CWI Part B practice questions: drill measurements

What Part B practice has to train

Part B is open book and hands-on, and you take it first. You get plastic weld replicas, an inspection tool kit, an exhibits booklet and the Part B Book of Specifications. Passing takes 72%, and on a 46-question exam that means you can miss at most 12.

A multiple-choice list on a screen can't train the whole job. Good practice puts a gauge in your hand or a reading in front of you, makes you name which feature is being measured, and sends you to a section number before you pick an answer. If your practice material lets you answer from memory of D1.1, it trains the habit the Book of Specifications is written to catch. For the full format, materials and a clock plan, read the Part B exam guide.

Drill 1: the reading

Most lost measurement points come from reading the wrong feature, not from bad arithmetic. Before you touch a gauge, write down what is being asked: leg size, throat, reinforcement height, undercut depth, misalignment or length.

Try these on practice welds or on the weld gauge reading trainer:

1. Fillet blade test. The drawing calls for a 3/16 in. minimum leg. The 3/16 in. blade sits flush on both plates and the 1/4 in. blade shows a gap. The leg is at least 3/16 in. and under 1/4 in., so the minimum is met. You can't call it oversize from this reading.
2. Throat arithmetic. A 1/4 in. equal-leg fillet has a theoretical throat of about 0.707 × 0.25 = 0.177 in. Check your own numbers with the fillet weld calculator.
3. Caliper habit. Close the dial caliper and confirm it reads zero before every measurement. Write the reading with units, such as 0.502 in., next to the question before you open any book.

Then write the reading in a log with columns for feature, tool, reading, location and units. When you miss a question, find the earliest column where you went wrong. The Part B measurement workflow lays out that record in detail.

Drill 2: finding the rule fast

The Book of Specifications is a free PDF from AWS. Download it, print it if you like, and learn the layout until you can say where a topic lives before you open it:

• Section 1.0: general requirements for all three applications.
• Sections 2.0, 3.0 and 4.0: workmanship and visual acceptance for structural steel, pipeline and pressure piping.
• Section 5.0: procedure qualification.
• Section 6.0: performance (welder) qualification.
• Annexes I to III: the A-number, F-number, base metal specification and M-number tables.
• Annex IV: bend specimen preparation. Annexes V to X: formulas, conversions, pipe schedules, blank forms and terms.

Now run a lookup drill. For each task, name the section before you open the book, then check yourself:

Time each lookup. Under a minute from a cold start is a good target, and it's the habit that saves minutes on exam day. Always settle the application first. A structural, pipeline and pressure piping criterion can differ, and the question tells you which one you're in.

Drill 3: the decision

Only after the reading and the rule are in hand do you decide. Keep the decision separate from the observation in your notes. Here's a full worked pass with invented numbers.

Task. A pipeline replica shows a 2.0 in. stretch where the weld face sits below the adjacent pipe surface. You read the depth at 0.03 in.

1. Name it. A face below the adjacent surface with smooth toes is underfill. Undercut is a groove at the toe, so don't use that word.
2. Reading. 0.03 in. deep, 2.0 in. long, on a pipeline application.
3. Rule. Open the pipeline workmanship section (one of 2.0 to 4.0) and find the line for this condition.
4. Decision. Compare your depth and length with what the book allows, then record the section number and the reason.

Notice that the decision is the last step. Candidates who judge first and measure second lose points to the wrong feature, not to the wrong limit.

Build a weekly Part B routine

Four sessions a week cover it without burning out:

• Two tool sessions (30 minutes): gauge readings with units, then the same reading again after re-zeroing.
• One lookup session (30 minutes): ten timed section finds from a cold start.
• One document session (45 minutes): fill in the book's blank WPS, PQR and WQTR forms with invented data, change one variable, and decide what follows.
• One timed block every other week: sit at a table and work 23 questions in 60 minutes, the same pace as the real exam, then review every miss.

Use the weight of the domains to pick topics. Welding inspection and discontinuities carries at least 34% of the questions and procedure and performance qualifications at least 28%, so about three-fifths of the exam sits in those two. Visual weld inspection in three stages and WPS, PQR and WPQ explained cover both. If you're not sure how a practice score maps to exam day, see CWI practice test score: am I ready?.

Next step

Take the free 10-question check for Part B at /cwi-b to see exactly which topics to fix. It's scored by domain and takes no signup. Then ask the study buddy at /study-assistant for a plan built around your exam date. When you want the full prep, the Part B course adds specification drills, a lesson for every exam subject, two full-length timed practice exams and a worked explanation with every answer.

FAQ

Where can I get CWI Part B practice questions?

Start with the free 10-question check for Part B at /cwi-b, then use the questions and drills in the Fillet Gauge course. Every question is original. Real or recalled Part B questions break the Candidate Attestation Agreement you sign, so avoid any source that claims to have them.

Can I buy the Part B replicas?

The exam replicas are confidential, so nobody can sell you the set you'll be graded on. You can learn each tool on real welds or on practice replicas, and drill readings with the weld gauge trainer. See CWI Part B replicas and how to practice for a 10-session routine.

Is the Book of Specifications the same as D1.1?

No. It's a sample code written for the exam, and it only looks like a real code. Answer from what it says, not from memory of D1.1 or any other code.

How many Part B questions can I miss?

Part B has 46 questions and needs 72%. Scores round down to the whole percent, so 34 correct reports as 73% and 33 reports as 71%. That means you can miss at most 12.