From this site

One project, every trade

Each calculator adds its lines to a single estimate — consolidated BOM, schedule and cash-flow included.

Open My Project →

Fillet Weld Shear Capacity Calculator

Calculate a fillet weld's nominal shear capacity from its leg size, electrode strength, and length.

Computed in your browser — nothing you enter is uploaded. Figures are presented in United States units and terminology, and each formula’s basis is cited under regulatory standards below.

Last verified 2026-08-26 · v1.0.0

Market
Imperial · sales tax
7.75 in
Schematic, drawn to the proportions you entered — not to scale on screen.

Nominal weld shear capacity

323 kN

Check your inputs

This is the NOMINAL weld strength Rn from AISC 360 §J2.4. It is not a usable design capacity: apply φ = 0.75 for LRFD, or divide by Ω = 2.00 for ASD, and check the connected base metal separately — the base metal, not the weld, governs many joints.

Effective throat thickness
0.22 in
Capacity per mm of weld
1.64 kN/mm

For the dimensions entered, expect a nominal weld shear capacity of 323 kN. Moderate confidence — sound arithmetic, but allow for the variation any real site introduces. Set for United States. The market selector changes the units and the trade terminology; any standard behind the formula is cited under sources.

Add the equipment this sizes

This result is a specification — 323 kN — not a quantity. Put the thing it sizes into your project: how many, what you call it, and your supplier’s price.

Preliminary estimate, not certified engineering. This tool produces an indicative quantity calculation for planning purposes only — it is not a certified structural analysis, a guaranteed material takeoff, or a substitute for building department approval. Always verify measurements on-site and have a licensed contractor or structural engineer review any load-bearing, code-sensitive, or safety-critical work before purchasing materials or starting construction. Spotted an arithmetic or standards error? Report it to contact@craftquantities.com with your inputs — a confirmed fix gets a permanent check of its own, so the same mistake cannot come back.

Presented in US customary units and US trade terminology. Where a formula follows a published standard, that standard and its edition are cited beside it on this page; where none governs, the page says so. Local amendments override model codes — verify against the code in force where you build.

Regulatory standards & verification citations

  • AISC 360 §J2.4 (Table J2.5): nominal weld strength Rn = 0.60×FEXX×Awe, where the effective throat Awe uses te = 0.707×leg size for an equal-leg fillet weld — consistent with AWS D1.1 Table 2.3

Your workspace

Most jobs need more than one number. Add the calculators you need next and they open right here, underneath this one — your figures stay on screen and nothing is lost to a page change.

Frequently asked questions

Why is the effective throat 0.707 times the leg size?
For an equal-leg fillet weld, the effective throat is the shortest distance from the root to the weld face, which geometrically works out to 0.707 (that is, cos 45°) times the leg size, per AISC 360 and AWS D1.1.
What's the difference between E70XX and E80XX electrodes?
The number denotes the electrode's classification strength FEXX — E70XX has FEXX = 483 MPa (70 ksi) and E80XX has FEXX = 552 MPa (80 ksi); a higher-strength electrode gives more shear capacity for the same weld size.
Does this include the base metal shear check?
No — this calculates only the nominal shear capacity of the weld metal itself (AISC 360 §J2.4). The connected base metal must also be checked for shear rupture along the fusion faces, which can govern for thinner connected material.