SettingsSettings for this calculationUS
The total design load the joint must transfer.
Use the factored (design) load for the connection, from your structural analysis.
The rated capacity of a single connector, from the NDS Chapter 12 tables or manufacturer data.
Adjust the tabulated value for species group, member thickness, edge distance, and load duration per NDS before entering it here.
Connector units needed
7 connector units
This is a simple division of total load by your entered per-connector capacity — make sure that capacity comes from the actual NDS Chapter 12 table value (adjusted for species, thickness, and edge distance) or the manufacturer's rated data, not an assumed number.
They open the calculator with your figures already in it
Timber Shear Connector Count Calculator: 7 connector units — shown in imperial, US market. The link sets both, so the result they see is the one on your screen.
Show calculation logicHide calculation logic
How this was calculated
Formula source(s)
- NDS timber connector design values (split rings, shear plates) are species- and size-specific tables (NDS Chapter 12) rather than a single formula — this calculator divides your total required joint load by your own connector's rated capacity from that table or the manufacturer's data
Inputs used
- Total Joint Load
- 11.24 kip
- Per-Connector Rated Capacity
- 1.8 kip
Confidence note: This is a simple division of total load by your entered per-connector capacity — make sure that capacity comes from the actual NDS Chapter 12 table value (adjusted for species, thickness, and edge distance) or the manufacturer's rated data, not an assumed number.
What this calculation does not cover
- Group action is not applied. The NDS group action factor Cg falls as more connectors are added to a row, so the single-connector capacity you looked up is only valid for the number of connectors you assumed when you looked it up — which may not be the number this page returns. Re-check the tabulated value against the count and iterate until the two agree.
- Direction of load relative to grain is ignored. Split-ring and shear-plate design values differ parallel and perpendicular to grain, and a load at an angle has to be interpolated between them. This calculation divides one number by another with no knowledge of your joint geometry, so a parallel-to-grain capacity applied to an angled or cross-grain load overstates the joint.
- Nothing here checks that the connectors physically fit. End distance, edge distance, spacing along and across the row, the member thickness and width needed to seat a ring or plate, and whether the returned count fits on the contact face at all are all outside this calculation.
- This is a connector count, not a connection design, and it does not replace one. The member itself is unchecked: net section at the connector groove, tension or compression capacity of the wood, row and group tear-out, and shear and bearing on the bolt through the ring or plate are separate calculations. A split ring cuts a groove that removes cross-section, so the member can govern before the connectors do.
- Service and installation conditions are not applied. Wet service, elevated temperature, preservative or fire-retardant treatment, load reversal or cyclic loading, and whether the connector sits in one face or both all change the value you look up — none of them change the division done here, and none are checked.
Estimated cost — your price
This site holds no price list for this material — local prices vary too much to publish honestly. Enter your supplier's price and the result is costed with it.
Computed in your browser — nothing you enter is uploaded. Presented in US customary units and US trade terminology. Where a formula follows a published standard, that standard and its edition are cited beside it on this page; where none governs, the page says so. Local amendments override model codes — verify against the code in force where you build.
Sources checked 2026-09-06 · in the site-wide review of 2026-09-06 · v1.0.1
Regulatory standards & verification citations1
- NDS timber connector design values (split rings, shear plates) are species- and size-specific tables (NDS Chapter 12) rather than a single formula — this calculator divides your total required joint load by your own connector's rated capacity from that table or the manufacturer's data
Cite this page
Your workspace
Most jobs need more than one number. Add the calculators you need next and they open right here, underneath this one — your figures stay on screen and nothing is lost to a page change.