By
eHow Careers & Work Editor
Difficulty: Moderately Easy
Step1
Get required tattoo machine parts. To run your tattoo machine, you must have major components like a power supply, footswitch and clip cords. If you bought a tattoo kit, then all of these items were probably included, otherwise you'll need to purchase them separately from a tattoo supply store.
Step2
Buy disposable tattoo machine parts. Tattoo needles are the most common disposable part needed for a tattoo machine. Tubes can be either reusable metal or disposable plastic, so depending on the setup, these would fall under Step 1 for reusable and Step 2 otherwise. Other disposable parts include grommets or nipples, barrier bags to cover the machine during use, o-rings to reduce chatter and rubber bands to hold needles in place. Purchase all these items at tattoo supply shops, or you can get the rubber bands at an office supply store.
Step3
Keep parts on hand to fix a busted tattoo machine. It's not uncommon to have a capacitor fail or a spring to break during everyday usage. You should have spare parts on hand to fix any common problems that might occur.
Step4
Save time and money by buying a rebuild kit. These kits can provide you with a variety of parts to give your tattoo machine a complete overhaul. You can then add to this kit based on parts that are more specific for your machine. A good kit will contain everything you need to fix a machine or rebuild it.
Step5
Purchase parts to build your own machines. Standard rebuild kits won't come with the larger parts required for building a machine from scratch. Buy items like machine frames, chucks, armature bars, binders, spring clamps, spring saddles and a bigger variety of coils. You can find lists of various parts at many tattoo supply shops and by reading magazines dedicated to machine building.
