post to pier connectors

[june]

I'm scrounging materials to build a garage (pole barn structure) ultra-frugally.  It will be 14x32 with 8' clearance.  I got 9-16' trusses cheap from a guy whose customer didn't like the slope.  (1/4).  A nephew has a barn to tear down and I can get 2x6 rafters to laminate for my posts.  The barn has beautiful, sound siding that appears to be 6" boards, T&G, with a groove routed in the middle.  I'd love to use those if I can get them off undamaged.  Any experience with that?  My main question has to do with tying my posts to piers.  I could buy treated posts to use as piers, or pour concrete in 8" tubes.  I'll have help putting up the trusses and roof, but the rest will be mostly just me.  All the local free advice tells me to put treated bottoms on my laminated posts, but I think I can get everything level and straight easier, working alone, with concrete piers and connectors.  But when I looked at those cute little Simpson things, they are pricey.  What is an inexpensive, structurally sound solution?   The barn I'm getting materials out of has some large osage orange posts, but they are heavy as steel, and about as hard.  
Any advice is welcome!  

[John Raabe]

If you will never have uplift forces (or want to ignore them  ) you can pour your concrete piers and leave a heavy rebar sticking out of the top of each (4-6"). then cut a seat out of heavy 30# tar paper (maybe two sheets) and push these down over the rebar to serve as a moisture stop. Now drill the appropriate sized hole in the post and drop it down over the pin.

[glenn kangiser]

Osage is fairly indestructable.  I found a couple trees here and researched them a bit.  Makes great hunting bows also per the Osage Indians.