Curved Truss for a Shop

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HI, has anyone ever made a curved truss for a shop building? I want to build a shop and saw one I like on the Internet, but I am not sure how they are building the truss. It's made out of pipe with rod web bars, I can tell from the photos,
Reply:There's a lot more to a truss than just tossing metal any where you want. There's a specific reason each piece is located where it is, why it's at the angle it is and why a specific size and shape member is used. It's why engineers get paid the big bucks to design things like this.You need to understand how and why a truss works if you want to build one from scratch. The basics are each piece is either in tension or compression in a simple truss. The end result is usually that the lower cord ends up strictly in tension and keeps the sides from pushing out. The top members usually end up in compression and eventually transfer the loads vertically down to the supports on each end. The middle diagonal members usually convert vertical loads to lateral loads to transfer them out to the ends and eventually back to vertical loads at the end.Curved trusses often follow the same shape as the moment diagram of the "beam" they form, but not necessarily. Your best bet is to either buy pre-engineered units to assemble, or pay an engineer to do the basic design for you so you can work from plans. This is especially true in areas where snow loads are common..No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth! Ronald Reagan
Reply:Everything DSW said is correct (in my opinion) with the exception of Originally Posted by DSW...or pay an engineer to do the basic design...
Reply:Well, I am an engineer, so I have that covered, I am just not much of a welder. The shop I found on the Internet is being sold and  erected in Texas, and the trusses are pretty simple, but the company does not work this far.There are shops owner- built far and wide with trusses made of old oilfield tubing, but they hare peaked roofs, and I like the curved roof with no ridge.
Reply:Originally Posted by WascatorWell, I am an engineer, so I have that covered, I am just not much of a welder. The shop I found on the Internet is being sold and  erected in Texas, and the trusses are pretty simple, but the company does not work this far.There are shops owner- built far and wide with trusses made of old oilfield tubing, but they hare peaked roofs, and I like the curved roof with no ridge.
Reply:I'm pretty sure they roll the hoops (cords) and then lay the hoops in a jig and weld the webs. I'm sure they are made in sections and the sections bolt together.
Reply:I built a curved truss carport about ten years ago. Mine is made from square tubing, not pipe, and I just faked it, since a carport is relatively small and doesnt have live human beings in it very often.But it has stood up to 50mph winds, and is still standing. At the time I built it, I didnt have angle rolls, so I just pulled the curves on the hossfeld. Its probably about a 25' diameter circle. the square tube is 1 1/4", and then its braced with 1/2" round.Cant find any pics of it on my hard drive, I will have to snap some.tube or pipe can be rolled, it just takes the right machine. this is something you probably want to job out- decent angle rolls are ten grand or more, these days, that will do 2" pipe.
Reply:Thanks for the replies; I am going to ask the people with the web site if they will sell me four trusses. That's about the easiest way to get what I want.I think they are bending the upper chord then welding it together in a jig, as you said.