A 370 Appendix A9 covers the testing procedure. A 615 is just the specification.
Unfortunately I do not have a copy of A 370 around..all the same, I have some thoughts to share on this subject.
Weighing three ft long sections and then dividing by length in feet to determine nominal weight in plf units is not uncommon. This can be done on same specimens used for tensile properties and bend tests.
Two or three ft long sections are also obtained in field for nominal weight determination. For instance, rebar in the field may appear very rusty. In order to ascertain that the nominal weight is in compliance, one or more 2 to 3 ft section(s) is/are cut, hand wire brushed, and then weighed...see ACI 318 Sec 7.4.2. The value obtained must not be less than 94% of nominal weight in lb/ft units.
rc63, in your post dated 18 Feb 07 22:10, you wrote "....it does state that all test specimens shall be the full section of the bar as rolled,...". I believe they mean full cross-section as opposed to a reduced cross-section which is obtained by machining the specimen. For plain rebar, does A370 Appendix A9 say use full section, or reduced section for determination of tensile properties?