PUK 111 spot welder

Jewelry Discussion
1

A few weeks ago there was a thread about the PUK 111 spot welder.
Has anyone on this list had much/any experience with this
machine(apart from sending a defective one back)? Will it weld
sterling jump rings closed without requiring much clean-up? What is
the cycle time and duty rating–i.e. can it be used efficiently in a
high production environment? How large a join can it make?

thanks,
Edward

2

We got ours and it is working perfectly. Have not had a whole lot of
time to actually experiment with it. Of course we are also a little
jaded as we have a laser welder sitting 10 feet from it to use
instead. So far we have reached a few conclusions about it.

1 - It is much easier to learn to use than a laser welder. 
2 - It is not as precise as a laser welder. 
3 - It welds gold better than silver. 
4 - It welds silver easier than a laser welder. 
5 - It is very difficult to add filler wire with it. 
6 - It welds jump rings beautifully. 
7 - Solid spot welds are easy. 
8 - Seams are hard.

All in all I would say that it does what it says very well and can
do some of the work of a laser welder. I am sure that as we get more
experience with it we will be able to do a wider range of work. The
quality of the machine and accessories is tremendous, but the manual
leaves you with lots of questions. The cycle time at full power (way
more than what a jump ring requires) is a couple of seconds.
Probably a bigger concern is how frequently you have to sharpen the
electrode as that takes a minute or so to remove the argon nozzle,
loosen the collet, sharpen the tip, reassemble.

If anyone in the Colorado area wants to try the PUK out just contact
me and I will be happy to schedule time to let you play with it for
free. All you have to bring is the material you want to weld. If any
USA Orchid member is looking to buy one we will give a discount for a
prepaid order.

Tim
tim@A2ZMetalsmithSupply.com
A2Z Metalsmith Supply Inc
5151 S Federal Blvd Unit I-9
Littleton CO 80123
720 283-7200 Phone
720 385-2118 Fax

3

Greeting from the Midwest Edward!

Having just returned form the Chicago Bench Jewelers Conference over
the past weekend. I was able to sit down and try the PUK 111 myself.
There were several Companies that had the unit “for test drive.” SEP
out of Chicago had the best price.

I had done some research, having seen it demonstrated for the 1st
time at the WI Jewelers Show about three weeks ago. They would not
let you use it, emphasis on demo. And they were only welding
stainless screws together. Never in my 18 years of business have I
ever been asked to weld two screw-heads together. I brought my own
Sterling spring ring and o ring. I missed the first time on the
spring ring. And “Gabby” the CO rep. turned up the power. It took
two hits to close the seam without a visible joint. The o ring took
one hit (practice?) little to no oxidation because it also uses
argon gas at the point when the weld takes place. I was most
impressed! The pen welding point is the diameter of a pin! Much
improvement over the sparkie welders (thick and having to change the
collets for the different jobs) They also had a unit on display that
uses a microscope with tinted glass that has not been introduced to
the market yet.

Extremely Quick, no solder, no flux. Does take a little practice.
Virtually seconds to weld a seam. I also was able to try my hand at
the laser welding booth. Unbelievable. No comparison as to the
endless possibilities…but price was prohibitive. I am negating
with another CO for best price on the PKU 111. Contact me
directly… if I can be of any further assistance…perhaps we can
get a better price with more than one unit ordered. The stand to
hold the welding pen and the grounded pliers are an additional cost.
Bottom line, I am ordering one!

Nancy Anderson
Design Force
Rockford, IL
Dsgn Force@AOL.com

4

Edward,

I have been using the PUK 111 for about one month and had very good
success with many applications as well as a couple of things that
did not work. Jump rings are a breeze any thing that is a clean
straight joint will work very well. Sometimes I have had to use some
filler material to make a better weld. What kind of things do you
want to do with the welder? I’m still learning with this machine
every day so be patient.

MITCH.

5

Mitch,

I’ve been following this interesting thread. You said a couple of
things didn’t work, but you didn’t tell us what. I’d be interested
in knowing, since I’m considering this machine.

Tess

6

Does anyone have one of these PUK’s in the northern Virginia area, I
would love to see it in action! Wayne Orchid rules.

7 
    Probably a bigger concern is how frequently you have to
sharpen the electrode as that takes a minute or so to remove the
argon nozzle, loosen the collet, sharpen the tip, reassemble.

I appreciate the feedback to my questions from several of you.
Thanks. However, the in this post leaves me with an uneasy
feeling… How often would I have to take a minute or so while
fusing jump rings… If I had 1000 jump rings to do would this
machine be quicker than just soldering them and batch-finishing them
to brighten them up again? Would I have to stop every 5 welds for a
minute or so to sharpen the tip? Just wondering if this machine is
appropriate for production work.

sincerely,
Edward

8

After reading many postings on this equipment I researched through
my connections.

The best price that I have seen so far is $2449.00 plus shipping.
This is suppose to be a show special as list price is $2600 plus.

There is no room for further discount as the mark up for the dealers
& distributors is very small.

Hope this helps those who are in the market for this equipment.

Regards

Kenneth Singh
karat46@aol.com

9

-Tess, The couple of things that haven’t worked are things like; I
could not weld a pair of stainless steel eye glasses. They welded
but broke again every time I tried to put the lenses back in. Maybe
I could have welded the frame with the lens still in the frame but I
was afraid I might damage any coating that might be on the glass.

Very thin items are a problem, I’ve blown thru a couple of things
like extremely lite weight earrings. I was trying to solder a post
and blew a hole in the back, the customer was just happy to be able
to wear the earrings so it worked out. When trying to weld the rivet
in an emerald bracelet ( department store junk ) on the lowest
setting I melted part of the setting. However I was able to weld a
piece back in and fix it.

I tried to weld an extremely heavy metal pocket book handle. I got
it tacked but it kept breaking before I could finish the weld so I
had to return it.

And I did ruin a 2 mm. c.z. while welding a prong on but I did fix
that without to much trouble.

Overall it is the best machine I’ve bought in years and no tool can
do everything you want it to. It’s just a matter of learning the
parameters. And quite honestly it’s hard to know what this thing is
able to exactly do from the info available from the vendors and their
literature and fliers GOOD LUCK, MITCH.

10

My experience is limited and as I get more practice I do find that I
don’t burn the tip of the electrode as quickly. With that said I
would guess that you would be sharpening every 10 - 20 welds.

Tim
A2Z Metalsmith Supply Inc
5151 S Federal Blvd Unit I-9
Littleton CO 80123

720 283-7200 Phone
720 385-2118 Fax