This document discusses structural shapes used in welding, including sheets, plates, beams, and pipes. It defines common terms and identifies structural shapes like standard beams, wide-flange beams, and miscellaneous beams. The document also summarizes how sheet and plate thickness is specified using gages or fractions of inches. Pipes are sized using schedule numbers representing thickness, with higher numbers indicating greater strength.

1. Blueprint Reading for
Welders
8th Edition
Unit 6
Structural Shapes

2. Objectives
• Define common terms
• Identify many of the common
structural shapers used
• Specify pipe size by using schedule
numbers
• Identify the common schedule
numbers used for pipe sizes

3. Structural Shapes
• Most weldments are combinations
of basic shapes
• Sheet metal given as a fraction of
an inch or as a gage number
– Plate thickness given as a fraction of
an inch
• Sheet metal thickness specified by
gage used, the gage number and
decimal size

5. Structural Shapes (cont’d.)
• Sheet specified by giving the
thickness, width and length in that
order
• Steels classified hot-rolled or cold-
rolled
• Hot-rolled varieties are slightly
oversize and have rounded corners

6. Structural Shapes (cont’d.)
• Cold-rolled steels are more precise
in size and have square corners
• Size and weight specifications
given for certain structural shapes
• Weight specifications given in
pounds per linear foot

11. Common Structural Shapes
• When ordering structural metal,
reference made to manufacturer’s
catalogs
• Catalogs contain tables with a
listing of sizes available for various
shapes
• Includes information about weight
per linear foot

14. Common Structural Shapes
(cont’d.)
• Sizes listed for many structural
shapes are nominal
– Approximate size represented by
catalog designation

15. Common Structural Shapes
(cont’d.)
• Four shapes for structural beams:
– Standard beams: letter “S”
– Wide-flange beams: letter “W”
• When formed by welding “WW”
– Miscellaneous beams: letter “M”
– Bearing pile beams: “HP”

16. Common Structural Shapes
(cont’d.)
• Pipe sized by applying a schedule
number as a part of size
specification
• Eleven schedules: 5, 10, 20, 30,
40, 50, 60, 80, 100, 120, 160

17. Common Structural Shapes
(cont’d.)
• Schedule numbers represent the
strength of pipe
– Higher schedule number means
greater wall thickness
– E.H. and DBLE.H signify extra heavy
and extra extra heavy

19. Summary
• Many types and styles of structural
metal shapes used in the welding
industry
• Standard gages measure the
thickness of various structural
metal shapes
• Steels are hot-rolled or cold-rolled

20. Summary (cont’d.)
• Size and weight specifications for
certain structural shapes
• Sizes listed for many structural
shapes are nominal