I’ve had my PUK 3 for awhile, I primarily use it for making chains
and really never done much else with it than welding jumprings shut.
Recently I’ve been attempting to expand what I do with my chains,
but I’ve been running into some problems. Primarily attempting to
add jumprings to settings in order to work them into my chains. My
jumprings are mostly in the 26ga range, making them aprox…34mm. The
settings are more than double that that at.80mm. So far most of my
attempts with the PUK have resulted it nothing happening or the
jumpring being severely deformed or destroyed. I assume this is due
to the size difference.
Has anyone had any luck with this? Or is it something that’s just
unlikely to happen? I’ve thought about trying laser wire, but I’m
not sure if that would make much of a difference or not. While I can
resort to soldering normally, welding would offer me greater
control, accuracy of placement and speed.
I bought a used PUK 111 and am experiencing the same problems. A
disparity in the size of pieces to be welded seems to be a real
nightmare. I have so far been able to - melt metal without welding
anything - blow holes in both pieces. Somewhere in the middle is a
perfect weld…I haven’t been able to find the “sweet spot.”
I was just going to post a request to the group when I saw yours. I
live in Central Florida and would love to spend some time with anyone
who is willing to share their expertise with one of these welders. I
would be willing to pay for the opportunity. This should be a good
tool at the bench, but the learning curve is tough. I guess trying to
control lightning will never be simple. Good luck, and if you should
happen to become proficient, please let the rest of us know what
magic word is.
Ceryk, You might weld a small lump of approximately 26 gage filler
wire, onto the setting first. Lay the wire flat against the setting
and tack it on. Use another pulse to cut it. Then place the filler
wire on top of the first weld and repeat. This will give you a small
raised lump of metal on the setting. Now weld your jump ring to this
lump on your setting. Don’t forget to use pressure on the joint. I
like to uses pliers that have a pressure limit adjustment screw, so
as not to apply more pressure than is necessary at the moment that
the work is molten. Capture both parts of the work between the
pliers. I bought adjustable pliers from Rio Grande. I cut a tiny
notch in them approximately the size of wire to aid in holding the
jump ring. When using my TIG welder I have the advantage of being
able to determine my arc length. I am using high frequency start
rather than lift arc start, as your PUK uses. Also I have the
advantage of being able to preheat the heavier portion of the work
with a continuous arc and then add the lighter portion. This
technique is the same as oxy/gas welding, except with electricity
supplying the energy source.
Its kind of guesswork, but the key is attaching the alligator clip at
the proper distance from the spot that will be welded. The thinner
the metal between the clip and the weldspot means you must place the
clip further away. Thicker metal allows you to place the clip closer
to the weld spot.
Its kind of guesswork, but the key is attaching the alligator clip
at the proper distance from the spot that will be welded. The
thinner the metal between the clip and the weldspot means you must
place the clip further away. Thicker metal allows you to place the
clip closer to the weld spot.
Hm, I’ll have to try that. I still don’t know much about welding
with it. But that would definately explain why when welding
jumprings closed some weld perfectly while others either don’t want
to weld at all and others over weld and leave annoying balls.
Though I’m not sure I can get the connection much further away
unless I wrap a piece of wire around it and connect the lead to that
so it’s futher off.
I’d also appreciate any other PUK/Pulse Arc welding tips anyone
might have, relevant to this or not.