4/25/2019 9 Basic Steps to Reading Welding Symbols for Groove Welds | WELDING ANSWERS

9 Basic Steps to Reading Welding Symbols for

Groove Welds
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R
eading welding symbols is very important at several levels of an
organization. A welder needs to be able to interpret welding
symbols to insure he puts down the right kind of weld, that he
prepares the joint properly, that he places the weld in the right spot, right
sequence, right dimension, etc. A design engineer needs to know the
symbols to communicate this clearly to the welders and supervisors. A
project manager will need to know this when bidding a job. The welding
symbols will tell him or her the exact amount of weld metal required, which
can in turn be used to estimate that total amount of filler metal that is
required per part or per job.

If you have not read “9 Basic Steps to Reading Welding Symbols” it may be worth taking a look
before continuing with this post. The “9 Basic Steps to Reading Welding Symbols” focuses on
fillet welds, but goes thru the basics of the welding symbol (arrow, reference line, and location
of welds) which is not covered here.
Unlike fillet welds where there is no variation, there are many different types of groove welds.
These are determined by the joint geometry. The following 8 steps will make it easier to
interpret welding symbols for groove welds.
1. Determine the type of joint and joint preparation needed.
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The American Welding Society, in its publication AWS A2.4:2007 – Standard Symbols for
Welding, Brazing, and Nondestructive Examination (current version is AWS A2.4:2012)
provides the different types of groove joints which can be single or double. Single being on one
side of the joint only and double being both sides of the joint. The welding symbols for the
different groove joints are:
• Square Groove
• Scarf
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• V-Groove
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• Bevel Groove
• J-Groove
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• U-Groove
• Flare V-Groove
• Flare Bevel Groove

Groove Weld Symbols

The welding symbols for groove welds will go on the reference lines in the same manner as fillet
weld symbols as shown below.

Groove weld symbols are placed on the reference line in similar

fashion to fillet weld symbols

2. Determine the root opening.

The root opening will be show inside the groove type symbol as shown on the image below. This
is the dimension of the separation between the two pieces. If no dimension is shown there is no
gap between the parts. Having a “0” is also acceptable.

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This diagram calls for a flared-

bevel on the arrow side having a
root opening (gap) of 1/16.

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3. Determine the groove angle.
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The groove angle will be above or below (depending on whether it is arrow side or other side)
the root dimension and will be expressed in degrees.
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60 degree groove angle

4. Determine the root radii and root face dimensions (for J-Groove and U-Groove
welds only).
These dimensions will need to be specified in one of two ways:
A. With a cross section drawing of the joint showing dimensions.

B. Notes on the tail of the welding symbol as shown below where SEC A-A references another
document that contains the details of the joint.

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Radius of joint and face dimension (land) are shown on a

diagram referenced by a note on the tail of the symbol

Download this guide for FREE

5. Determine the depth of the groove.

The depth of groove preparation will be shown to the left side of the groove weld symbol. The
diagram below shows a groove with a joint preparation depth of 3/8”.

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7 This welding symbols shows a groove

angle of 60 degrees and a depth of 3/8.

6. Determine the weld size.

The size of the weld is the effective throat on a groove weld. This includes the depth of groove
and the additional penetration into the root. The size of weld will be shown to the left of the
groove symbol in parenthesis. If there is no number in parenthesis then the size of the weld
should not be less than the groove depth.

Welding symbol showing both groove depth and weld size.

7. Determine the finish contour.

As with fillet welds we can have three types of finish contour.
A. Flat/Flush
B. Convex
C. Concave

These are depicted by the symbols in the images shown below.

There are three types of contours for welds

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8. Determine the finishing method.

The welding symbol can also tell you how the contour is to be achieved. For example, the
requirement may be a flat contour by grinding. AWS A2.4:2007 – Standard Symbols for
Welding, Brazing, and Nondestructive Examination specifies finishing methods with a
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7th
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C – Chipping
G – Grinding
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H- Hammering
M – Machining
P – Planishing
R – Rolling
U – Unspecified

These notations will appear above (or below) the contour symbol as seen below where a flat
contour is achieved by grinding.

The symbol calls for a groove weld with a flat

finish achieved by grinding.

9. Determine the side of the joint to be prepared when the drawing calls for a
single bevel.
In the case of a bevel, J-groove, and flare bevel the welding symbol will tell you which side to
prepare (bevel) by having a “broken” arrow as seen below. Whenever you see this broken arrow
you know that the side to be prepared is the side to which the arrow points.

A broken arrow will point to the side of the joint that needs to be beveled.

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By having read thru these 9 simple steps you already know more about welding symbols than
95% of the people in the welding industry. Training for welding symbols readings can be done
in a couple of hours if you stick to the basic, but can be as long as 20+ hours if you go extreme
detail. The information above should get you going but it is not exhaustive.

Do you need to become fluent interpreting and writing welding symbols? Are you preparing for
the CWI or CWS exam? Are you looking to develop welding symbols tests for your employees
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or students?
Shares Regardless of your reasons for learning welding symbols the Welding Symbols
Training manual will have help you learn this language easily and quickly. Learn more about
this resource by clicking here.
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Source: AWS A2.4:2007 – Standard Symbols for Welding, Brazing, and Nondestructive
Examination

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Categories: Theory and Education, Welding Symbols Posted on Wednesday, December 16, 2015

Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, we will
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Advertising.”

How To Weld 4140 Steel How Many Inches Of Mig Wire Per Pound

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8 thoughts on “9 Basic Steps to Reading Welding Symbols for Groove Welds”

pooja says: Reply

February 13, 2017 at 7:43 am

Thanks

Anu says: Reply

February 23, 2017 at 6:57 am

Thanks for the information related to welding

Daniel C Mock says: Reply

March 19, 2018 at 6:35 pm

4140, MIG weld

stacking with other carbon steels
Preheat to weld
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cool slowly like in ashes over night?

Sounds like 41040 is used mostly for tooling.

Christopher says: Reply

May 22, 2018 at 1:31 am

Thank you . It was very informative.

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Christopher says: Reply

7 May 22, 2018 at 1:34 am

Do you have any information on speeds, feeds depending on the wire size. I will be
very interested to know. I am working with fabrication suppliers but this is not my
strength.

Welding Answers says: Reply

May 22, 2018 at 9:28 pm

Hello Chris, are you referring to wire feed speeds for different wire sizes? If
this is what you are looking for you can go to the wire manufacturer’s
website and they provide operating ranges for their wires.

Ramanathan says: Reply

July 18, 2018 at 7:57 am

Really good

moe zaw aung says: Reply

February 4, 2019 at 11:53 pm

A very informative and helpful blog for the learners who are ambitious to become
true welding professionals.

Search my blog…

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