There is a glut of small diameter wood in many parts of the US, both in national forests and tree farms. This resource is often wasted as it becomes fuel in massive forest fires. On tree farms, where it barely pays the bills, small diameter wood is sold cheaply to make paper. Instead of sending this wood to pulp mills, it could be used to create higher value building materials, including roundwood trusses.
The roundwood truss system described here enables DIYers to build their own trusses at very low cost. Virtually any truss configuration is possible, although roundwood is best suited to simpler designs such as: queen and king post, Fink, Howe, scissor, clerestory, parallel chord, sloping top chord, attic truss (for lofts and 2nd story plans), asymmetric, gambrel and gable end trusses. You can download truss charts off the Internet and use them as guidelines.
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Image credit: Got Chankamon