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Any advice or recommendations? I am considering one of these for very small chain / jump ring and other very small work. There appears to be a large range, especially in price! From £ hundreds to a score or so. I only want one capable of very small work as I have said.
David.
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No idea, but I often wondered whether they could be used to tack complex pieces together prior to soldering. Dennis.
Thanks Dennis. Yes another possible use. Almost worth a gamble as I have seen them for sale at less than £30!
Come on “others”…….!!!! Let’s have your opinions!
David.
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I've no practical experience of these but I have some observations, not opinions.
The mini spot welders use copper electrodes I don't think these would be of any use for gold and silver tig I think you would require a tungsten electrode.
The mini spot welders do not produce much of a spark so should not be of any major health and safety issue, tig has a large spark.
The mini spot welders do not use an inert gas, I think you would need an inert gas for precious metal tig welding.
The mini spot welders don't have remote triggering(a foot pedal) I think this would be useful.
I've seen some posts on one of the Facebook groups about the "Sparkle" type machines for use with chain making and seem to be successful but I have questions about the health and safety for the eyes.
The PUK and orion pulse welders have an automatic darkening eye protection. The "Sparkle" type welders don't have this and probably rely on the "close your eyes before triggering the spark" approach which I think is inadequate. You can get replacement auto darkening welding lenses cheaply but they have a small lag between seeing the spark and darkening the lens. You could take this apart and wire in your own trigger to the lens which darkens just before the spark is triggered but this would require some work to be good enough to protect your eyes.
I hope this helps
Thanks a lot for your observations and advice. A lot to consider!
David
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If I were to venture into a welding machine for jewllery use, I would be looking at LASER welders, the entry level units these days are quite inexpensive, in my opinion are way more versatile.
I used a puk welder at collage it was a bit hit and miss for me pardon the pun it did do the job. I have a rofin laser its an old one but it works great it has a microscope on it that I think you really need. Its opened up a whole new creative world for me as I can put things together that wouldn't be easy with solder.
Interesting comments and advice. Thanks. Next question…..where is best to look / buy if I wish to follow this up?
David
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What about a microweld for chain making? That's what a lot of jewellers use in the Birmingham Jewellery Quarter. Just a thought.
Something else to look up and learn about…..great, thanks
David
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