Cufflinks connection issue

Hi there,

Has anyone had welding experience with Ballou finding #139812 -
cufflinks connection (fusion), there is a nib on the top of it.

The ballou said that it is designed for a fusion welding machine.
they use ABI machine. but it is much expensive for me. can any other
fusion machine work well to the finding ? I don’t want to use torch
welding anymore.

Thanks!
Peter Deng

Peter:

Assuming this is the standard, one-piece, spring-loaded cufflink
finding, it will not work with a Sparkie fusion welder. My
understanding is the ABI machine used to weld this finding has both
more power and a pneumatic hammer to drive the finding into the
workpiece. You can use a U-shaped cufflink lug on the Sparkie and
manually rivet the rest of the piece on, but that requires a
different (three-piece) Ballou finding. In any case, I have found
fusion welding larger findings is not always a successful endeavor,
as they sometimes require enough voltage to blow a hole in the
workpiece or melt part of the finding itself.

John Walbaum