Tail
The fork at the end of a reference line. It carries a specification, process or other reference when the weld needs one.
How to read it
The tail is the part of the welding symbol that holds notes the rest of the symbol can't carry: a specification, a certain welding process, a type of electrode or another reference needed to complete the weld. It is used only when such a note is needed, and when no note is needed the tail is omitted.
Also searched as: welding symbol tail.
This explains what a symbol specifies on a drawing. It isn't welding instruction, and a drawing's own notes and the governing code take precedence.
Differences by country or standard
In the international system, the welding process can be given as a number written between the two branches of the fork, as India's IS 813:1986, which draws on ISO 2553, describes it.
Read next
- Next in Welding symbolsFillet weldA right triangle on the reference line: a fillet weld, the triangular weld that joins two surfaces meeting at about a right angle.
- The same shape in Blueprint symbolsStairsA staircase, seen from above. The arrow shows the direction of travel from this floor, labelled with the direction and the number of risers.
More welding symbols
The same shape elsewhere
Browse symbols drawn with arrows or lines.
Sources
- Steelworker, Volume 1, NAVEDTRA 14250, 1996, Naval Education and Training Professional Development and Technology Center, U.S. Navy (Internet Archive), Chapter 3, Drawings and specifications
- Welding Theory and Application, TM 9-237, 1967, Department of the Army (Internet Archive), Chapter 11, Section II
- Scheme of symbols for welding, IS 813:1986, Bureau of Indian Standards (Internet Archive, Public.Resource.Org), Section 7.3
Researched, edited and approved by Rory Hansen before publishing. Last reviewed September 25, 2026. How we research
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