I have an ABI Pulse Arc Welder Tack III and I use it on sterling and
fine silver quite a bit. I work mostly with"links" soldering the
larger, thicker ones, then using the Tack Welder to do the smaller
links that are used between the larger ones. It takes a while to
figure out the settings because it’s mostly by trial and error,
however the company is very supportive and I’ve called them for
advice several times with good results. I don’t do jewelry repair at
this time, and most of the work I do is fabrication of new jewelry.
If I didn’t have the welder I would be having serious “withdrawal
symptoms” because it’s always right there when I need it, and so
quick and easy to use it for what I need. I can weld a jumpring in
less than a minute and put together a whole bracelet in about 15
minutes. Then I add the toggle and plop into my vibrating tumbler to
polish while I work on something else. You can explore quite a few
articles on it and its uses on
Since there was only response that I saw to the ABI welder inquiry, I
thought that I would throw my hat into the ring. My pulse arc welder
had been back to the manufacturer 3 times in the first 6 months of
having it. It needs to go back again as it is has decided not to work
again. I didn’t even get 5 hours of use out of it in 2006 before it
went kaput! I have it on a surge protector in my studio and I only
plug it in the unit when I use it. It remained unplugged the rest of
the time. While I can say that the folks at ABI try to be very
accomodating, I have to be honest and say that purchasing this has
been a huge mistake. I will likely sent it to the company for one
last repair and then do my best to sell it to try and offset my
losses.