Weld symbol question

I know there are experienced weldors here so I thought I would ask some opinions. Today I had an instance while welding up a part where I questioned the weld symbols.
The first weld symbol I came across was drawn like the middle symbol in my drawing. The diagram below that is how I was told to weld it, which is what I had layed out.
The second weld symbol I encountered on the same part, resembled the top symbol in my drawing. The diagram below that is how I was told to weld it after I questioned the layout. I had layed it out similar to the previous symbol, but was told that was wrong.
In my opinion both weld symbols should have looked like the bottom symbol in my drawing, however I don't understand why the weld symbols are different. I do realize one weld is two fillets and one weld is a fillet and a butt, however I can't think of a difference that would make.
So, what do you guys think?
 

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It has been a long time since I have encountered too many welding symbols,but if I look at the first symbol It would say to me that you were welding 2 different thicknesses of plate together. The top side being a square butt joint 3 in weld on 6 in centers and the bottom being a fillet caused by the differences in thickness and also 3 in weld on 6 in centers staggered from the other side.The second and third both being basically the same, 3 in weld on 6 in centers, but fillets on both sides. it is hard to have a fillet weld without a thickness difference or a 90 Deg. vertical member,Right?
As I said it's been a long time, maybe I'm out in left field.
 
You're correct on the fillet welds. My third drawing was meant to be more of a generic or hypothetical example. The top fillet symbol could be interchanged with the butt weld symbol in my hypothetical. The thicknesses of material are the same. All plate in this instance was 3/8" thick.
 
It's been awhile for welding symbols for me too. If the welds are staggered in between each other from one side to the other, they should be staggered in the symbol like in the 3rd diagram. Unless it's a T joint, you wouldn't have a fillet on both sides. I could see a corner joint that had a fillet on the inside and one piece fits over the other piece leaving a butt weld on the outside corner. A picture showing how the pieces go together would help to identify the correct weld symbol.
 
The weld symbols they had used were correct. The first weld required two fillet welds and the second weld required a fillet weld and butt weld, I was primarily concerned with the spacing.
In both welds (the double fillet and the fillet/butt) the symbols showed welds opposing each other with a note stating the welds were to be staggered. However, the welds were not layed out consistantly. The first weld was layed out 3-6 staggered, and the second was layed out 3-3 staggered.
 
I have often wondered over the years why some engineers have things welded the way they do. They are not always right,because you do have weld failures due to poor design and improperly placed welds. Some times a little common sense goes a long way when welding things.
 
Draftsmen and engineers often misuse or are a little lazy in noting weld symbols on drawings. If a staggered sequence is required, the symbols should be shown as staggered even though the note in the tail does say stagger welds.

Jason the Red's top layout is correct in how it describes the weld layout, however, the center layout is incorrect. Length and spacing stay on the respective side. In other words, staggered spacing dimension of 6" would not jump from the center of the opposite side to the center of the weld on the near side.

Below is a picture of a typical slide we could use during Welder Workmanship Training for Navy contracts. Website will not permit actual document attachment

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Jason's top layout would be correct if the welds
were opposite each other but being they were meant
to be staggered from one side to the other, the
symbols should have been staggered just like in
your diagram. I would think welding symbols could
give the draftsmen fits sometimes. That's why it's
always good if there's some additional information
to help you figure out what they want. Being a
welder you could encounter a blueprint with a
symbol or specific type of weld you've never seen
before. Welding symbols can get pretty involved
and sometimes even complicated. I've seen mistakes
on blueprints as well where the weld doesn't match
the joint or the arrow side is wrong.
 
Just looked at your drawing again. The 1/4"
penetration on the butt weld most likely required a
V in plates and that should have been shown on the
weld symbol rather than just a butt weld symbol.
 
This is pretty much my ideas. I think the engineer either was confused or didn't know what he was doing. I wish I could have just taken a picture of the print to show you guys, but the work is proprietary and losing my job isn't worth it. The part that worries me the most is the inconsistancy in layout between seemingly similar weld symbols (despite one being a double fillet and one being a butt and a fillet).
 

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