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September 2026 #18326 Page #10
Truss Design Technology, Part I: Inside Early Truss Design By Joe Kannapell
G
iven the recent, unexpected passing of John “Chip” Dean, I thought it only right to begin this new series on Truss Design Technology with reflections I collected from him. Three years ago, knowing Chip’s background as an iconic truss designer and pioneer in our industry, I asked him to recall his experiences, starting with his first job as a truss designer at Truss-Com in Sacramento, CA in 1978.
The recollections relayed in Chip’s notes reveal the manual steps he and his coworkers went through to produce a sealed drawing, and they paint a vivid picture of the beginnings of our business, and of an inspired learner who started from scratch. Chip learned drafting working for a printing company, but after being laid off, found a new position for “a lumber company that also made wooden roof trusses, whatever the heck they were.” Like most 1960s truss plants, Truss-Com grew out of a lumber company, Steiner Lumber, when its owner, George Steiner, and his lumber salesman and World War II hero, Jim Dowd, recognized the growth potential of trusses. By the time Chip arrived, they had become one of Gang-Nail’s major customers, expanding to three locations. A key driver of their success was their recruitment of Mike Reeder five years prior, formerly Gang-Nail’s Chief Engineer in Miami, FL. Ironically, Mike moved to St. Louis, MO just prior to Chip’s arrival where he became my boss and VP of Engineering for Hydro-Air. Per Chip’s notes, “Mike’s meticulous nature resulted in beautiful, handwritten, skill sheets that made calculating loads like following a cooking recipe. Even though Mike was gone when I came to Truss-Com, everyone continued to use his worksheets every day.” Mike Reeder’s work, that TrussCom’s competitors without engineers couldn’t match, led to their dominance in converting modernist-style, stick-framed roofs to trusses, as shown in the tail-bearing drawn by Chip. Per Chip’s notes: [My first job] was to create a truss layout. This was typically drawn to 1/8” scale and drawn on “D” size paper, (22” x 34”). All the trusses were drawn with a single line representing the centerline of the truss. Each truss was given a label and was shown on the drawing. Dimensions were added with special notes and other details as needed. Once the profiles were developed, then the truss design process began. Web configurations were based on maximum panel lengths and other physical conditions that may affect panel point locations. The next step was to fill out a computer input form so the truss could be analyzed by the computer. Continued next page
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