Bethlehem Old Joist catalog

[LPPE]

Over a decade ago, I had Bethlehem Old Joist catalog values, and needed a Macomber catalog (thread507-17733).

Well, I found the Macomber material back then.

Now, I can't find any catalogs for Bethlehem joists. The existing joists are essentially hat channels for top and bottom chords. A colleague of mine insists they are Macomber joists, but the top chord is not the V-beam section, and a tag I took off the existing joists says "BETHLEHEM".

All links to Bethlehem Old Joist catalogs are gone.

Does anyone have a Bethlehem Joist catalog, circa 1960's?

Thanks.

 

[JAE]

Did you try slideruleera's site?

http://www.slideruleera.net/

 

[LPPE]

Yes, thanks. Unfortunately, a dead end for Bethlehem joist tables. A lot of Macomber stuff, though. I even have a Macomber Maco-truss Framing System Catalog. I can pdf it and email to sliderule if anyone has sliderules contact info.

 

[JAE]

SlideRuleEra @ lycos.com

 

[LPPE]

Thanks JAE.

Quick story about the Macomber Macotruss framing system - I've only come across the entire system (Joists, joist girders, and columns) one time. The columns are two heavy gage C sections welded together to form a box, or similar to that. On the job I was working on, a forklift operator drove one of the forks in to one of the columns, pierced one side of the Macomber built-up column. After designing a fix, I asked the GC "What was the forklift driver thinking?", and the GC says "He was thinking he's not working here anymore"

 

[SlideRuleEra]

Engineering Tips member LPPE has provided the Macomber Macotruss Framing System Design Manual. Located at the top of the page at this link:

http://www.slideruleera.net/contributions.html

http://www.SlideRuleEra.net

http://www.VacuumTubeEra.net

 

[msquared48]

In over 30 years of structural engineering, I've only run across this joist company once, and that was for a new RTU installation. Took me a while to find the joist specs back then and that was 20 years ago or so.

Mike McCann
MMC Engineering

 

[JedClampett]

Sorry to be so obvious, but what does SJI say?

 

[hokie66]

LPPE,
Are you sure the joists were fabricated by Bethlehem, or perhaps fabricated by one of the joist companies, e.g. Vulcraft, using Bethlehem Steel sections? Having specified a lot of steel joist jobs in the 60's and 70's, I don't remember Bethlehem being in the joist fabrication business, but then my memory is not all inclusive.

 

[SlideRuleEra]

hokie66 - There is reason to believe that Bethlehem was in the joist business. Here is one of their catalogs for short span joists from about 1960:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Bethlehem-S...D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

and for long span joists, circa 1960:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Bethlehem-L...D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

and even from 1928:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/BETHLEHEM-S...D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

http://www.SlideRuleEra.net

http://www.VacuumTubeEra.net

 

[hokie66]

Well, there you go. ebay to the rescue.

 

[LPPE]

I wish it was still for sale on ebay, I'd gladly pay $9.99 for it.

I'd even pay $10.99.

 

[EngineeringEric]

I did find this which may be useful to you guys...

 

[LPPE]

Yes, thanks. I downloaded that today, and sent to SlideRuleEra.

Something is bothering me about that PDF, though. It almost seems as if some of the joist tables are copied in to that PDF from the 75-yr SJI manual...