Weld face: meaning and how to check it
Cut a weld in half, etch it and trace its outline: the weld face is the part of that line you could touch from where the welder stood. On a groove weld it's the crown across the top, toe to toe; on a fillet it's the slanted or curved side. The groove weld's far side is the root surface.
Use this diagram
How to find and check the weld face
- Work out which side was welded. On a single-sided groove weld, the wide side of the groove is the face side. The narrow side is the root side, and anything there is root surface.
- Find its edges. The face ends where it meets the base metal, at the weld toes. Everything between the toes is face.
- Check its shape. On a groove weld, the face usually stands proud of the plate as face reinforcement. On a fillet weld, the face is flat, convex or concave, and the drawing may call for a contour.
- Look over the surface. Cracks, porosity, arc strikes, spatter and slag all show up here first, which is why visual inspection begins on the face.
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Definitions and Terminology
A fatigue crack in a cyclically loaded fillet-welded attachment started along the line where the surface of the weld blends into the flange plate. At which weld feature did the crack start?
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Common mix-ups
- Face versus root surface. On a groove weld welded from both sides, each side has its own face, because each side was welded from. "Root surface" only applies to the side opposite the welding.
- Face versus face reinforcement. The face is a surface. Weld reinforcement is the extra metal above the plate on that surface, measured as a height.
- Groove face versus weld face. A groove face is the prepared surface of a member before welding, such as the bevel. It disappears under the weld. The weld face is what's left on top afterward.
- Fillet face shape. The fillet face sets which throat you can measure. A convex face adds metal that isn't part of the weld's effective size; a concave one shrinks the fillet's size below its legs.
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The weld face on the CWI exam
The words face, root surface and toe all sit in Definitions and Terminology, at least 12% of the closed-book Part A. Visual Examination, at least 10% of Part A, starts on the face too.
On Part B, nearly everything you measure on a replica is measured on or from the weld face: reinforcement height, convexity, undercut at the toe and surface porosity. Welding Inspection and Discontinuities is at least 34% of the practical.
On a D1.1 Part C, weld profiles are covered in Clause 7 and visual acceptance in Clause 8. Use your own copy for what they require; no limits are given here.
Practice it
The weld gauge reading trainer drills readings taken on the face: fillet size with a fillet gauge, and convexity, underfill and undercut with a V-WAC style gauge. The weld root page covers the opposite side of the weld, and every face, root and toe term sits together in the welding terms glossary.
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Sources
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- AWS bookstore, terminology and symbols listing, American Welding Society. Retrieved 20 Oct 2026.
- CWI Part A Fundamentals Examination Information, American Welding Society, Rev. 03.01.2024. Retrieved 20 Oct 2026.
- AWS B5.1:2025, Specification for the Qualification of Welding Inspectors, American Welding Society, Tables 5.1 and 8.1. Retrieved 20 Oct 2026.
Facts checked 25 October 2026 against the sources listed above. If something has changed, tell us and we will correct it within 2 business days.
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