In this detail, we examine one way of approaching the lower strut to king post connection. In a king post truss, there are a couple of ways to attach the lower strut to the king post or lower assembly area. In this example, we are connecting the strut directly to the king post and not to the tie beam. This is the preferred way to handle this joinery detail in the eyes of the engineers, as it is much stronger due to the fact that we are not imposing the loads from the struts into the tie beam. This also limits the amount of meat that you have to remove from the tie beam, making the whole assembly in this area much stronger.In cutting this joint you handle it just like you would a knee brace. It is housed 1⁄2” to a full 1”, depending on the loads and method of cutting out the housing. It is all held together with one to two pegs.
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