Welding Symbols and Shop Drawings

Basic Print

      Shop drawings and welding symbols are the core of any welder. Many welders come out of college with little more than a rudimentary understanding of how these work however they are the key to any good welding position.

      In both the welding programs I was enrolled in we used the same book Blueprint Reading for Welders 8th edition. This book is utter garbage and is filled with miss prints and mistakes however the section on weld symbols if fairly inclusive. Being able to understand how a welding symbol works is as important as understanding how a blueprint or shop drawing is laid out.

   Welding symbols are fairly straight forward if not very technical and are often miss printed on a shop drawing. As a welder you must have a grasp on how these are supposed to be laid out on your drawing or print as it is always harder to rework a weld than to do it right the first time. basic shop drawings

   Blue print reading begins with a basic understanding of line types as well as the scale the drawing is in. Some drawing may be simple some may be very complicated this is dependent on the type of job to be preformed.

   A welder uses many differing types of measuring tools depending on the job and the accuracy requirement which can very from + - 1/8th" to + - .001" an understanding of more than a tape measure is a huge help, I carry a scientific calculator and a 6" engineering ruler in my pocket wherever I go. My math is good but a long ways from the best ! I also have many conversion tables on hand in my shop to make my life easier, many time I do not want to do the math the long way and would rather weld.

Iowa shop welding inspection pdf.
Army welding theory pdf
Structural steel design standards pdf
OSHA hot work welding and safety policies pdf
Steel bridge design handbook pdf
welding symbol.com

A friend requested a basic tool list for hand drafting so here it is, a good board/table never hurts either.

Drafting by hand is more of an art form than actual drafting, that is to say with things like AutoCad, Solid Works and such, on the computer making changes and modifications much easier and faster this is more or less out dated technology. I enjoy drafting by hand but, that is purely because I love the way the drawings look and the time it takes. It is like reading to me - very relaxing !