GaugePass

Field reference and exam practice

Read the weld, not just the book.

A free reference for weld symbols, filler metals, discontinuities and welding math - plus a gauge-reading trainer and 420 original practice questions for anyone working to prepare for the AWS Certified Welding Inspector (CWI) exam.

Open the gauge trainerWeld symbol reference
40
Symbol pages
420
Original questions
142
Free reference pages

Live from the trainer - try one

TitleFillet leg size
ViewSection
ScaleTo scale

Measure the vertical leg of this fillet weld.

Drawn to scale from generated geometry - pick the leg you actually see.

Free forever, no account

The reference layer

Every page below is public and stays public. It is the part of this site worth linking to, so gating it would be self-defeating.

GMAW5/161/42-5
TitleWelding symbol, both sides
ProcessGMAW
Sheet1 / 1
One symbol, two instructions, and a tail that names the process. Every mark on it is explained somewhere in the reference.

Every mark, decoded

Each symbol page carries its own interactive drawing: switch the weld to the arrow side or the other side and the joint cross-section moves with it, so you can see what the notation is actually instructing rather than memorising a table of glyphs.

Underneath sit a reading guide, a dimension key, worked examples, and the mistakes people actually make on the shop floor.

Open the symbol reference

40 pagesWeld symbolsEvery base and supplementary symbol with an interactive drawing, a reading guide, worked examples, and the mistakes people actually make.50 pagesFiller metalsClassification designators decoded digit by digit, with position, polarity, shielding, strength and where each one earns its place.25 pagesDiscontinuitiesHow each one forms, what it looks like, which examination method finds it, and how inspectors reason about it.15 topicsWelding mathHeat input, throat and leg geometry, carbon equivalent, deposition rate - formula, variables, and worked examples whose arithmetic is verified by tests.12 pagesProcesses and NDT7 welding processes and 5 examination methods - the physics of each and what an inspector watches for.12 guidesGuidesLonger reads on becoming an inspector, how the examination is structured, and how to get fast at reading symbols.

The part you can't get from a book

The gauge trainer

Knowing that a fillet leg is measured from the root along each member is a fact you can learn in ten seconds. Looking at a weld and saying “that's a five-sixteenths, and it's convex” is a skill, and skills need repetitions.

The trainer generates weld cross-sections from seeded geometry and asks you for one number. Leg size, convexity, face reinforcement, undercut depth - or, in the identification mode, the name of what you are looking at. Everything is drawn to scale, so what you measure on screen is genuinely what the weld is, and being one graduation out is scored differently from being lost.

Start a roundPractice questions

Start with a symbol

filletFillet weldThe right triangle on the reference line calls for a fillet weld. The number to its left is the leg size, and the side of the line it sits on tells you which face of the joint gets welded.filletIntermittent filletTwo numbers to the right of the fillet triangle turn a continuous weld into a series of segments: the first is how long each segment runs, the second is the centre-to-centre spacing between them.filletStaggered intermittentIntermittent fillets on both faces of a joint, offset so a weld on one side sits opposite a gap on the other. The two triangles are drawn out of line to signal the offset.filletDouble filletA fillet triangle above and below the reference line means both faces of the same joint get welded. Each triangle carries its own size and length, so the two welds do not have to match.filletUnequal leg filletTwo numbers separated by a multiplication sign to the left of the fillet triangle call for legs of different lengths, and the drawing has to show which leg goes on which member.grooveSquare grooveTwo short parallel lines crossing the reference line call for a square groove weld - a butt joint welded with no bevel, where the only preparation is how far apart the two square edges are set.

All 40 symbol pages →

What's free, plainly

No trial that expires, no countdown. The line between free and paid is the same line every day, and it is drawn here.

Free

No account, forever

  • All 142 reference pages and every guide
  • A 10-question practice round every day
  • 3 gauge-trainer rounds every day
  • A 20-card terminology deck every day

The daily allowances are seeded to the calendar day, so everyone gets the same round - a real taste, not a trial.

Premium

The whole practice side

  • The whole 420-question bank, filtered by domain
  • The timed 46-question examination simulation
  • Unlimited trainer rounds and all 5 trainer modes
  • The full 200-card deck

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