How to Tune a Tattoo Machine

Video Transcript

"So when you're tuning your tattoo machines, you have a liner and you have a shader, there's a couple of different adjustments that you can tweak to get your machine to run well. Having a device that provides you with information regarding exactly what your machine is doing is really helpful; not necessary but definitely helpful. For you liner and your shader, the first consideration is your springs. Having different spring weights, length and shapes appropriate to each machine is important; it's going to be difficult for you to get your machine tune properly if you don't have your springs put on there properly. Okay, so having the right springs for the right machine is really important. On your shader, you want your shader to have a, a longer, smoother stroke to it. So on the little meter that I have here, it gives you information, telling you exactly what exactly what your machine is doing. This little adjustment here can basically, you can move this little screw forward a little to make it, so that your, your contact opens for a longer or shorter time. The shorter the time is, that the contact is open, the faster your machine runs. So for a shader, you want it to be opened a little bit longer. Also, inside of here, the little contact screw. You always want to make sure to have the little tough one ball on there or something to, so you don't beat up the threads on this; it's going to make it really harder for you either tune your tattoo machine if this contact screw is beat up. Also, the weight of your armature bar is going to determine how well your machine is going to be performing for each job. For your shader, your want to have your armature bars so that it's moving a little slower and more deliberately as oppose to a shader where it needs to move hard and fast. So for your shader you want to have a longer, softer spring on the front here, so that it opens and closes slower in that heavy armature bar and a longer, a longer rear spring here. Your shader should be running with the tube and a needle on it between 75 and 85 hertz, which is basically cycling times per minute. For you liner, it should be running between a 110 and a 120. Your armature bar on this one has part of it cut away here, there's lots of ways to lighten up your armature bar so that it runs a little bit faster. But your front spring on the liner is a lot heavier so that that gap opens and closes a lot faster and your rear spring is a lot shorter so that it's hitting a little bit harder and a little bit punchier so that you're putting in a clean line. Also, on the meter shows the duty cycle which says basically how much stress is being put back and forth on that rear spring. So you want it to be moving at about fifty percent which means it's getting pulled in both directions equally. And again you can adjust the contact screw here to make it you know, the gap open and close faster or faster or slower, to increase the speed for your liner or decrease it for your shader. But the springs are the life of your machine. And basically having a meter will also tell you what or when your, when your machine springs need to be replaced. Also on your coils which pretty much will last forever having them properly shinned is another, is another important factor. When you pull the armature bar forward by the armature bar and half of the spring, you should have a little tiny gap on the rear spring here. An old method was the thickness of a business card in between these, these rear coil while your holding this flushed against it. Another thing, if you're trying to tune your machine that it's out of tune is making sure that all of your, all of your electrical components coming to your machine is not any short in your wires or your, that the plugs or whatever are properly soldered or attached in there and that you know, where your power supply gets hooked into the wall, that might be another constitutes of your machine isn't running properly. Make sure to check all of your electrical connections first."