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This is a tutorial on how to make a fully functional tattoo machine for cheap. Why wont you do it? it's mainly house-hold items that you probably have lying around, and its allso fun ans easy to make.
This tattoo machine really works and its able to tattoo a person but lets be clear, this tattoo machine must NOT be used to tattoo a person or any living thing since the parts we'r using are not sterilized and you may end up causing MORE HARM THAN GOOD.
This tattoo machine really works and its able to tattoo a person but lets be clear, this tattoo machine must NOT be used to tattoo a person or any living thing since the parts we'r using are not sterilized and you may end up causing MORE HARM THAN GOOD.
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Signing UpStep 1Collect the supplies
what we will need for this tattoo machine is:
- A mechanical pencil.
- A low E guitar string (must be metal)
- A broken spoon or any piece of scrap metal.
- A small electric motor.
- A clothes button.
- An electical button or switch.
- Some batteries or power supply.
- Some electrical tape.
- A mechanical pencil.
- A low E guitar string (must be metal)
- A broken spoon or any piece of scrap metal.
- A small electric motor.
- A clothes button.
- An electical button or switch.
- Some batteries or power supply.
- Some electrical tape.
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So, if you just want to play on some fruit, go for it, but it doesn't cost huge amounts to get a working rig that you can tat friends or yourself with.
-This is a very basic and clean cut tattoo machine, known in the industry as a "rotary machine". In it's refined and retail-sold state, the concept is identical and varies only materials and the addition of a separate, not on-board power supply.
-speed. The speed of a reciprocating needle is VERY important to the quality of a tattoo, the trauma the skin suffers, stability of the machine, and the speed at which you tattoo the person with. Your best bet in this case is to tinker with resistors of variegated capacities and resistance. They are very inexpensive and available at most electronics stores and hardware stores. They will make a world of difference.
-the needle and tube. The needle itself is not sterilized. Many people do not realize that an open flame, bleach, nor boiling water come anywhere near sterilization. Sterilization is the sum of two factors- pressure of at least 18psi and temperature of at least 250°+. the plastic tube, which should never be used, is not able to withstand the temperatures required without melting. But- great news! The retail world is brimming with people willing to sell anybody-even me- tattoo supplies. If you look on any number of sites, you will find that not only will a 50-pack of single liner needles made of surgical steel and extremely sharp that are already sterilized cost LESS than a set super slinky strings, but the accompanying tubes that match the needle size and are also sterilized cost about +/- $0.80 each. That's probably less than you'd pay for value pen! Could that get any better. And those plastic tube/tip combinations they sell also have nice chunky grips at no extra cost! That's using your noggin AND saving money!
-ink. The ink in a printer cartridge is EXTREMELY TOXIC. It has all sorts of compounds in it, that when dry on paper, are harmless. Think lead, cobalt, and in some cases chromium. Do you really want that in your skin? Ink doesn't "dry" under the skin like it does on paper. Real inks, or pigments, are made using water, glycol, glycerine and sometimes alcohol(not the drinking kind) as binders. So, let's have a look at some more boring economics: inks are pricy. They yield maybe 1/4oz of useable ink in a cartridge. Say the cheap brands cost $20 each. And if you're being fancy, you're doing some color for that awesome effect. So you buy a color cartridge- yellow blue and reddish/pink. You're now at $80. Or $80 you owe to your parents for tearing their cartridges up. Now, open that thing we call interwebs and go to the google. In the google you will again find a plethora of tattoo suppliers. Use that $80 and see what you get- the lowest commonly sold size of ink is 1/2oz, already twice what you get from a printer cartridge and many times what comes out of a pen tube (which is even less safe!). For $80 I'm willing to bet you can get a lovely assortment of at least 10 colors including black and white, in 1/2oz sizes with money still left over to buy a pack of needles and a few tubes with. How can that get any better?
-needle depth. 7mm is extreme. You might as well use something that deep to tattoo from one side of a persons arm and have the ink show up on the other. Okay, that won't really happen but here's what probably will- the ink, at 7mm deep, is below the epidermis, below the subcutaneous, below the connective tissue, and in most places below the skin. 8mm is the size of the large bottom ball on a navel ring. Now way is your skin just a mm less thick than that! So, you may end up with a blur, that in a year may look like a permanent bruise, or more likely, it will quickly fade to nothing, except a scar where the skin suffered the effect of a combined chainsaw-scalpel-blade. 5mm is more realistic, but still too deep for your skin. However, many artists to have machines with a 5mm throw. This isn't to say that all 5mm enters and exits the skin, however. Personally, my lining machine is run on low voltage- around 5.5volts, high output coils, stiff springs, and has a hard hitting throw of only 3mm. And I have it tuned to it's lowest possible throw because I'm heavy handed. That said- the depth of the needle you are using is very easily tunable to whatever desired depth by simply moving the bar closer or further from the center. That's one of the cool things about it!
All things said, your design is not really flawed, just the material execution. In fact, I am going to use this instruct able to build an exact replica using sterile equipment, not even the resistors. I will post results and pictures of what happens!
Best of luck, maybe one day you will unknowingly be an artist working on me :)
I would be glad to see pictures of your finished machine when ur done!