I am looking at buying an arc welder in the near future. Does anyone
have any preferences, pros or cons about the ABI’s Pulse-Arc Welder
or Lampert Tools PUK 2 Spot Welding Machine.
I currently am using an ABI Tack II to tack pieces together before
assembly. The unit does great for all gold items but not very
successful when items are gold/silver or silver/silver. I am
interested primarily in using the arc welder to preassemble several
parts together so that I can come back and do all the soldering
without worrying that any of the parts shift. I would like to know
if anyone has been successful using the arc welder to work on
gold/silver items as well as how it does on permanent welds for
repair work next to heat sensitive stones.
I am not an expert on these welders, though we carry them. What I
wanted to let you know was there is a new ABI product that has not
been advertised yet. It is their Power Tower which essentially is
the Tack II and the Pulse Arc III in one cabiniet. The pulse arc
three is actually an upgrade and can do several other things
including a continuous bead weld. You might want to check that out.
I have a PUK 2 and have been very happy with it. It is much more
effective on silver than the Tack 2 which I used to own and traded
to a friend. I use the PUK 2 on my mokume as well as on single and
mixed metal fabrication projects. I have found it to be a
indispensable tool. It does have a learning curve, expect to spend
some time with it to learn how to best use it.
I have not tried the Tack 3 or Mini Tack because I could not find a
vendor who would let me try one before I purchased one but there are
several reasons I went with the PUK . One is the access issue, the
tungsten electrode on the PUK is exposed so you can put it into
places where the ceramic insulator on the Tack would interfere.
Two, I had a problem with my Tack 2 and was not happy with the way
the issue was handled by the manufacturer so I was not inclined to
buy from them again. Three, I just like the design of the PUK better
it has that look of fine German engineering
I have an acquaintance who is quite happy with the Tack 3 and Mini
Tack. I belive both the PUK 2 and the Mini Tack will do similar
work.
Jim Binnion
James Binnion Metal Arts
Phone (360) 756-6550
Toll Free (877) 408 7287
Fax (360) 756-2160
@James_Binnion
Member of the Better Business Bureau
My I suggest that you look in to Oxy/Acetylene or a TIG welder. I
have a TIG welder that I can control to do about anything other
welders can do. Instead of welding many metals together, with the
TIG I can fuse them together with occasionally a small amount of
fill metal, without fluxes or additional chemicals.
