CWI Part B replicas and how to practice

What the replicas are and what you do with them

The exam hands you a four-piece plastic replica set covering a T-joint, a groove weld, a bend specimen and a pipe specimen. You also get an inspection tool kit, an exhibits booklet and the Book of Specifications. Part B is 46 questions in 120 minutes, and a passing score is 72%.

Each question points at something you can measure or check. You read a leg size on the T-joint, judge a face or a toe on the groove weld, check a bend specimen, or compare an exhibit document to the book. The foreword of the book tells you the replicas are plastic, so molding seams, pinholes and color differences are not part of the answer. Read the full list of materials and a clock plan in the Part B exam guide. For how recorded lessons fit alongside hands-on work, see what CWI training videos can teach.

What the exam hands you and what you bring

You bring your habits. The exam is short on time, so a reading you can take cleanly and a section you can find fast decide your score.

Your options for hands-on practice

Each route has a trade-off. Mix them.

• AWS Part B seminar. It trains on plastic replicas with a tool kit and a teacher beside you. You get real hand time, but you attend on the seminar's schedule.
• AWS Sample Tool Kit. You learn the real instruments, how to zero them and what each reads. You still need welds to measure.
• Real welds from a shop, a class or a friend. Leg sizes, reinforcement and undercut on real work teach the feel of a gauge. Real welds look different from molded plastic, so keep the plastic foreword in mind.
• Photo and generated practice. The weld gauge reading trainer gives you fillet gauge and V-WAC readings on generated cases, and the weld discontinuity quiz drills naming what you see. These don't replace a gauge in your hand. They let you rack up repetitions on a train or a lunch break.
• Your own sample set. If a shop has scrap, mark it with a number and a feature, then measure it once a week.

Be wary of any seller claiming to hold the exam replicas or the exam's questions. Those are confidential, and a source that offers them is not one to build prep on.

A 10-session home routine

Thirty to 45 minutes each, two or three a week.

1. Tool tour. Pick up every tool in the kit (the printable tool kit checklist lists all ten). For each one, write down what it reads, how you zero it and the units it shows.
2. Zero and repeat. Close the dial caliper, confirm zero, measure the same object three times and compare. Write each reading with units.
3. Fillet gauge, leg size. Measure ten fillets or ten trainer cases. For each, write what the blades showed before you write the size.
4. V-WAC session. Practice reinforcement height, undercut depth and misalignment on cases from the weld gauge reading trainer. Say aloud which feature you're measuring first.
5. Name the discontinuity. Run the weld discontinuity quiz, then explain each miss in a sentence.
6. Lookup session. Name the section of the Book of Specifications before you open it, then check. Ten topics, timed.
7. Documents. Fill in a blank WPS and PQR with invented data, change one variable and decide what follows.
8. Application check. Take five readings and decide for each whether you're in structural, pipeline or pressure piping before you pick a criterion.
9. Half block. 23 questions in 60 minutes at a table, same pace as the exam. Measure, write, look up, answer.
10. Review. Go through every miss in your log and find the earliest column where you went wrong.

Keep one log for all ten sessions with columns for feature, tool, reading, units, section and decision. The Part B measurement workflow explains the log in detail.

Original drills to try

These use invented numbers.

Drill A, fillet blades. A drawing calls for a 1/4 in. minimum leg. The 1/4 in. blade sits flush on both members at the toes, and the 5/16 in. blade shows a gap. The leg is at least 1/4 in. and under 5/16 in., so the minimum is met. You can't call it oversize from this reading.

Drill B, name the feature. A pipe replica shows a 1.5 in. stretch where the face sits below the adjacent pipe surface and the toes are smooth. Before measuring, name it. A groove melted into the pipe at the toe is undercut, and a face that sits low is underfill. Pick the word, then measure depth and length, then find the line in the book.

Drill C, unit swap. You record a caliper reading as 0.375 and the question works in fractions. Convert it to the fraction before you read the choices. Then do the reverse with 7/16 in. as a decimal. Check both with the fillet weld calculator for leg and throat arithmetic.

Drill D, document check. Build a WPS that lists one filler metal group and a PQR that cites a different one. Write which section you'd open and which annex table settles it.

Common measuring mistakes

• Measuring the wrong feature. A leg isn't a throat and a reinforcement height isn't a weld size. Write the feature down before you touch a tool.
• Skipping the zero. An unzeroed dial caliper shifts every reading that follows.
• Unit slips. Mixing decimals and fractions, or inches and millimeters on the metric edition, turns a right measurement into a wrong choice.
• Judging before measuring. The call comes last. Reading, then rule, then decision.
• Using the wrong application. Structural, pipeline and pressure piping criteria differ, so settle the application first.
• Answering from memory of D1.1. The Book of Specifications is its own document. Answer from what it says.
• Answer sheet slips. A choice on the wrong line can cost several marks, so check the sheet before time runs out.

Next step

Take the free 10-question check for Part B at /cwi-b. It's scored by domain, takes no signup and shows you whether your weak spot is reading, rules or documents. When you want 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. Use the study plan builder to set your weeks around your exam date.

FAQ

Can I buy the CWI Part B replicas?

The exam replica set is confidential, so nobody can sell you the replicas you'll be graded on. You can learn the tools on real welds, on practice replicas from a course or on trainer cases.

Is there a CWI Part B practice test?

Yes. The Part B exam guide has practice items and a timed plan, and the free 10-question check at /cwi-b scores you by domain. Every question we write is original.

Do I need a seminar to practice with replicas?

No. A seminar gives real hand time with a teacher, and the routine above builds the same habits at home. Pick by your gaps and budget.