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.