toss steel around.
I can bring one of my fancy carbide chop saws too if you need it.
Make cutting anything super fast.

Great points and thanks for the offer of help. Getting the trusses up and welded to the columns is the part that takes at least two people so I might be messaging you in a few months.

Some of the webs in a truss are in compression and others in tension. Most truss manufacturers figure out a dimension strong enough for the compressive load and use the same material for the webs in tension which is overkill but it makes for a simpler process with less chance of messing up.

 

[McMXi]

dang...still thinkin....
rough stuff..
2" pipe, 1/4" wall is 5# a foot( well someone on the web says it is...)
say 40' flat truss (easy for me, though I suspect 4/12 in the real build ?)
2 pcs 40' long (chords)
10 pcs for braces ( use 3-4-5 triangle,) 3' high, 4' spacing,= 5' long brace)

so (40*2)+(10x5) = 130'
130 x 5 = 650# weight of truss..

yes, rough calculation but yeesh , a mighty dang HEAVY truss !

best have TWO bowls of Wheaties before lifting !

A 30ft 6:12 truss made entirely from 2" pipe with a .154" wall is around 450lb. I went over my calculations in my notebook and realized that my original plan was to build a 30ft x 60ft barn so that's most likely what I'll do given the location and such.

I bought a CAI 84" boom pole a few years ago that's rated at 1,800lb and it'll be interesting to calculate whether or not the M6060 in "power" setting can safely raise a 30ft truss so that the bottom cord is 16ft off the ground. Obviously the tractor would need sufficient counter weight on the 3-point, and the ground would need to be level to reduce the chances of tipping the tractor over.

Here's the boom pole on the MX6000 which is a fair bit smaller than the M6060. I think it's about 16ft to 17ft to the apex of the roof of the garage.

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

A 30ft 6:12 truss made entirely from 2" pipe with a .154" wall is around 450lb. I went over my calculations in my notebook and realized that my original plan was to build a 30ft x 60ft barn so that's most likely what I'll do given the location and such.

I bought a CAI 84" boom pole a few years ago that's rated at 1,800lb and it'll be interesting to calculate whether or not the M6060 in "power" setting can safely raise a 30ft truss so that the bottom cord is 16ft off the ground. Obviously the tractor would need sufficient counter weight on the 3-point, and the ground would need to be level to reduce the chances of tipping the tractor over.

Here's the boom pole on the MX6000 which is a fair bit smaller than the M6060. I think it's about 16ft to 17ft to the apex of the roof of the garage.

View attachment 147919

My wood trusses for the house were pretty heavy, easily in the 250 to 300 range, 44 foot long 9'6" tall and my little L did fine and dandy moving them around.