4 ft purlin spacer guides

[Frank S]

Getting things readied for installing the purlins on the trusses of my building has been quite adventurous planning everything around a 1 man install and to remain as safe as reasonably possible while doing this.
If anyone has ever tried to wrestle a 30 ft long 6" C purlin while being way up it the air can tell you it takes 3 people 2 to measure and hold and one to secure it the job become extremely difficult when doing it by your self so you enlist the aid of certain devices to do the measuring and holding in place for you. Getting the first purlin in place I used the bundle of 3 plus the straps of the spreader bar to hold the purlin upright and in place No measuring required as it mounts to the edge or lower end of the trusses. For any purlin there after though would require measuring and clamping in place while trying to stand it on edge.
To assist in this I cut 2 48" long 2x4s and nailed some bits to their sides and stacked to blocks on 1 end the short pieces on the sides keeps them from falling off the truss 1 end is rested inside the C of the previous purlin and the 2 blocks allow the next purlin to be held upright while I clamp it in place

[Toolmaker51]

re; The wrestling of purlins & girts.
Dang ol' gravity makes parts of many jobs difficult, like getting things aloft. But she makes up for it nesting farther inboard purlins on the spacer stop. Far easier than sprouting extra appendages, and still supplies the Ultra satisfying "Yeah, I built it"

[Frank S]

re; The wrestling of purlins & girts.
Dang ol' gravity makes parts of many jobs difficult, like getting things aloft. But she makes up for it nesting farther inboard purlins on the spacer stop. Far easier than sprouting extra appendages, and still supplies the Ultra satisfying "Yeah, I built it"

And later on they can become fire wood for one last use

[DIYer]

Thanks Frank S! We've added your Purlin Spacer Guides to our Miscellaneous category,
as well as to your builder page: Frank S's Homemade Tools. Your receipt:

Purlin Spacer Guides by Frank S

tags: guide, assembly, spacer

[mwmkravchenko]

Not the same weight category but we used to use spacers on roof trusses inbetween. And spacers on the strapping of the roof if we were installing a sheetmetal roof.

Best measuring is no measuring.

[Frank S]

Not the same weight category but we used to use spacers on roof trusses inbetween. And spacers on the strapping of the roof if we were installing a sheetmetal roof.

Best measuring is no measuring.

Absolutely back when we did a lot of production drilling I took the time to make drill fixtures with hardened drill bushings could stack multiples of parts in the fixture against the stops every hole in every part would be identical way faster that even trying to stack and clamp down multiple parts and use the NC commands on my Cleerman

[mwmkravchenko]

Absolutely back when we did a lot of production drilling I took the time to make drill fixtures with hardened drill bushings could stack multiples of parts in the fixture against the stops every hole in every part would be identical way faster that even trying to stack and clamp down multiple parts and use the NC commands on my Cleerman

Yep.

CNC is not all that. Especially if you know what you are doing.

[Frank S]

My first employment after leaving the Army in 1977 was at a fab shop where we built wireline logging trucks for the oilfield services. I was a walk in off the street no references and was a fresh holder of a DD214 after a 6 year hitch had just turned 23 years old. my interviewer who was the owner of the company figured I was just blowing smoke while answering his questions. I'm sure he thought there is no way this kid can know half the stuff he claims but we will give him a try anyway 2 weeks later I recieved my first dollar an hour raise. One thing Glen liked about me was we were putting in a lot of overtime and by that I men a lot of overtime.
Having just come out of the Army if there was one thing I was accustomed to was putting in a lot of hours I didn't think it was strange to work 60 70 or even 80 to 90 hours in a week and earning 5 times what my Sargant E6 pay had been was a huge bonus to me. It wasn't long that I went from just being a welder fitter to being a layout man then spent some time running one of the lathes or on a drill press or any other machine in the shop. . I had received more raises within a very short time. One day Glen asked me if I could modify or help modify a weld fixture around a new truck body tool box side so we could land the Slumberger account. I'll try anything I said. So he and I and James bates the shop foreman, who hated me because he had it in his mind that I was out for his job, stripped down the fixture we had and began modifying it over a week end. Time cards went in at 5 PM on Friday's and the new week also started at 5 PM I went on overtime at 8 am Monday morning James had disappeared sometime Sunday afternoon Glen would disappear into his office for hours on end I would clock out and catch a couple hours sleep in my pickup from time to time, but by the time the folks from Slumberger showed up around 10 Am on Monday there were 3 guys on the weld fixture cranking out body sides for the wireline trucks. I got another large raise that week and finished out the week with 120 hours on the time sheet but my take home was 1 dollar less than the week before with only 80 hours due to the with holding taken out. The fixture saved a total build time per unit of 100 man hours, because we could build both left and right outsides and both insides of the bodies. I doubt that even robotics of today could have improved much on the build times. One thing that saved so much time was the bodies were not just tacked together and they had been done previously but fully welded out while the dozens of parts were all clamped in place with pneumatic stak-on clamps. 3 men could do what it was taking 10 men to complete and in less time

[mwmkravchenko]

Yo are older Frank. But we have had similar experiences. It's a pleasure reading about what you have pulled off. Reminds me of stories my Dad and Grandfather told me when I was wet behind the ears. Most places I worked for hired me and then started giving me raises to. Same deal. I couldn't possibly do what I said I could. I never was found short on know how or ideas in a pinch.

I started my own business just shy of 20 years old. I had worked with my Dad in his own business from 7 years old and up so it was nothing new. My Dad was a great teacher. Not exactly patient. But a great conveyor of how to do it right and how to think your way out of a jamb.

I spent 13 years on all kinds of cabinetmaking and true carpentry. Not just framing but making doors and windows and stairs and such. Branched out into some light fabrication and stuff that allowed me a conversational knowledge of welding and fabrication. Can do it. But I'm neither one of those professions. I have to much respect for the real deal to make any such claims.

Keep up doing what you can Frank. I'm rooting for you!

[Toolmaker51]

mwmkravchenko, An aside to your history reminds me of a similar situation, yet poorly done continuation of the family business.
1 example. Weldment is not a three syllable word. Yet 3 generations still try forcing "weld-e-ment" it into the English language. Just cause it'll google does not make it legit.
Same location, where "we always did it this way" is the by-word. No horizontal surfaces are clear for staging short run jobs, filled with baby boys scattered tools. But the walls and most vertical surfaces are covered with the most uniform grime imaginable.