Tack III Tack/Arc Welder Instructions

Back to Tacking Machine Page

Setup Procedures and Requirements

1. Electrical Requirements: Please check the welder identification label to insure you have the proper voltage requirements for your welder. ABI welders are configured for either 100/120 volt or 208/240 volt, single phase, 50/60 hertz/cycles. If by chance you have ordered or received the wrong voltage welder for your area, do not plug the welder into an outlet. Contact the factory or your representative in order to receive the proper voltage welder. Once you have checked for the proper voltage, please inspect to insure that your power outlet is earth grounded. ABI welders will not function properly without a three prong earth ground power supply. It is further recommended that no other machines which may have electrical current surges or heavy electrical line demands be plugged into the same power line source as your welder. Such other machines may cause the welder to fluctuate and/or may cause the welder to be damaged electronically.
2. Optional Argon Gas Supply: The welder has an argon gas option. If you choose to use this option, you may purchase a bottle of Argon gas from your local welding gas supply house. A proper regulator for Argon gas must be ordered. Set the bottle upright in the general vicinity of the welder. Use 1/8" ID light duty 250 PSI rated polyurethane tubing to connect the bottle regulator to the gas in connection at the rear of the welder cabinet. Insure that all gas connections are secure and contain no leaks. You may check for leaks using a soap and water solution to look for bubbles at the connections. Argon gas is not flammable or highly toxic, but there is always a danger with compressed gas bottles. Please obtain and read the instructions pertaining to gas bottle safety wherever you buy the gas. Argon gas safety regulations should be observed.
3. Position of Welder- Position your welder at the rear of your work bench. Leave enough room at the front of the bench to place your contact pad or work station. Insure that the welder and workstation area are set upon a wooden or plastic work surface. Do not use a metal top bench without plastic or wood on the weld area.
4. Plug in the Welder: Plug your welder into your properly grounded electrical outlet with the proper voltage supply. Turn the power switch on. The indicator light should come on immediately. If there is no indication of the power being on, unplug the welder and turn lo the trouble shooting section in this manual for instructions.
5. When Power Is On: and the voltage adjustment knob is functioning on the front control panel, connect the two electrode tools you have chosen to the black (-) and/or red (+) connectors on the front control panel. You have optional electrode tools to choose from on the price list or you may make your own. Standard tools available are the contact pad workstation, weld pliers, weld tweezers and pulse arc pencils used with tungsten electrodes and ceramic insulators. These ceramic tips are used only with the Tack III models that have pulse arc welding. Plug the foot switch pedal into the rear of the welder cabinet to complete the welder setup.
6. Optional Pressure Setting of Argon Gas: Set the pressure at 7-10 PSI on the regulator on the bottle and 3-5 PSI at the welder gas regulator using the gauge on the front panel. The Argon gas is not always necessary for welding but it does keep the ceramic tip clean and helps reduce the black carbon on the work piece.

Power Switch: The power switch is located on the front panel. Switch the power on and wait for the voltmeter to come up. This should happen within seconds. Please note: Always turn the power off when switching the energy switch from either high, medium or low. Voltage showing on the voltmeter should be discharged to zero before changing the energy.

Voltage Control Regulator: (Potentiometer) allows you to select the amount of DC voltage at the weld surface. Selecting the proper amount of voltage is accomplished through trial and error. If you select too little voltage you will not weld. If you select too much voltage you may burn the pieces you are trying to weld. Practice with scrap metal before trying to weld quality pieces.

Energy Select Switch: The energy select switch allows you to select progressively higher energy (amps) at the weld surface. Please note: the welder should be turned off when selecting a different energy range. This will prevent the burning of the selector switch contacts inside the cabinet.

Gas Regulator and Gauge: See #6 at welder setup (section A) in the front of this manual for gas operation.

Foot Pedal: When the foot pedal is depressed, the electrodes are live electrically. Please wear protective gloves to guard against shock and insure you do not touch the metal portions of the electrodes.

Welder Setup and Testing

1. Power switch on, indicator light comes on. Welder charged and ready after a few seconds.

2. Optional argon gas on and regulated at the welder for 3-5 PSI. Set the tank regulator at 7-10 PSI.

3. Select energy switch by starting at lower settings and increasing to more energy as required.

4. Select the voltage on low at first and increase higher as required to weld pieces.

5. Test welding with steel pieces such as paper clips will allow you to get the feel of the welder without destroying good pieces. Use also scrap gold, silver and brass etc., for test welding to learn of the welder's potential.

6. Hold the pieces to be welded firmly against the contact in order to make good electrical contact and more consistent quality welds.

7. When your pieces are in the proper position, depress the foot pedal to create a weld discharge.

8. Tack III has the pulse arc weld mode which utilizes a series of 4 sizes of weld pencil tips, with 4 sizes of ceramic tips and 4 different size electrodes with 3 different size electrode clamps. When test welding, you select the proper size weld pencil tip and electrode combination through trial and error. If you over power the tip, the ceramic will crack and break quickly. You will also burn out the electrode if you over power it. Choose a larger tip or electrode if it seems necessary. Caution: Always wear eye protection when using the welder. Also protect your clothes from weld sparks.

9. Caution: We recommend the wearing of rubber gloves at all times to prevent electrical shocks to welder operators. Shocks are caused when operators touch the metal areas of the electrode tools.

Warning: when at any time during the welder setup and test procedures, trouble shooting guide or at any time that you are required to remove the cover of the welder, be aware that there is a danger of severe electrical shock from the capacitors. The capacitors used in this welder will hold a very high electrical charge and pose a risk of electrocution. Before removing the cover, please contact our service department for instruction on discharging the capacitors or read the trouble shooting section of this manual.

Trouble Shooting Guide
Caution: always unplug the welder before servicing.

General Operation and Maintenance

1. Weld Flash, Carbon Slag and Surface Oxides- Keeping all weld surfaces clean of surface oxides, dirt and oil is a must in spot welding of any kind. Clean the weld surface and insure that all electrodes, weld pliers, tweezers and contacts remain clean to insure a good contact electrically to the work piece. The pulse arc pencils must have a clean bright end on the recessed electrode. This can be accomplished by raising the voltage and reversing the polarity on the pencil electrical lead. You may connect the black lead (-) where the regular (+) lead is normally. Once you are in reverse, test weld against a piece of scrap metal at high voltage. This trick will ball the electrode end very nicely. Switch back the polarity for standard welding operations. Keeping the ceramic gun tip on the pulse arc pencil clean of carbon and weld slag is a must. Use a stiff tooth brush or wire brush on the tip end. Also reverse the ceramic end to end to utilize both ends before replacing with a new ceramic tip. Caution, the electrode must not touch the inside of the ceramic tip.

2. Optional Weld Pencil Pulse Arc Tip Size

NOTE: With the Tack III model, choosing the proper ceramic gun tip size (four different sizes available), is mostly by trial and error. You will receive one size free on the weld pencil of your choice when you purchase your welder. The other three gun sizes and related hardware are optional.

The #1 ceramic is the smallest size at .038 inside diameter (0.965 mm). Choose an .020 (0.50 mm) or .030 (0.762 mm) diameter electrode with an .020 (0.50 mm) or a .030 (0.762 mm) electrode clamp along with the #1 tip carrier for a complete #1 tip assembly.

The #2 ceramic is .044 inside diameter (1.12 mm). Choose the .030 (0.762 mm) or .040 (1.02 mm) diameter electrode and a .030 (0.762 mm) or an .040 (1.02 mm) combination electrode clamp along with the #2 tip carrier to complete the four piece weld pencil.

The #3 ceramic is .080 inside diameter (2.03 mm). Choose the .040 (1.02 mm) or the .060 (1.52 mm) diameter electrode along with either the .040 or the .060 (1.52 mm) electrode clamp. The #3 tip carrier is necessary to complete the four piece assembly.

The #4 ceramic tip is .111 inside diameter (2.79 mm). Use the .060 (1.52 mm) diameter electrode and the .060 (1.52 mm) electrode clamp along with the #4 tip carrier to complete this assembly.

Select the smallest tip size you can manage for your pieces without continually overpowering the ceramic tip or the electrode. Over powering means you will have to replace either the ceramic tip or the electrode within 5 to 50 or less welds. If this problem arises, you must choose a larger tip and/or electrode in order to gain a longer life expectancy for the ceramic tip and/or electrode.

3. Contact Pad, Weld Pliers, Tweezers or Contacts

The weld contact surfaces must be kept clean in order to insure good electrical conductivity. If your work piece is being scratched or it is sticking to the electrode contact surfaces, you may find it necessary to use the carbon contact pad option. Installing carbon contacts or silver tips for your pliers or tweezers will also insure conductivity and thereby eliminate arcing and/or burning of your pieces.

4. Tacking Work Pieces Together

The Tack III is designed to eliminate the need of fixturing, clips, wire or jigs. Once the findings are attached, they will not move during the soldering operation. The pulse arc Tack III will allow you to finish weld jump rings, make chain repairs without solder or fire scale and discoloration of the base metal. It allows you to weld bezels or settings without removal of the stone or prong setting without removing stones.

5. Quality Welding/Tacking

To weld consistently and weld good quality pieces takes practice. Learning to use the proper tools and the pulse arc weld pencils also takes time. We suggest that you practice with scrap pieces of metal using various energy and voltage levels and remember to try reversing the polarity to gain full knowledge of what the welder will do for you. Practice makes perfect.

6. Welder Misfiring

This indicates that the ceramic tip end requires cleaning. Use a piece of emery sandpaper. Place the sandpaper on a flat surface to finish sand the ceramic tip end. You will also require a stiff toothbrush or wire brush to clean the tip inside. You will notice that the fastest method to clean the tip is to reverse it end for end and use the new clean end of the ceramic. Any carbon residue or weld slag at the end or inside of the ceramic gun tip will cause the welder pre-arc to short out from the ceramic to your work piece. If mix-firing persists, move the electrode closer to the work piece. The electrode should never touch the work piece or the ceramic inside. The electrode should be adjusted forward to within .010 (0.254 mm) to .015 (0.381 mm) of the work surface. Close but not touching. Replace the ceramic tip once it is cracked. Replace the electrode once it is too short to be gripped tightly by the electrode clamp.

Warning: a loose electrode will destroy the electrode clamp.

Caution: wear eye protection and clothing shields when using any welder. Using the Argon gas also assists in consistent welding without misfires.

Part Number List and Description

Weld Pencil  in Use

Weld Pencil with Flat Chains Pulse arc welding for flat, serpentine or link type chains Weld Pencil with Ring Shank Pulse arc welding a ring shank for position prior to final soldering Weld Pencil with Aluminum Pulse arc welding of aluminum prior to salt bath brazing Weld Pencil with Foils Pulse arc welding of thin gold & silver foils without solder Weld Pencil with Hollowware Pulse are welding of hollowware/shell finding prior to final soldering/brazing. Weld Pencil with Jump Rings & Links Finish pulse arc welding of jump rings, chain links or charm links without soldering Weld Pencil with Pivot Pins Pulse arc welding of hinge pivot pins without solder. Weld Pencil with Pivot Pins Pulse arc welding of pivot pins for hinges, catches, hooks or linked findings without solder.