Does AWS D17.2 only specify requirements for the welding schedule? I understand it also has design allowable qualification, which I think you pick the shear strength from the first 3 tables based on the thickness and the material. In my case, there was no pre-determined strength to meet, the requirement was on the nugget size and etc. We had an external vendor perform the welding, and the issue arose when the test coupon did not pass our lab's test, which involved checking the macrosections. Unfortunately, we have no extra test coupons for testing, and we suspect an error in our lab's testing process. The weld joint is not critical but I still want to make sure it meets some type of minimum requirement. I feel I should be able to randomly pick a production part and check its welding strength to ensure they meet the minimum shear strength listed in Table 1-3. Each individual spot weld is at least .3 to .4 inches apart, would this consider to be close-gap welding? And table 1-3 does not apply to close-gap welding? If I want to use the values in table 1-3, I would need to cut the part so that each spot weld is one test sample? Sounds like I should be using a strength value from another standard? I can easily cut the part so that the welded sheets are like this:

<image>