Purchasing and tuning a Tattoo Machine....

A tattoo machine is the most central piece of tattoo equipment. If you are serious about tattooing, then your tattoo machine purchase is very important. Whether you are looking for a tattoo machine in order to start practicing the art, or you are looking to supply a tattoo studio, purchasing this piece of equipment is a very big step. Let us show you how to go about it. The first thing you need to know before investing in a tattoo machine is the type of materials a good tattoo machine is made of. Tattoo machines need to be made of very high quality metal. This will keep them from breaking when you are working with it. Tattoo machines are normally made of conductive materials such as iron, brass, or copper. Look for tattoo machines made of these strong types of metal to be sure you are getting one of high quality. The next thing you need to know about buying a tattoo machine is what size and variety of machine to buy. Tattoo machines usually serve one purpose; lining” or shading. Many stores will try to sell you a lining machine and a shading” machine together for one price. On the other hand, some machines are made to be liners and shaders in one. These versatile machines are usually a lot more expensive and much more powerful and should be used by only the most experienced tattoo artists. This is because a tattoo machine needs to be tuned to switch between lining and shading functions. A tattoo machine that serves both purposes will need to be tuned very often. If you are new to the art of tattooing, you should consider purchasing a tattoo machine in a kit. These kits are available most everywhere and are great for tattoo artists who are just starting out. Many of these kits come with a lining and a shading machine as well as a wide variety of additional supplies.

Tuning your machine: 

This video shows you how to setup a tattoo machine to do lining and shading. Make sure the armature bar and front spring has about a 4mm gap. Once that is on, set it to about a 30-degree angle. Next with the contact spring you need to set the armature bar and the tool should be set to about 2mm. A good way to check this is with a dime. Now as long as the tattooing machine runs and sounds correctly you are all set to go. For shading, the throw on the armature bar should be 3-4mm--just a little less than the lining machine since you want the spring to do the work. Each step is illustrated and spoken through. Very easy to follow.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kM9c3nj4muU&feature=player_embedded