Machines

Every shop is different, and the apprenticeship process varies. One of the highlights at working here at Bluebird Tattoo has been putting together the tools I work with. I couldn't have asked for a better way to gain confidence.

We ordered my frames from a reputable source and then purchased machine parts from Eikon.

Then it was a matter of coming in on one of my days off and figuring it out. I was helped with the first machine, then I put together the shader myself. I've still much to learn, but I appreciate my machines more. Do I understand them? Not as much as I'd like to, but I'm certainly on my way.

I remember being in the middle of a tattoo and the hum of my shader felt wrong. I didn't hesitate to make adjustments. There was no uncomfortable worry in front of my client, just trust in being able to problem solve.

Before this process, I was sat down with some flux and a soldering iron. Drew walked me through needle creation. Early on I was taught the basic differences between needle clusters. I remember it clicking... "Oh, so that's a magnum." Later, I was taken through spring creation: cutting, bending and alignment. It's been an ongoing process. Sure, I wanted to jump into some skin right away. But the continual learning in bits has built up layers in my learning experience.

When we're able to explore specific, minute details, and then step back to piece them together, our retention increases dramatically.

After the jump, I've posted a quick list of my setup.

Here's some of my setup:

Machine parts ordered from Eikon
Conventional armature bar.
22uF and 47uF pre-wired capacitors
22uF axial capacitor - liner
47uF axial capacitor - shader
Top and rear binding posts.
Contact point screw and one extra from Ace Hardware.
Springs springs springs.
1 1/4" 8 wrap coils
Also, conventional armature bars (one regular, one long), front and back springs, some coils, flat and shim washers and back binding posts.

And to round everything off I went with an Eikon EMS 200 power supply and a sexy Premier footswitch.