my thesis statement
Tattooing started as a primitive art yet it has gone through great changes with the introduction of the tattooing machine. The birth of the tattooing machine is very debatable, nonetheless today their are a variety of parts that make up the machine that is used today. To construct a tattooing machine one must be very knowledgeable in the part and the function of how it changed and how it works in the modern world we live in today. my name is Jeffrey Reckinger and this is my graduation project, my whole project has revolved around this little machine, and the things it has seen through in its years of evolution. when you are done checking everything out you will understand exactly how the machine works and what makes a good machine, you will also be able to talk some history with your tattoo artist next time you get a tattoo.
Paper outline
I. Introduction
Thesis: Tattooing started as a primitive art yet it has gone through great changes with the introduction of the tattooing machine. The birth of the tattooing machine is very debatable, nonetheless today there are a variety of parts that make up the machine that is used today. To construct a tattooing machine one must be very knowledgeable in the part and the function of how it changed and how it works in the modern world we live in today. my name is Jeffrey Reckinger and this is my graduation project, my whole project has revolved around this little machine, and the things it has seen through in its years of evolution. when you are done checking everything out you will understand exactly how the machine works and what makes a good machine, you will also be able to talk some history with your tattoo artist next time you get a tattoo.
II.Body
A. History of the tattoo machine
1. before electromagnetism
2. What electromagnetism’s did
3. What Edison did
4. What Samuel O’rielly’s did
5. What Charles wagner’s did
6. What Percy waters and carol nightingale did
B. The process of building a machine and how it works
1. Common build
2. Frames
3. Coils
4. Yoke
5. A-bar setup
6. Binding posts/ contact screw
7. clip cords/ power supply
C. Machine Tuning!
1. Ways to tune your frame
2. Ways to tune your coils
3. ways to tune you’re a-bar setup
4. Tips for the binding post/ contact screw
5. tips for the power supply
III. Conclusion
A. What it takes to build the perfect machine
B. who was the person to invent the tattoo machine
Thesis: Tattooing started as a primitive art yet it has gone through great changes with the introduction of the tattooing machine. The birth of the tattooing machine is very debatable, nonetheless today there are a variety of parts that make up the machine that is used today. To construct a tattooing machine one must be very knowledgeable in the part and the function of how it changed and how it works in the modern world we live in today. my name is Jeffrey Reckinger and this is my graduation project, my whole project has revolved around this little machine, and the things it has seen through in its years of evolution. when you are done checking everything out you will understand exactly how the machine works and what makes a good machine, you will also be able to talk some history with your tattoo artist next time you get a tattoo.
II.Body
A. History of the tattoo machine
1. before electromagnetism
2. What electromagnetism’s did
3. What Edison did
4. What Samuel O’rielly’s did
5. What Charles wagner’s did
6. What Percy waters and carol nightingale did
B. The process of building a machine and how it works
1. Common build
2. Frames
3. Coils
4. Yoke
5. A-bar setup
6. Binding posts/ contact screw
7. clip cords/ power supply
C. Machine Tuning!
1. Ways to tune your frame
2. Ways to tune your coils
3. ways to tune you’re a-bar setup
4. Tips for the binding post/ contact screw
5. tips for the power supply
III. Conclusion
A. What it takes to build the perfect machine
B. who was the person to invent the tattoo machine
Research paper
Mrs. Dunbar
Jeffrey Reckinger
Senior Project Papers
5/1/13
The Tattoo Machine
When it comes to tattooing the tattoo machine is what determines a tattoo artist from a tattooist/scratcher, this meaning if a machine runs a rough cycle then the tattoo will look rough. As much as some people like to believe, no one can control a machine that is not logically put together. The tattoo machine does almost everything when someone is giving a tattoo, the only thing it can’t do is move itself around. So in a sense the artist is only there to guide the tattoo machine in a way that it agrees with (there is no such thing as a good machine that creates excess skin damage, that’s the artist no doubt) This machine is an artist’s servant and will do whatever they make it do, so the rule of thumb is come with grace. The tattoo machine is now 121 years old, but still has seen impressive evolution in that amount of time. As soon as a new design came out for the machine, somebody was already working on an even more advanced one. This has created an argument about who really invented the tattoo machine used these days. . To understand the tattoo machine completely, one must understand its history as well as how it works. The tattoo machine used today was invented in the early 1900s but yet there were people with tattoos for thousands of years before that. One must understand the history of tattooing to understand the tattoo machine completely. To understand the machine completely one must know that the needle does not need the machine to give a tattoo; the machine only needs it to improve the quality of the tattoos. Tattooing started before the tattoo machine was invented. If one travels over a thousand of years into the past to 1820 they will find that there was a brilliant Danish inventor who went by the name Hans Christian Oersted, this is where the glorious story of the tattoo machine begins and only gets better from there.
When the machine first came to be around 1876 it wasn’t even made for tattooing, but someone took that idea and ran with it. Which led to the introduction of a machine in to tattooing, this machine has become one of the most important part when learning to tattoo and it will only get more important as time goes on. This machine has taken up the position of the back bone in the tattooing industry, and it has done its job greatly. Now that it has been stated, just how important the machine is now days it’s time to go back in time, before the machine was even a solid idea. Back in ancient times people were doing tattoos all over the world, but yet had no machine. In that time tattoo was a very important spiritual ritual that was used to show ones wisdom, or there coming of manhood/womanhood. There was very strong reason behind this art form, which is one thing a lot of people have forgotten when they get a tattoo. If someone gets something tattooed on their body just because it looks cool and has no true meaning to their life, then there friends with them when they realize how stupid it is will probably laugh, because the friends already knew. Anyways, these tattoos from the ancient past were done with a single needle and what those ancient people used to make them was probably bone of some sort. What these ancient tattoo artists did was make some ink out of berry’s and carved there needle out of bone, from there they would dip there needle in the ink and proceed to poke the tribesmen with the needle they carved from a dead animal. This really helps one understand why exactly people didn’t live as long back then, nothing just wrote sounds anywhere close to clean/sterilized. These rituals would last hours and once they were finished countless of people looked up to this person, and there wasn’t a little village child who didn’t think they were awesome. All this is to elaborate that the purpose of the machine is not to put ink in the skin, but to simply to replace ones arm. Some might say the needle is part of the machine, but ask them this “if it is part of the machine, why can you run a machine properly without the needle”? That’s because it’s not a part of the machine, it’s an attachment to the machine. It’s now time to travel forward in time to 1820. 1820 is where the story of the tattoo machine truly starts, but yet a tattoo machine was not invented in this time only the concept for one. During this time there was a brilliant Danish inventor who stumbled upon and created the concept of electromagnetism, his name was Hans Christian Oersted. He came to find electromagnetism by accident, he was in the middle of another experiment and during that experiment there was a compass on the table and when a large voltaic pile (battery’s back in the day) was turned on, the electricity messed with the compass needle. Once Hans saw this he started to look into electromagnetism and later came up with a way to create it, this is the system of the tattoo machine that’s called the coils they will later be explain in this paper. After Hans invented this system it was later used by a very famous man in American history, Thomas Edison. In 1876 Thomas Edison being a rich man helped design and fund the creation of the electric pen (tattoo archives, pg. 1). This is what a lot of people say to be the first tattoo machine, but in truth wasn’t made for tattooing at all. Thomas Edison was no doubt the inventor of the electric pen, but in truth did not invent the tattoo machine. Edison’s electric pen was for creating embroidery patterns with an electric punch, how this machine worked was indeed very similar to the tattoo machine, but could not tattoo properly because it was not built for it. So in truth to give him the title of tattoo machine inventor, is giving a man credit for something he didn’t even care about/ didn’t even want to do (basic fundamentals of modern tattooing, Jordan C.R. pg.26). Move forward to 1891 there will be a man that goes by the name Samuel O’Reilly, who is also known as the inventor of the tattoo machine. In truth he was the first person to create a machine that was deemed good for tattooing. So really O’Rielly should be the inventor, but he did not have any idea on how to make one until he found Thomas Edison’s electric pen. He took out what was not needed for tattooing and added a few things that would make it better for tattooing, but he did not invent his own system. Instead he used Edison’s who got his ideas from Hans, so really these two guys just elaborated on already known ideas and that isn’t inventing a tattoo machine at all (Imperial tattoo supply's, pg. 1). Since Samuel O’Reilly did not patent his creation it’s kind of hard to honestly say that he was the inventor, no patent no proof. Sense O’Reilly did not get a patent for his machine that made for more room to argue who is the true inventor, because Charlie Wagner is the person who holds a patent for the first tattoo machine. He patented a machine that he had installed an ink chamber (this made it so the artist does not have to dip his machine in ink a lot, it held ink for later), this machine also used a single coil system like Edison used verses O’Reilly’s dual coil system (tattoo archive, pg.1). People can still argue that Wagner is not the inventor, because if he was why do the majority of tattoo artists use a dual coil system, it’s very rare to see a single coil machine these days. The reason behind this, is because one coil won’t really create the best magnetic field, it’s not strong and can be a bit off balance if you don’t make sure to line it up with the a-bar (machine part)( Ulrich, Brian, pg. 1) Don’t ever tell a professional artist how to build a tattoo machine though, if someone is a professional artist only they can say what’s good for their hand. Now there are three men that people say are the inventors of the tattoo machine, everyone picks their own person of course, but remember these men wouldn’t have known where to begin if it wasn’t for Hans. There are still two pretty important men in this machines history; they went by the names carol “Smokey” nightingale and Percy Waters. “Smokey” The nickname says a lot about him, He rarely put down his pipe which is where the nickname came from of course. This is probably said to be the most interesting tattoo artist, the story’s this man would tell about his past might make you laugh, then cry, then be mined blown. This man would tattoo in a steel cage while smoking his pipe the whole time. “Smokey” is argued to be the inventor of the tattoo machine because he has a patent for an electric marking device (tattoo machine), which used a rectangular base with metal plates on the left and right side with a dual coil system in between them. He also added a few other changes to it, which can’t really be described in pure words( tattoo archive, pg 1). There are a lot of specifics on his patent overall it looks a lot like the urban machine, machines today though are a lot more advance of course making them smaller and lighter. Percy Waters was most well-known for his tattooing, but that’s not to mention his tattoo supply company. Everyone loved him because he was never a cocky artist, he would never say he was the best artist or agree with people if they told him he was. Percy waters responded with “I’m just a good tattoo artist” (tattoo archive pg.1). He was a very humble man that established one of the best tattoo supply companies, and if that’s not enough he also made his own machines and had them patented in 1929 (basic fundamentals of modern tattooing, Jordan C.R. pg. 27). In truth these machines are the closest to urban machines that are used all over the world today, but at the same time to call him the inventor of the tattoo machine would be quite incorrect/rude because tattoo machines had been up and running by that point for a while. When talking about the machines history these men are known to be the most important ones, but if the search is expanded to tattoo history. Countless of more people will pop up. Overall this is a slim number of the mass amount of artists well-known in tattoo history, but to add their names would go against my strictly writing about the machines story.
Now that the history is laid out, it’s time to come and understand how this awesome machine truly works. Well if one walks into any tattoo parlor and looks at every artist’s machine one will notice that they are all setup differently, but at the same time all the machines are put together with the same concept. This is the natural law because one cannot change this concept, and if one thinks they can, then they will be very disappointed when they realize it’s impossible. The picture below will show you the common build and label all the parts; from there it will be explained in words (please refer to the picture whenever needed). Here it is this is how the tattoo machine is put together. It was said one cannot change this setup in any way unless that person wants to be the worst-known tattooist in the world. Here’s how it is built, but still how it works exactly is a whole other story. Well the part that makes it a machine and not just a bunch of pieces of metal and plastic is called the frame (what a surprise). The frame is the back bone to this machine, without a frame all there is, is a bunch of metal and plastic scrap pieces. “The frame is one of the most important parts of the tattoo machine” ("Coil Daddy.", pg. 1). The frame holds everything in place so that the parts will work as well as one sets them up. This system was mentioned before, now it’s time it is explained. The coils are the system that creates the magnetic field from electricity, the question is how. Well the coils are actually a very simple technology, so simple that kids make it in kindergarten these days. These so called coils are really just steel cores with copper wire wrapped around them with a capacitor to regulate the electricity (basic fundamentals of modern tattooing, Jordan C.R. pg. 77). The coils are measured by their wraps, which mean the wire was wrapped around the whole iron/steel core one time. Each layer of copper wire is a wrap; one can find coils with all sorts of different wraps. Once one starts to pump electricity through this wire it will magnetize the steel cores which is the primary source for a good magnetic field, the other parts will make small changes (aside from the frame) to the magnetic field that will add up. Now if one has decided to use a frame that is anything but iron/steel you will need to buy a yoke. A yoke is not the thing you find in the middle of an egg; well it is but the machine is not an egg. A yoke is a piece of iron/steel that one secures under the coils to create a more efficient magnetic field, someone only needs this if your frame is not iron/steel, an iron/steel frame is a yoke itself. The reason you need this if your frame is not made of iron/steel is, because having a frame that is not made out of iron/steel will not create the most efficient magnetic field (which should look like a circle). Iron/steel is the most magnetic metal out there, so to not use one of these materials for the frame means that the machines magnetic field is not complete. To make up for it one just needs to go buy a yoke, or make one there self (basic fundamentals of modern tattoo, Jordan C.R pg. 76). Next comes the a-bar setup, this setup is three different parts made into one. The parts that make up this setup are the armature bar (which is where it gets its name, a-bar setup) the front spring and the rear spring, and these are all connected by a screw. Which has an o-ring (a little rubber circular band) wrapped under the front spring and around the screw. This set up is what one attaches to the needle to, so that it will move up and down. The a-bar set up is what the coils magnetic field pulls down on to move the needle. Now there is only one more system to this machine, and it’s what allows for electricity to flow and create the magnetic field that pulls on the a-bar. This system is broken into three different parts as well; there are the two binding posts along with the contact screw. The contact screw is attached to the front binding post; this contact screw needs to be touching the front spring for there to be a closed circuit (which will allow the tattoo machine to be turned on). The rear binding post is what allows for the artist to connect the clip cord (the electricity’s messanger), which is plugged into the power supply on the other end of it. Once the coils pull on the a-bar and open the circuit, the magnetic pull is shut off. So then the a-bar retracts to its original position and thus continuing the cycle. This of course happens a lot faster than it was wrote, and this will continue until the artist takes there foot off the pedal that is pumping electricity through the machine (basic fundamentals of modern tattoo, Jordan C.R). Hopefully this helped make sense of what is really going on with this machine, now it’s time for details.
Machine tuning is the hardest part of learning to control this machine, if one desires the perfect machine they have to know and understand exactly what they’re dealing with, material means everything. Each system has its own job, and one needs to know how to control it with that system. Again let’s start with the frame; this part is what helps create the perfect magnetic pull. The perfect magnetic field looks like a circle, that’s if you could see it. That’s why if you have a non-magnetic material for a frame you need a yoke to make up for that. The frame will also control the weight of the machine, and some people would rather have a lighter frame. The most important thing when looking for a new frame is the frame geometry; this is what tells you the direction to run. One must build there machine according to its geometry; otherwise the machine will run like a cat with three legs. The frame is the back bone, and for things to work right one must build parallel to it. The frame geometry is actually quite simple, it’s how the spring shelf, coils and tube vise hole line up (they all must fall on the same line). The coils must be moved as far forward as possible, if they interfere with the tube vise hole they are too far forward. There are two types of geometry and two types of frames, there is long and short geometry (2” and longer is long geometry, vice versa for short geometry), second there is a traditional frame and a cut-back frame. A cut-back frame has its front binding post moved closer to the spring shelf verses the tube vice hole, using this frame will allow you to tune your machine with a smaller spring/point gap (this will be explained). Make sure to always remember material is everything, and if one buys a frame made from a non-magnetic material they must buy/make a yoke (Secrets of tattooing, Erin Avylon pg 13-14). The coils are the primary source of the magnetic energy when the machine is running (this is why your machine still runs if the frame is non-magnetic without a yoke). There are so many different kinds of coils, and each can be used for a different reason. This system will change the machine a lot simply by adding wraps or subtracting wraps from the coils. If one has a machine with 10 wrap coils and set the voltage at 10, and at the same time have a machine with 8 wrap coils and they set the voltage at 10 when turned on they will notice that the 8 wrap coils will pull down harder. This is because there is less copper wire in the 8 wrap coils to hold that much electricity, this means that the electricity creates a stronger magnetic pull because the wire can only sustain a curtain level of electricity(Secrets of tattooing, Erin Avylon pg. 26). To weaken the magnetic pull is not always a bad thing; one wants to weaken the magnetic pull for a colored piece or a solid black Celtic/tribal piece, if one weakens there magnetic pull for pieces like this then they will be able to pass over already broken skin more because the machine won’t hit the skin as hard. Remember regardless of the machines punch it’s going to irritate the skin, so if machines pull is weakened then the client will be able to handle the pain better. For a liner you want to use less wraps, this will give the machine a harder punch. Since its just being used it to outline a piece broken skin won’t be touched twice if the artist knows what there doing , therefore utilizing that to make sure the machine is punching the right amount of ink the first time it hits the artist won’t have to double back during any outline they do. This is a common technique among tattoo artists, but that is not to say one can’t find a different way. This is just a technique agreed upon by many artists to be a good way to go for beginners, but there is always another way to get it done well (Secrets of tattooing, Erin Avylon pg. 31). The part of this machine that can really get remotely complicated is the a-bar set-up, this setup controls the speed, throw, and effects the punch as well. In truth there’s not much to it, it’s all controlled by gauges length, and width. A few things to go by when tuning this set-up is the spring/point gap (this is the distance from the tip of the contact screw to the tip of the front spring when the a-bar is touching the coils) this will guide one in tuning the throw (mentor, Brad Migyanka). The paper gap (this is when pressure is put on the a-bar and press it down towards the coils) to test this one does not use all their strength to press down. When this is tested one should see a small gap between the coils and a-bar, this gap should allow for a piece of paper to slide through it and with the paper in the gap there should be no more excess space. The paper gap will guide you in tuning your rear spring tension (spring tension affects the speed and punch the most)(mentor, Brad Migyanka). Angle of deflection (this guides in tuning rear spring tension as well), this is the angle of the spring shelf, which should be at max 3 degrees and tilted towards the rear, any steeper it’s known that it will create problems. The more tension on the rear spring the slower the machine will run (Secrets of tattooing, Erin Avylon pg. 35), if one uses a tense rear spring they should make sure to check on their throw, it might become too short for proper tattooing. The front spring works in similar ways but still does its own job, more tension faster speed and will make your machine hit harder. The speed and throw can be affected by the a-bar itself, if one uses a lower gauge a-bar it will be pulled faster and will resist the magnetic pull less which will make your throw longer ( the throw is the distance the a-bar nipple moves when the machine is in motion). When tuning the throw know that all machine setups should have a long throw, there is not a tattoo artist out there that has a short throw on his/her machine (this is part of the natural laws). The binding posts can’t be tuned too much, when you are tuning the binding posts you need to focus the most on what kind of material they are. If they are made of anything but copper or silver then a new set is needed. The mass production of tattoo machines has decided to use the cheapest materials verses the right materials, which has led to a lot of brass binding posts. Brass should by no means be used for the binding posts, there are three materials that are primarily used for binding posts (brass, copper, and silver). Brass has the lowest conductivity rating; this prevents one from building a machine that has an efficient flow, which is what one should strive for every time they are tuning there machines. Another way to tune this system is with the front binding post/ contact screw; the front binding post/ contact screw can be moved back towards the spring shelf. Doing this will allow the machine to be tuned with a small spring gap, this allows for a very fast machine with a long throw (Secrets of tattooing, Erin Avylon pg. 38-39) This isn’t really part of tuning, but the power supply is very important and one always wants to make sure it’s not too cheap (it can make the machine “twitch”) (Pounded INK, pg.1)
In truth there is a lot more to this machine then people like to believe. If anyone thinks they can pick one up and be a tattoo artist they will excessively hurt people and possibly kill someone with a really serious disease. People have forgotten the seriousness behind this machine and the art as a whole, and that has created chance for disaster. In truth to say someone holds the title of “tattoo machine inventor” would kind of be insulting to everyone who helped the evolution of the tattoo machine. This machine was created from countless of brilliant minds and if it wasn’t for each and every one of them there would not be a tattoo machine as awesome as there is these days, and maybe not one at all. So let people say what they must, but in all truth there really isn’t an inventor of the tattoo machine there is only mechanics. Hopefully the explanation of the machine and machine tuning has provided a better understanding as well. Before all this ends, know that to become a tattoo artist and become an amazing tattoo artist that everyone is very fond of, one must get an apprenticeship. This is the only way one will ever achieve this, also if you decide to go ahead and buy a tattoo kit before your apprenticeship planning to tattoo someone with your machines. You should at least never tattoo anyone but yourself, a side from excessively hurting a friend or potentially killing someone. If mom sees her under age son/daughter with a tattoo she never heard about, she will get your name and will make sure you never see a tattoo machine again in your life. So please keep the maturity alive and do what is right for the reputation of this incredibly awesome art form, otherwise people won’t really care to buy your work. “Tattooing is not an easy business to learn, if you really want to do this then you have to love it and be ready for anything” (mentor interview, Brad Migyanka)
Jeffrey Reckinger
Senior Project Papers
5/1/13
The Tattoo Machine
When it comes to tattooing the tattoo machine is what determines a tattoo artist from a tattooist/scratcher, this meaning if a machine runs a rough cycle then the tattoo will look rough. As much as some people like to believe, no one can control a machine that is not logically put together. The tattoo machine does almost everything when someone is giving a tattoo, the only thing it can’t do is move itself around. So in a sense the artist is only there to guide the tattoo machine in a way that it agrees with (there is no such thing as a good machine that creates excess skin damage, that’s the artist no doubt) This machine is an artist’s servant and will do whatever they make it do, so the rule of thumb is come with grace. The tattoo machine is now 121 years old, but still has seen impressive evolution in that amount of time. As soon as a new design came out for the machine, somebody was already working on an even more advanced one. This has created an argument about who really invented the tattoo machine used these days. . To understand the tattoo machine completely, one must understand its history as well as how it works. The tattoo machine used today was invented in the early 1900s but yet there were people with tattoos for thousands of years before that. One must understand the history of tattooing to understand the tattoo machine completely. To understand the machine completely one must know that the needle does not need the machine to give a tattoo; the machine only needs it to improve the quality of the tattoos. Tattooing started before the tattoo machine was invented. If one travels over a thousand of years into the past to 1820 they will find that there was a brilliant Danish inventor who went by the name Hans Christian Oersted, this is where the glorious story of the tattoo machine begins and only gets better from there.
When the machine first came to be around 1876 it wasn’t even made for tattooing, but someone took that idea and ran with it. Which led to the introduction of a machine in to tattooing, this machine has become one of the most important part when learning to tattoo and it will only get more important as time goes on. This machine has taken up the position of the back bone in the tattooing industry, and it has done its job greatly. Now that it has been stated, just how important the machine is now days it’s time to go back in time, before the machine was even a solid idea. Back in ancient times people were doing tattoos all over the world, but yet had no machine. In that time tattoo was a very important spiritual ritual that was used to show ones wisdom, or there coming of manhood/womanhood. There was very strong reason behind this art form, which is one thing a lot of people have forgotten when they get a tattoo. If someone gets something tattooed on their body just because it looks cool and has no true meaning to their life, then there friends with them when they realize how stupid it is will probably laugh, because the friends already knew. Anyways, these tattoos from the ancient past were done with a single needle and what those ancient people used to make them was probably bone of some sort. What these ancient tattoo artists did was make some ink out of berry’s and carved there needle out of bone, from there they would dip there needle in the ink and proceed to poke the tribesmen with the needle they carved from a dead animal. This really helps one understand why exactly people didn’t live as long back then, nothing just wrote sounds anywhere close to clean/sterilized. These rituals would last hours and once they were finished countless of people looked up to this person, and there wasn’t a little village child who didn’t think they were awesome. All this is to elaborate that the purpose of the machine is not to put ink in the skin, but to simply to replace ones arm. Some might say the needle is part of the machine, but ask them this “if it is part of the machine, why can you run a machine properly without the needle”? That’s because it’s not a part of the machine, it’s an attachment to the machine. It’s now time to travel forward in time to 1820. 1820 is where the story of the tattoo machine truly starts, but yet a tattoo machine was not invented in this time only the concept for one. During this time there was a brilliant Danish inventor who stumbled upon and created the concept of electromagnetism, his name was Hans Christian Oersted. He came to find electromagnetism by accident, he was in the middle of another experiment and during that experiment there was a compass on the table and when a large voltaic pile (battery’s back in the day) was turned on, the electricity messed with the compass needle. Once Hans saw this he started to look into electromagnetism and later came up with a way to create it, this is the system of the tattoo machine that’s called the coils they will later be explain in this paper. After Hans invented this system it was later used by a very famous man in American history, Thomas Edison. In 1876 Thomas Edison being a rich man helped design and fund the creation of the electric pen (tattoo archives, pg. 1). This is what a lot of people say to be the first tattoo machine, but in truth wasn’t made for tattooing at all. Thomas Edison was no doubt the inventor of the electric pen, but in truth did not invent the tattoo machine. Edison’s electric pen was for creating embroidery patterns with an electric punch, how this machine worked was indeed very similar to the tattoo machine, but could not tattoo properly because it was not built for it. So in truth to give him the title of tattoo machine inventor, is giving a man credit for something he didn’t even care about/ didn’t even want to do (basic fundamentals of modern tattooing, Jordan C.R. pg.26). Move forward to 1891 there will be a man that goes by the name Samuel O’Reilly, who is also known as the inventor of the tattoo machine. In truth he was the first person to create a machine that was deemed good for tattooing. So really O’Rielly should be the inventor, but he did not have any idea on how to make one until he found Thomas Edison’s electric pen. He took out what was not needed for tattooing and added a few things that would make it better for tattooing, but he did not invent his own system. Instead he used Edison’s who got his ideas from Hans, so really these two guys just elaborated on already known ideas and that isn’t inventing a tattoo machine at all (Imperial tattoo supply's, pg. 1). Since Samuel O’Reilly did not patent his creation it’s kind of hard to honestly say that he was the inventor, no patent no proof. Sense O’Reilly did not get a patent for his machine that made for more room to argue who is the true inventor, because Charlie Wagner is the person who holds a patent for the first tattoo machine. He patented a machine that he had installed an ink chamber (this made it so the artist does not have to dip his machine in ink a lot, it held ink for later), this machine also used a single coil system like Edison used verses O’Reilly’s dual coil system (tattoo archive, pg.1). People can still argue that Wagner is not the inventor, because if he was why do the majority of tattoo artists use a dual coil system, it’s very rare to see a single coil machine these days. The reason behind this, is because one coil won’t really create the best magnetic field, it’s not strong and can be a bit off balance if you don’t make sure to line it up with the a-bar (machine part)( Ulrich, Brian, pg. 1) Don’t ever tell a professional artist how to build a tattoo machine though, if someone is a professional artist only they can say what’s good for their hand. Now there are three men that people say are the inventors of the tattoo machine, everyone picks their own person of course, but remember these men wouldn’t have known where to begin if it wasn’t for Hans. There are still two pretty important men in this machines history; they went by the names carol “Smokey” nightingale and Percy Waters. “Smokey” The nickname says a lot about him, He rarely put down his pipe which is where the nickname came from of course. This is probably said to be the most interesting tattoo artist, the story’s this man would tell about his past might make you laugh, then cry, then be mined blown. This man would tattoo in a steel cage while smoking his pipe the whole time. “Smokey” is argued to be the inventor of the tattoo machine because he has a patent for an electric marking device (tattoo machine), which used a rectangular base with metal plates on the left and right side with a dual coil system in between them. He also added a few other changes to it, which can’t really be described in pure words( tattoo archive, pg 1). There are a lot of specifics on his patent overall it looks a lot like the urban machine, machines today though are a lot more advance of course making them smaller and lighter. Percy Waters was most well-known for his tattooing, but that’s not to mention his tattoo supply company. Everyone loved him because he was never a cocky artist, he would never say he was the best artist or agree with people if they told him he was. Percy waters responded with “I’m just a good tattoo artist” (tattoo archive pg.1). He was a very humble man that established one of the best tattoo supply companies, and if that’s not enough he also made his own machines and had them patented in 1929 (basic fundamentals of modern tattooing, Jordan C.R. pg. 27). In truth these machines are the closest to urban machines that are used all over the world today, but at the same time to call him the inventor of the tattoo machine would be quite incorrect/rude because tattoo machines had been up and running by that point for a while. When talking about the machines history these men are known to be the most important ones, but if the search is expanded to tattoo history. Countless of more people will pop up. Overall this is a slim number of the mass amount of artists well-known in tattoo history, but to add their names would go against my strictly writing about the machines story.
Now that the history is laid out, it’s time to come and understand how this awesome machine truly works. Well if one walks into any tattoo parlor and looks at every artist’s machine one will notice that they are all setup differently, but at the same time all the machines are put together with the same concept. This is the natural law because one cannot change this concept, and if one thinks they can, then they will be very disappointed when they realize it’s impossible. The picture below will show you the common build and label all the parts; from there it will be explained in words (please refer to the picture whenever needed). Here it is this is how the tattoo machine is put together. It was said one cannot change this setup in any way unless that person wants to be the worst-known tattooist in the world. Here’s how it is built, but still how it works exactly is a whole other story. Well the part that makes it a machine and not just a bunch of pieces of metal and plastic is called the frame (what a surprise). The frame is the back bone to this machine, without a frame all there is, is a bunch of metal and plastic scrap pieces. “The frame is one of the most important parts of the tattoo machine” ("Coil Daddy.", pg. 1). The frame holds everything in place so that the parts will work as well as one sets them up. This system was mentioned before, now it’s time it is explained. The coils are the system that creates the magnetic field from electricity, the question is how. Well the coils are actually a very simple technology, so simple that kids make it in kindergarten these days. These so called coils are really just steel cores with copper wire wrapped around them with a capacitor to regulate the electricity (basic fundamentals of modern tattooing, Jordan C.R. pg. 77). The coils are measured by their wraps, which mean the wire was wrapped around the whole iron/steel core one time. Each layer of copper wire is a wrap; one can find coils with all sorts of different wraps. Once one starts to pump electricity through this wire it will magnetize the steel cores which is the primary source for a good magnetic field, the other parts will make small changes (aside from the frame) to the magnetic field that will add up. Now if one has decided to use a frame that is anything but iron/steel you will need to buy a yoke. A yoke is not the thing you find in the middle of an egg; well it is but the machine is not an egg. A yoke is a piece of iron/steel that one secures under the coils to create a more efficient magnetic field, someone only needs this if your frame is not iron/steel, an iron/steel frame is a yoke itself. The reason you need this if your frame is not made of iron/steel is, because having a frame that is not made out of iron/steel will not create the most efficient magnetic field (which should look like a circle). Iron/steel is the most magnetic metal out there, so to not use one of these materials for the frame means that the machines magnetic field is not complete. To make up for it one just needs to go buy a yoke, or make one there self (basic fundamentals of modern tattoo, Jordan C.R pg. 76). Next comes the a-bar setup, this setup is three different parts made into one. The parts that make up this setup are the armature bar (which is where it gets its name, a-bar setup) the front spring and the rear spring, and these are all connected by a screw. Which has an o-ring (a little rubber circular band) wrapped under the front spring and around the screw. This set up is what one attaches to the needle to, so that it will move up and down. The a-bar set up is what the coils magnetic field pulls down on to move the needle. Now there is only one more system to this machine, and it’s what allows for electricity to flow and create the magnetic field that pulls on the a-bar. This system is broken into three different parts as well; there are the two binding posts along with the contact screw. The contact screw is attached to the front binding post; this contact screw needs to be touching the front spring for there to be a closed circuit (which will allow the tattoo machine to be turned on). The rear binding post is what allows for the artist to connect the clip cord (the electricity’s messanger), which is plugged into the power supply on the other end of it. Once the coils pull on the a-bar and open the circuit, the magnetic pull is shut off. So then the a-bar retracts to its original position and thus continuing the cycle. This of course happens a lot faster than it was wrote, and this will continue until the artist takes there foot off the pedal that is pumping electricity through the machine (basic fundamentals of modern tattoo, Jordan C.R). Hopefully this helped make sense of what is really going on with this machine, now it’s time for details.
Machine tuning is the hardest part of learning to control this machine, if one desires the perfect machine they have to know and understand exactly what they’re dealing with, material means everything. Each system has its own job, and one needs to know how to control it with that system. Again let’s start with the frame; this part is what helps create the perfect magnetic pull. The perfect magnetic field looks like a circle, that’s if you could see it. That’s why if you have a non-magnetic material for a frame you need a yoke to make up for that. The frame will also control the weight of the machine, and some people would rather have a lighter frame. The most important thing when looking for a new frame is the frame geometry; this is what tells you the direction to run. One must build there machine according to its geometry; otherwise the machine will run like a cat with three legs. The frame is the back bone, and for things to work right one must build parallel to it. The frame geometry is actually quite simple, it’s how the spring shelf, coils and tube vise hole line up (they all must fall on the same line). The coils must be moved as far forward as possible, if they interfere with the tube vise hole they are too far forward. There are two types of geometry and two types of frames, there is long and short geometry (2” and longer is long geometry, vice versa for short geometry), second there is a traditional frame and a cut-back frame. A cut-back frame has its front binding post moved closer to the spring shelf verses the tube vice hole, using this frame will allow you to tune your machine with a smaller spring/point gap (this will be explained). Make sure to always remember material is everything, and if one buys a frame made from a non-magnetic material they must buy/make a yoke (Secrets of tattooing, Erin Avylon pg 13-14). The coils are the primary source of the magnetic energy when the machine is running (this is why your machine still runs if the frame is non-magnetic without a yoke). There are so many different kinds of coils, and each can be used for a different reason. This system will change the machine a lot simply by adding wraps or subtracting wraps from the coils. If one has a machine with 10 wrap coils and set the voltage at 10, and at the same time have a machine with 8 wrap coils and they set the voltage at 10 when turned on they will notice that the 8 wrap coils will pull down harder. This is because there is less copper wire in the 8 wrap coils to hold that much electricity, this means that the electricity creates a stronger magnetic pull because the wire can only sustain a curtain level of electricity(Secrets of tattooing, Erin Avylon pg. 26). To weaken the magnetic pull is not always a bad thing; one wants to weaken the magnetic pull for a colored piece or a solid black Celtic/tribal piece, if one weakens there magnetic pull for pieces like this then they will be able to pass over already broken skin more because the machine won’t hit the skin as hard. Remember regardless of the machines punch it’s going to irritate the skin, so if machines pull is weakened then the client will be able to handle the pain better. For a liner you want to use less wraps, this will give the machine a harder punch. Since its just being used it to outline a piece broken skin won’t be touched twice if the artist knows what there doing , therefore utilizing that to make sure the machine is punching the right amount of ink the first time it hits the artist won’t have to double back during any outline they do. This is a common technique among tattoo artists, but that is not to say one can’t find a different way. This is just a technique agreed upon by many artists to be a good way to go for beginners, but there is always another way to get it done well (Secrets of tattooing, Erin Avylon pg. 31). The part of this machine that can really get remotely complicated is the a-bar set-up, this setup controls the speed, throw, and effects the punch as well. In truth there’s not much to it, it’s all controlled by gauges length, and width. A few things to go by when tuning this set-up is the spring/point gap (this is the distance from the tip of the contact screw to the tip of the front spring when the a-bar is touching the coils) this will guide one in tuning the throw (mentor, Brad Migyanka). The paper gap (this is when pressure is put on the a-bar and press it down towards the coils) to test this one does not use all their strength to press down. When this is tested one should see a small gap between the coils and a-bar, this gap should allow for a piece of paper to slide through it and with the paper in the gap there should be no more excess space. The paper gap will guide you in tuning your rear spring tension (spring tension affects the speed and punch the most)(mentor, Brad Migyanka). Angle of deflection (this guides in tuning rear spring tension as well), this is the angle of the spring shelf, which should be at max 3 degrees and tilted towards the rear, any steeper it’s known that it will create problems. The more tension on the rear spring the slower the machine will run (Secrets of tattooing, Erin Avylon pg. 35), if one uses a tense rear spring they should make sure to check on their throw, it might become too short for proper tattooing. The front spring works in similar ways but still does its own job, more tension faster speed and will make your machine hit harder. The speed and throw can be affected by the a-bar itself, if one uses a lower gauge a-bar it will be pulled faster and will resist the magnetic pull less which will make your throw longer ( the throw is the distance the a-bar nipple moves when the machine is in motion). When tuning the throw know that all machine setups should have a long throw, there is not a tattoo artist out there that has a short throw on his/her machine (this is part of the natural laws). The binding posts can’t be tuned too much, when you are tuning the binding posts you need to focus the most on what kind of material they are. If they are made of anything but copper or silver then a new set is needed. The mass production of tattoo machines has decided to use the cheapest materials verses the right materials, which has led to a lot of brass binding posts. Brass should by no means be used for the binding posts, there are three materials that are primarily used for binding posts (brass, copper, and silver). Brass has the lowest conductivity rating; this prevents one from building a machine that has an efficient flow, which is what one should strive for every time they are tuning there machines. Another way to tune this system is with the front binding post/ contact screw; the front binding post/ contact screw can be moved back towards the spring shelf. Doing this will allow the machine to be tuned with a small spring gap, this allows for a very fast machine with a long throw (Secrets of tattooing, Erin Avylon pg. 38-39) This isn’t really part of tuning, but the power supply is very important and one always wants to make sure it’s not too cheap (it can make the machine “twitch”) (Pounded INK, pg.1)
In truth there is a lot more to this machine then people like to believe. If anyone thinks they can pick one up and be a tattoo artist they will excessively hurt people and possibly kill someone with a really serious disease. People have forgotten the seriousness behind this machine and the art as a whole, and that has created chance for disaster. In truth to say someone holds the title of “tattoo machine inventor” would kind of be insulting to everyone who helped the evolution of the tattoo machine. This machine was created from countless of brilliant minds and if it wasn’t for each and every one of them there would not be a tattoo machine as awesome as there is these days, and maybe not one at all. So let people say what they must, but in all truth there really isn’t an inventor of the tattoo machine there is only mechanics. Hopefully the explanation of the machine and machine tuning has provided a better understanding as well. Before all this ends, know that to become a tattoo artist and become an amazing tattoo artist that everyone is very fond of, one must get an apprenticeship. This is the only way one will ever achieve this, also if you decide to go ahead and buy a tattoo kit before your apprenticeship planning to tattoo someone with your machines. You should at least never tattoo anyone but yourself, a side from excessively hurting a friend or potentially killing someone. If mom sees her under age son/daughter with a tattoo she never heard about, she will get your name and will make sure you never see a tattoo machine again in your life. So please keep the maturity alive and do what is right for the reputation of this incredibly awesome art form, otherwise people won’t really care to buy your work. “Tattooing is not an easy business to learn, if you really want to do this then you have to love it and be ready for anything” (mentor interview, Brad Migyanka)
Work cited
1. tattoo archives Mckay, Erik C. "Tattoo Archive." Tattoo Archive. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Mar. 2013.
2. Jordan, C. R. Basic Fundamentals of Modern Tattoo. Phoenix, AZ: Tattoo Online, 2009
3. "Imperial Tattoo Supply." Imperial Tattoo Supply. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Mar. 2013.
4. Alayon, Erick. Secrets of Tattooing: A Guide to Rediscovery. Lexington, KY: S.n., 2007. Print.
5. Brad Migyanka (Mentor)
6. Ulrich, Brian. "Tattoo Machine 101." ULRICH. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Mar. 2013.
7. "What Makes A Good Tattoo Machine? | Pounded Ink." Pounded Ink RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Mar. 2013.
8. "Coil Daddy." Coil Daddy. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Mar. 2013.
2. Jordan, C. R. Basic Fundamentals of Modern Tattoo. Phoenix, AZ: Tattoo Online, 2009
3. "Imperial Tattoo Supply." Imperial Tattoo Supply. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Mar. 2013.
4. Alayon, Erick. Secrets of Tattooing: A Guide to Rediscovery. Lexington, KY: S.n., 2007. Print.
5. Brad Migyanka (Mentor)
6. Ulrich, Brian. "Tattoo Machine 101." ULRICH. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Mar. 2013.
7. "What Makes A Good Tattoo Machine? | Pounded Ink." Pounded Ink RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Mar. 2013.
8. "Coil Daddy." Coil Daddy. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Mar. 2013.