James Boyd

The rear spring’s relation to the front spring and armature bar
is important to the geometry of the frame. These four pieces of
the tattoo machine should be aligned as much as possible to
ensure that optimal

Often times there will be a deck clamp fastened on top of the
rear spring above the rear of the frame. This deck clamp can be
effective when it is compared to a
circular washer because it will allow
the balance of

Like the front spring, rear springs come in different gauges and
shapes as well as a host of lengths and cuts. The rear spring
has the important role of storing the bulk of the energy from
the armature bar

Springs are available in different gauges and different metals.
It is not necessary to match the same gauge metal on the front
spring with the rear spring. Springs come in all different shapes
as well as thickness

The front spring which is also called the timing spring
or the control spring has a lot to do with the speed of
your machine. A harder front spring will make your machine
faster because the front spring absorbs

The front spring is mounted to the armature bar, and is the piece
of metal that will make contact with the front contact screw. As
the armature bar moves due to the magnets in the coils pulling it
down, the front

The springs are what give the tattoo machine its fluid motion
flow. They are the physical mechanical component that will primarily
determine how well the machine runs, and in what capacity.
Springs can be thought

It is important to remember that less wraps in a coil means less
resistance. Less resistance means that the voltage can in theory
get to the place it is going to, faster. The gauge of wire will also
affect this.

Experiment with different coil sizes (heights), and wraps. You
may notice that less wraps will turn the magnets on and off
faster because there is less resistance to complete the circuit.
You may also notice that

Coil wraps are the material that is used to cover the coil. Coil
wraps can be heat-shrink tubing, or a sticker. There are limitless
designs for the sticker coil wraps; the most common is the
checker holograph

Coils come in all different shapes and size variations. The most
common variance is observed by the number of wraps that a
coil will contain, usually anywhere from seven to fourteen. Popular
wrap counts are eight,

As electricity flows through the
tattoo machine it travels around
the coils in the wire, creating an
electro-magnetized core. It is this
magnet that will pull down on the
armature bar and force the needle
into the

The coils are the prime power-plant of the tattoo machine. In my
opinion the coils are the most important part of the actual tattoo
machine. The coil is composed of a core that is wound with wire.
There are

Like everything else in the world of tattoo, there is no such thing
as a “best frame”. You will notice that a lot of the frames available
on the market have similar geometry to the tried and tested
age old

How do you tell if your machine is a cutback? If the
contact post assembly is moved further back than a
normal machine it might be considered a cutback. The
actual frame does not have to be cut in order for

Frames can reveal how a machine is intended to run by the creator
of the frame. This is prevalent in the typically agreed upon
style of the cutback frame. The cutback tattoo machine frame
will have the hole where

Important parts of the frame are the location where the contact
screw is located in relation to the tube vise hole, and its overall
geometry. The overall geometry is the location of the holes that
are tapped in

The way the frame looks on the side is argued to be only superficial
by some, and countered by others to be a prime source
of magnetic field origination. This second group argues that the
amount of metal content

It is also important to note that the machine frame’s metal is not
the only factor you have to consider. The coils, springs, armature
bar, capacitor, and contacts in that order are also important.
It is almost a

Different metals have not only different resistance to electrical
current, but different weights as well. Some artists will prefer to
utilize a lighter machine, and some will prefer more weight. This
is all just a