CWI Study Materials

By Bonfoucaweld Date 02-05-2008 00:24

Hello,
I am interested in acquiring a CWI and would like to know what study materials I should get my hands on. I have been involved in the steel & welding industry for over 22 years with duties ranging from welder/fitter while a college student, draftsman, purchasing/sales, estimator, project management & shop manager and think it will be a very useful qualification to have.

Where should I get the materials to start studying for the test? Do I have to memorize all 426 pages of my D1.1 code book? I am pretty good at studying independently and feel that I can teach myself what I need to know. I learned drafting in school but taught to use CAD by reading about it. Do you know of people that have learned the material and passed it by themselves?

Thanks

By Lawrence (*****)

Date 02-05-2008 01:55

Do a search on this forum for CWI Study.. You will find hundreds of folks have asked exactly your question.. And the answers are the best you will find.

By ctacker (****)

Date 02-05-2008 02:22

I studied for 3 months and took my exam and passed without going to the seminar. I have 30 years fitting/welding exp. and I also self studied Autocad and have done some detailing and had to show a boss how to draw in 3d in autocad, after he went to school to learn it! so it can be done!

By James Corbin (**)

Date 02-06-2008 18:41

Experience goes a long way towards lessons learned to be a good inspector. As ctacker can tell you, learning on the job takes lots of time plus trial and error. The seminar does give you a well rounded knowledge beyond "passing the test" as well as what to expect during the test.
I have run into lots of incompetent inspectors who take code sections out of context (pet peeves) and cost manufacture's and contractor's needless time & money fixing what does not need fixed and or missing code sections that should have been caught during an inspection. I have inspected job sites just after another inspection agency was there and found multiply code violations and yes I informed their Manager.
If you wish to self study, the "Body of Knowledge" list along with recommended study books can be found at http://files.aws.org/certification/docs/cert0570.pdf
Good Luck

By pipewelder_1999 (****)

Date 02-06-2008 01:12

I never took a CWI class however attended various welding schools and became interested in reading about welding as much as doing it. The self study thing worked for me. I know a couple of guys here in my area that I think would do fine on some self study but they are gonna take the class anyway.

In my opinion
1) You need to know how to use the code.
2) You need to have a very good understanding of welding terms and definitions. Learning these definitions makes learning related topics easier.
3) The AWS Welding Handbook Volume 1 has most if not all of the subject matter on the CWI exam. If you like to just casually pick up a book and read. Thats one to have. I have used it for all three times I have tested by just opening up every once in awhile and randomly picking an area to read.
4) Practice reading questions. Any kind of questions.

If you have on hands experience using the code you should have no problem. On my 2nd exam (Let it lapse after 9) I was informed that the code I was taking was D1.1 instead of B31.1/Sec IX. I never "Studied" that code but used it in my job as QC Manager. I probably did better because I paid closer attention to looking up the answers.

I have thought about making an online survey on my website to gather peoples information about their CWI testing experience and results. I think we could get some interesting information.

Have a nice day

Gerald Austin
http://weldingdata.com/

By Bonfoucaweld Date 02-08-2008 15:17

Thanks to all of you who have offered advice. I will acquire the correct books and do a lot of self study. I may attend a seminar if my schedule allows it. With two young boys that will playing in many baseball tournaments this spring and summer, my free time has been diminished greatly!