{"product_id":"custom-fan-plate","title":"Custom Fan Plate","description":"\u003cp\u003eA fan plate drawn to your bottom beam, king post, and two struts. Enter the timbers as measured, give the struts' angle as a pitch or in degrees, and set them down onto the beam or up onto the king post, with their cuts shown as you go. Then set the arms, the neck, the bolts, and the ends. Cut from A36 steel in 3\/16\", 1\/4\", 3\/8\", or 1\/2\".\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eWhat a fan plate joins\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA fan plate ties together the four timbers at the middle of a king post truss with struts: the bottom beam, or tie beam, the king post that rises from it, and the two struts that come up from its foot to the top chords on either side. One plate holds all four: a bar along the beam, an arm up the king post, and an arm up each strut, with bolts through every one. You set the struts down onto the beam or up onto the king post, and the designer draws their cuts to match. For struts that meet each other with no king post between them, use the \u003ca href=\"\/products\/custom-strut-fan-plate\"\u003ecustom strut fan plate\u003c\/a\u003e. If a catalog size fits, our \u003ca href=\"\/products\/fan-truss-plate-taiga\"\u003efan truss plate\u003c\/a\u003e is ready-drawn in six collections for 3\" to 12\" timbers.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eSizes this designer makes\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eTimbers:\u003c\/strong\u003e 2 1\/2\" to 15 1\/2\", entered as measured, in 1\/8\" steps: the bottom beam's height and the king post's and struts' widths.\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eThe struts' angle:\u003c\/strong\u003e 3\/12 to 24\/12, or 15° to 65°.\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePlate:\u003c\/strong\u003e 12\" to 60\" along the beam and 8\" to 48\" tall, from the bar's bottom to the top of the king post arm. The strut arms reach up to 36\", within that outline.\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eArms:\u003c\/strong\u003e the bar, the king post arm, and the strut arms each 2\" wide or more, up to their timber's size. The bar sits centered on the beam or raised toward its top, with square stops at the neck if you like.\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eBetween the arms:\u003c\/strong\u003e open, as our catalog plates are, or filled.\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eBolts:\u003c\/strong\u003e 1\/4\" to 3\/4\", in one row or two. You set how many go on each side of the bar, in the king post, and on each strut.\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eEnds:\u003c\/strong\u003e square, clipped, rounded, or pointed, with sharp or rounded inside corners.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe designer opens on our catalog F4 plate on surfaced 6x6 timbers with the struts at 12\/12, 45°: 32\" wide and 18\" tall, with 5\/8\" bolts, three on each side of the bar, two in the king post, and two on each strut, square ends, in 1\/4\" steel. Change any of it.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eWhere the bolts go\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe first question is how far the bolts sit from the ends and edges of your timbers, and from each other. \u003cstrong\u003eMinimum distances\u003c\/strong\u003e, the default, holds every bolt to the American Wood Council's NDS minimums for softwood: 3 1\/2 bolt diameters from the end of a timber, 1 1\/2 from its edge, and 3 from the next bolt. That's how we lay out our own plates. \u003cstrong\u003eFull-strength distances\u003c\/strong\u003e doubles the end distance to 7 diameters and spaces bolts 4 apart, so plates come out larger or with fewer bolts. \u003cstrong\u003eNo minimum distances\u003c\/strong\u003e puts each bolt where you set it. Wood that close to a bolt can split, so have your engineer check that layout. The \u003ca href=\"\/pages\/bolt-spacing-and-edge-distance\"\u003ebolt spacing and edge distance guide\u003c\/a\u003e explains the numbers.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eHow it's priced\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBy weight: the steel in your plate, less its holes, with shipping in the lower 48 built in. There's no charge for design or setup. The price changes as you change the plate, and the price you see is the price you pay. A plate over $500 goes through the \u003ca href=\"\/pages\/contact-us#quote\"\u003equote form\u003c\/a\u003e instead.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eQuestions\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eHow many do I need for a truss?\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOne for each face you plate: one on the front of the truss, or two for front and back.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eOpen or filled between the arms?\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOpen is how our catalog plates are cut, and it shows the timber between the arms. Filled covers those corners with steel. On a truss outdoors, water can collect behind a filled plate there, so most exterior trusses are better open.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eWhich thickness should I choose?\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e3\/16\" is our standard plate and suits most decorative work. 1\/4\" is a third heavier and stiffer, and 3\/8\" and 1\/2\" heavier still. Our plates are architectural hardware, not engineered or load-rated: if a plate is part of how your truss carries load, your engineer decides whether it's suitable and how thick it should be.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eThe basics\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003eA36 steel plate, laser cut in our ISO 9001 shop in Texas.\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003eHoles are cut 1\/16\" larger than the bolt you choose. Bolts aren't included.\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003eEnter your timbers' real size, not their name. \u003ca href=\"\/pages\/timber-connector-guide#measuring\"\u003eHow to measure a timber\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003eBare steel, or matte black powder coat added in the cart.\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003eShips free in the lower 48 states.\u003c\/li\u003e\n  \u003cli\u003eNo published load ratings. Ask your engineer, and see \u003ca href=\"\/pages\/timber-connector-guide#load-ratings\"\u003ewhat to give them\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e","brand":"Timberplates","offers":[{"title":"3\/16\"","offer_id":67688911995156,"sku":"custom-fan-plate-316","price":13.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"1\/4\"","offer_id":67688912027924,"sku":"custom-fan-plate-14","price":17.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"3\/8\"","offer_id":67688912060692,"sku":"custom-fan-plate-38","price":25.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"1\/2\"","offer_id":67688912093460,"sku":"custom-fan-plate-12","price":33.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0432\/5985\/files\/render-custom-fan-plate.png?v=1792030225","url":"https:\/\/www.timberplates.com\/products\/custom-fan-plate","provider":"Timberplates","version":"1.0","type":"link"}