The purpose of this study is to evaluate the residual stress relaxation behavior in weldments. The stress relaxation is studied while successively reducing the size of weld specimens. Finite-element modeling was used to simulate the stress relaxation, and then an empirical model was derived based on the experimental and modeling results. The results of this study shall encourage industry users to utilize more plentiful conventional X-ray diffractometers for residual stress measurement of large weld components.