The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 4 plus 5 letter word ROOF PLATE
R
O
O
F
P
L
A
T
E
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "w/hereon rafter rests" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case w/hereon rafter rests = roof plate.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.