01What kind of welder do you need for permanent jewelry?
A micro pulse arc welder. It stores a small charge and releases it in one short pulse through a tungsten tip, melting a spot on a jump ring so the ring closes on itself. Sunstone gives a spot size of 0.5 to 2.0 mm for the Zapp Plus 2, Pepetools 0.5 to 1.5 mm for the Helix. That's the scale: smaller than a grain of rice.
Three families exist. Welders built for this trade by brands that publish their figures: Sunstone, Everlinx, Pepetools, from $1,249 to $3,199. Welders from training companies, like the LINKED Luxe at $997. And generic bench spot welders around $300, which we cover in are cheap permanent jewelry welders worth it.
All fifteen products we compare, nine welders and six kits, are in our ranking of permanent jewelry welders, scored by one formula.
02Check 1: how low does the power go, and in what steps?
Brands print the top of the range in big type: 30 joules. For bracelets you'll rarely go near it. Fine jump rings are welded at the low end, so two other figures matter more: where the range starts, and how big each step is.
The Everlinx EVERARC starts at 0.5 joule and moves half a joule at a time. The Zapp Plus 2 and the Helix start at 1 joule with one-joule steps. The Orion mPulse starts at 1 with half-joule steps up to 15. The first Zapp starts at 3 and stops at 10: fine for standard rings, limiting elsewhere.
Be wary of a welder with no joule figure at all. LINKED publishes none for the Luxe; Tooltos gives amps and milliseconds. They may weld well, but you can't compare them, and the settings charts other artists share won't transfer. In our formula an unpublished range scores 2 out of 10.
03Check 2: what protects your eyes?
The arc is a bright flash a few inches from your face, repeated all day. Sunstone's optics guide puts it this way: "You don't necessarily need an auto-darkening lens, but you must use eye protection." For shade numbers, the reference is OSHA 1910.133.
Open each box and you find three levels. Nothing: the bare EVERARC and R Series, the Tooltos (which says so itself), the LINKED Luxe page. Shaded glasses: the Sunstone welders and kits, the Helix. A screen that darkens for each weld: the EVERARC + EVERSHIELD, the Everlinx Starter Kit and the Helix Starter Kit.
Glasses protect you. A darkening screen protects you and lets you see the ring clearly until the instant of the pulse. If your box has glasses and you want a screen later, price it now: $312 or $510 at Sunstone (eclips lens, Upgraded ADL), $449 to $499 at Pepetools, on November 13, 2026. Either way, your client needs glasses too, or to look away.
04Check 3: who teaches you?
If you have a friend in the trade, skip ahead. If you don't, this check may matter more than the welder.
Sold alone, welders come with a manual and a support line. Courses live in the starter kits: Sunstone's PJ University (plus one-on-one mentoring in the Dream and Legacy kits), Everlinx's app course, LINKED's 7 to 8 hours of video. Pepetools includes a 30-minute Zoom session.
So the real choice is welder or kit. A kit bundles the welder with chain, tools, eye protection and training, usually for less than the parts. Our starter kit ranking compares six. A welder alone suits you if you already own supplies; those nine are in the welding machine ranking. What a certificate is worth, and what it isn't, is in our training guide.
Video: "How to Weld a Permanent Bracelet", AG Jewelry Supply Co. on YouTube. Not made by us; chosen because it shows the welder or the topic clearly.
05Check 4: what happens if it breaks, or if you change your mind?
Warranty first. Sunstone, Everlinx and Pepetools all give 3 years on the welder; Pepetools adds that a replacement ships overnight if phone support can't fix yours. LINKED and Tooltos give 12 months.
Then returns, where the brands differ more than their prices do. All from their own policies, read on November 13, 2026:
- Everlinx welders and bundles: 30 days, no restocking fee listed.
- Sunstone: 30 days, 10% restocking fee, refund by check.
- Pepetools: 30 days, a fee of up to 25% "in some instances"; precious-metal chain can't go back.
- Everlinx starter kits: 30 days, but $750 non-refundable plus $150.
- LINKED: all machinery and kit sales final.
A $3,000 purchase you can't undo is a different purchase. Our formula takes two points off the returns score for any fee or non-refundable part.
06Check 5: will you carry it?
Most new artists start at pop-ups, so weigh the welder, literally. The purpose-built ones that publish a weight run from 1.9 lb (Zapp Plus 2) and 2 lb (Helix) to 3 lb (EVERARC) and 3.4 lb (EVERARC R Series). The Tooltos bench machine weighs 17.6 lb.
Power is the other half. Every welder here plugs into the wall except the EVERARC R Series, which runs on a battery: up to 1,500 welds per charge, says Everlinx. And decide about gas before you pack: Sunstone teaches welding with argon and includes small tanks in its kits; Everlinx and Pepetools say you can leave it at home. Both sides are in our argon guide.
Stylus length is a comfort detail worth a glance: 72 inches on the Zapp Plus 2, mPulse and Helix, 65 on the EVERARC. A long cord lets you put the welder where it's safe and the client where the light is good.
07So which one should you buy?
Starting from zero with someone to learn from: the Pepetools Helix Starter Kit, $2,399 on sale, 9.6/10. A 30-joule welder, a folding darkening screen, gold-filled chain.
Starting alone: the Sunstone Dream Kit ($3,199) for a mentor and argon, or the Everlinx Starter Kit ($2,999) for an app course and a dimming screen.
Welder only: the EVERARC + EVERSHIELD at $1,749, or the Helix at $1,499 if price leads. Still torn between two? Put them in the comparison tool.
08The products in this guide, side by side
| Product | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What you get | Welder only | Welder only | Welder only | Welder only |
| Power range | 1–30 J | 1–30 J | 0.5–20 J | 3–10 J |
| Eye protection in the box | Shaded glasses | Shaded glasses | Auto-darkening screen | Shaded glasses |
| Training in the price | Manual + support | Manual + support | Manual + support | Manual + support |
| Chain included | None (welder only) | None (welder only) | None (welder only) | None (welder only) |
| Welder weight | 2 lb | 1.9 lb | 3 lb | Not stated |
| Warranty | 3-year | 3-year | 3-year | 3-year |
| Where to buy | Check price at Pepetools | Check price at Sunstone | Check price at Everlinx | Check price at Sunstone |
✓ marks the best figure of the row. Prices checked November 13, 2026 on each brand's own US store.
This guide helps you buy equipment and plan a budget; it isn't safety, legal, tax or insurance advice, and it promises no income. Licensing, sales tax and insurance rules change from state to state and city to city: check yours, and read your welder's manual before your first weld.
