Hi, I just found this group after a posting on another forum.
I've scanned through some of the reference materials and thought I'd say hey by posting some I didn't see right off the bat. Then again it might just be because I'm new and don't know nuthin d*
This is a good article on understanding loads and using span tables;
http://www.umass.edu/bmatwt/publications/articles/understanding_loads_using_span_tables.html (http://www.umass.edu/bmatwt/publications/articles/understanding_loads_using_span_tables.html)
This one then goes on to understanding beams;
http://www.umass.edu/bmatwt/publications/articles/calculating_loads_on_headers_and_beams.html (http://www.umass.edu/bmatwt/publications/articles/calculating_loads_on_headers_and_beams.html)
The AWC joist and rafter calc stickied above is great, it comes up short when you need a beam, this is the same people's beam tables;
http://www.awc.org/Standards/wsdd.html (http://www.awc.org/Standards/wsdd.html)
Also while on any of their pages click the "publications" tab on the left of the page, then click "free download library"
This is the connections calculator by the same folks who provide the joist and rafter calc. I imagine most of you know, connection failures are much more common than timber failures. This is how to check the strength of a nail or bolt;
http://www.awc.org/calculators/connections/ccstyle.asp (http://www.awc.org/calculators/connections/ccstyle.asp)
Georgia Pacific's I joist and LVL span tables are here;
http://www.gp.com/build/documentviewer.aspx?repository=bp&elementid=4372 (http://www.gp.com/build/documentviewer.aspx?repository=bp&elementid=4372)
For Glulam beams the AITC has span tables;
http://www.aitc-glulam.org/capacity.asp (http://www.aitc-glulam.org/capacity.asp)
Click on their "publications" tab as well, lots of free technical info
Residential steel tables can be found here;
http://www.toolbase.org/Design-Construction-Guides/Exterior-Walls/steel-beam-column-load (http://www.toolbase.org/Design-Construction-Guides/Exterior-Walls/steel-beam-column-load)
For flitch plates this is a good set of tables;
http://www.toolbase.org/PDF/DesignGuides/flitchplate.pdf (http://www.toolbase.org/PDF/DesignGuides/flitchplate.pdf)
When all that runs out I back up and punt :D
The AWC also publishes the "Design Values for Wood Construction", the allowable strength values for wood by species and grade. I have a little sawmill and use timbers that you don't typically find at Home Despot. I'm building a horse barn soon out of tulip poplar, I can find the typical strength value of that here;
http://www.awc.org/pdf/2005-NDS-Supplement.pdf (http://www.awc.org/pdf/2005-NDS-Supplement.pdf)
Kinda funny how our grandads used to use the trees in the backyard and now I'm supposed to use stuff from Estonia and Lithuania ???
I've taken some basic engineering formulas and plugged them into simple javascripts to crunch the numbers. These are some calcs I've written, click the beam and column tab and it'll open to that group, you should of course have your engineer check the results, but they work for initial design;
http://www.windyhilllogworks.com/CalculatorIndex.htm (http://www.windyhilllogworks.com/CalculatorIndex.htm)
This is a page I put together that shows how I used some of this stuff to create a building frame
http://windyhilllogworks.com/shop.htm (http://windyhilllogworks.com/shop.htm)
"The important thing to remember to do is not to give up on your builders. Like Peter Pan and fairies if you cease to believe in them their little light goes out"
Holy Crap, that's a ton of good info! :o
I bookmarked the calculator page you posted.
Thanks a lot for putting all that together. :)
Gotta go and start reading all this great info now!
w* DonP! Looks like a lot of very useful info that would address questions that seem to recur here on a very regular basis. Thanks!
Thanks for the welcome :)
Holler if you get stuck with any of the calcs. I've been through the school of hard knocks with most of that stuff.
One more link I thought of is the American Plywood Association, they have info on most engineered wood products;
http://www.apawood.org/ (http://www.apawood.org/)
They have a good library as well, click their "publications" tab. You have to register but they don't spam. Their help desk is staffed by good engineers if you can't find an answer to a problem on the site.
The loggers made it with a load of poplar today, seems like a good place to see if I can post a pic, this was the big boy. That narrow part of the face is 18". The job always gets easier after you cut the butt flare.
(https://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x109/windyhilll/poplog.jpg)