CHAPTER 1 Equipment and Supplies

Invest in quality equipment from the get-go, saving time, energy, and money. Like anything in life, you get back what you put into it. That hardly means they'll make you a better artist—but you will be a better-prepared one. Over the years, I've compiled a list of the best equipment. The three supply companies I like best are Pulse, Eikon, and Mickey  Sharps. Not only are their product lines superior, but they stand by what they sell. 

You'll always want at least three machines working at any given point. You want one set up for lining, one for shading,  and one for coloring. If you can afford it, get a twin for each machine in case of failure during a tat. It's also a good idea to learn the different parts by breaking one device down next to another identical one. 

Ideally, in assorted sizes, you want a minimum of twenty grips (disposable or autoclavable tubes used to support and steer the needles). You will eventually figure out which ones you are most comfortable with. Most go with stainless steel, ergonomically designed grips; however, I have seen many dope artists work with standard nylon grips. I say save your carpal tunnel and go with ergo grips. Remember that the larger the grip, the better it is on your wrists; thin grips lead to problems later down the road. Go with one-inch grips molded to your liking if the ergo grips are not for you. Experiment. I use stainless ergo grips from Pulse.

SMALL MAGS 

As for needles, I caution against making them yourself. Aside from the fact that it is incredibly time-consuming, the chance of you placing them as straight as the warehouse-produced ones are slim. When you go to buy them, try Technical liners and  Mithras shaders. They are the best, which I say from my personal  experience and also because they're used by the people pumping out the best work I've seen throughout my travels. They're the most durable, and they deliver the most consistent results. Because there are so many variables, and because each artist has a singular technique and will by nature find the best tools for the job, I encourage you to log into www. dynamic body art institute. Net and talk about several kinds of needles, which is a science. My advice for placing the first order is to stick with closed-tip tubes. Opened-tip tubes are less desirable and are only necessary when you use a large number of needles. Use female tube tips because male tube tips have an edge that can damage hands when you slide them into the tube. 

Always have at least two eight-ounce autoclavable squeeze bottles for sterilization. Get them with long slanted squinters for aiming purposes. This is where you will hold your green soap solution (cleaner) and alcohol (disinfectant); you might also want to keep a third on hand with distilled water (rinse). Again, you need a minimum of two: one for your light yellow-green soap mixture and the other for isopropyl alcohol. 

Surgical tincture green soap is used for cleanup and preparation—not for sterilization. When it comes to disinfectants, do not cut corners. Use a  hospital-grade sterilizer like MadaCide. Pour half an ounce of soap and fill the rest with distilled water. When you're getting your green soap on, I strongly recommend those eight-ounce autoclavable squeeze bottles mentioned above.

The best thing to use if you are starting to lose your stencil while tattooing is a skin scribe. Skin scribes are what surgeons use in hospitals before operations to ensure the accuracy of their incisions. The next best thing would be a purple Sharpie marker. This also applies to freehand work. As for bandaging the fresh tattoo, use Dri-Loc meat pads (printed side down). Hospital masking tape works best for holding bandages on the skin. Use base blue cloth, commonly referred to as lap pads (you'd recognize these from doctors' and dentists' offices), to cover most equipment and provide a sterilized surface for your setup. 

You want to have plenty of single-use razors and tongue depressors on deck. Always have a few rolls of machine bags as well—these are plastics in various sizes that cover the non-disposable or non-autoclavable equipment, particularly the tattoo machines. Pick up a few boxes of powder-free gloves that fit. Never forget to re-up when you run low on autoclave bags. Keep a pack of crushable ammonia capsules on hand in case one of your customers passes out. And get an assortment of small glass jars to contain the smaller items above. 

STERILIZATION BAGS

Whatever you do, do not buy cheap paper towels. That crappy stuff will only get caught up in the needles and injected into your client's skin. Choose a high-grade paper towel like Bounty. Petroleum jelly will keep your canvas smooth and easy to glide through. KY jelly works well for getting your stencils to stick. 

The topic of inks is controversial. The FDA (Food and Drug  Administration) has not attempted to regulate the use of tattoo inks or the pigment used in them. Nor does the FDA control the actual practice period—it's an inside job. Local authorities maintain body art and usually leave issues like ink very poorly managed. The increasing variety of pigments and diluents used in these inks is a matter of concern. Artists should be aware of the inherent risks of making an informed decision.1 I hope you'll retain awareness of these risks as they are presented throughout this book. 

In choosing ink, much depends on the design and the artist's mastery. The aftercare performed by the individual, particularly the practice of avoiding prolonged water and sun exposure, also significantly affects the quality of the color. Quality links are essential. Sometimes the colors that look the best may be the worst for you. Some blooms last longer than others. In the color game, every brand has some colors that pop. The best brands overall are Eternal Inks and  Intense. 

When I say "best," I think of what is currently used by the artists who, in my experience, are producing today's best work. Everything in this book is said without any upfront or expected endorsement. My favorites are, collectively, used most among top performers, but remember that widespread use is not necessarily a sign of superiority. The ink names I mention here  are brought up amongst very diverse and well-respected artists, but they're not a complete setup by any means. An artist would be inhibited by having only these colors to work with. Artists want range, options, and creative possibilities. To explore and take your thoughts to our site for more on this. 

My favorites are Sienna brown (Intenze), Venetian brown  (Intenze), Star Bright ochre, and Intenze white. As far as black and gray, stick overall with the Pelican blue label. Use Talenz for bold dark outlines and tribal. Sumi gray is more like a specialty shading ink for use where a silvery look is desired. The safest thing for your client's health and well-being—hands down—is vegan-safe ink,  and I don't say this just because I'm a vegetarian. Vegan-approved inks include Stable Color and Star Bright. 

As for tools, you want—for a host of reasons—to pick up a  quality power eye loupe or magnifying glass. To keep the spark alive (the machine running), snag a small jewelers' file, emery cloth,  and burnishing stick to file down contact points. When a machine dies, there's a good chance this has something to do with its connection to its armature bar. Use a micrometer to measure your springs, ensuring they remain in your ideal setting. 

It's all personal preference. All artists have their gauges for different tasks; many don't measure but rather go with their machines' sound, appearance, and feel in action. For novices, it's best to have an experienced person set your machine up and then measure its stats so that, should it stray off course, you can reconstruct it to those default settings. 

Buy an Allen wrench (a.k.a. key) set for tightening and loosening machine parts, disassembling, and setting preferences. Also, pick up a sharp pair of multipurpose tin snips to cut springs and needle-nose pliers for those hard-to-reach areas. Robust stainless steel hospital scissors will come in handy time and time again. Vise-Grips (locking pliers) will save you a lot of pain and agony. 

They're primarily used to loosen and tighten things, and your wrists will thank you later. 

Get as many assorted shims as you can find; they're good for tweaking dimensions to customize your machines. Don't confuse shims with washers: they have the same doughnut shape, but shims are much thinner slivers of metal that can go where washers cannot. 

Never buy the rubber grommets that you have to attach directly to the needle bar—that is, the long metal rod with your needles soldered onto it. Instead, get the ones that link directly to the armature bar. This rectangular metal block pulls the hand in and out as the power of the electromagnetic coils its movement. 

Regarding worktables, go for a linoleum or glass top with the trade-standard measurements: 20 inches wide and 48  inches long. Make sure you buy those swivels. The swiveling is essential: not only does it give your customer a full range of motion,  but having this feature in your armrest also allows you to work on your canvas from various angles. Invest in a comfortable chair with wheels, which I would couple with a massager attachment for your back—an excellent move, energetically and physically. I  wish I had space here to get into more holistic ways to trick your craft, but that's reserved for my other book, Leaving a  Mark. 

If you're not using disposable tools, you'd better invest in an autoclave (or "stericlave," as it is sometimes called). This device exposes the equipment to steam at a very high pressure to decontaminate it. An ultrasonic cleaner is optional but will save time and make your tubes look incredibly fresh and clean. Many products on the market claim their liquid solutions can "cold sterilize" your tubes. I do not condone this practice. You need to measure whether your tubes are, in fact, free of disease. Do it right.

STERILIZATION ROOM 

This isn't just a matter of protecting your clients—you're also protecting yourself. When people in this culture discover they've caught something, they quickly point fingers at two people in their life: their lover and body artist. Do not give that person a reason to make you a suspect. It can get a lot uglier than just a  lawsuit, kids. 

Using a natural-light lamp makes a huge difference. Natural-light lamps illuminate your work area while preventing the common headaches some people suffer from using other forms of light in a body art setting. You want this light source to be freestanding,  adjustable, and as flexible as possible so you can use it at various angles. You can enhance your abilities by attaching a high-powered magnifying glass and tray protrusion to your light. Whatever you do, make sure it is not fluorescent light. Not only do they disrupt our subtle energy fields, but they also are simply obsolete when it comes to seeing things. Again, do not use fluorescent lights to work; use natural-light lamps. A lightbox will do wonders when you're tracing stencils. 

For those who want to get into tattoo machine building or even maintenance, I recommend buying a quality Dremel with various bits. This handheld device has many useful functions, from filing points to fastening screws. High-end soldering iron and metallurgical flux are also essential from this perspective. If machines are your passion, I need not point out how valuable these two instruments are in your everyday life. They're not the type of items to sit around and collect dust; put it that way. Do it yourself, pursue justice—especially when making needles or fixing parts.

The foot switch controls your tattoo machine with your foot instead of your hand. You want a domed foot switch, but any kind can do the job, as long as it doesn't stick and enables the machine to run every time your toes move toward the floor. 

A clip cord is a dual set of semi-fused wires that connects the tattoo machine to the power supply. You want the part of the clip cord that hooks onto the device to be as small as possible,  especially the bent ends. Again: the smaller, the better. 

Next, as far as equipment is concerned, we have a particular power supply unit. This is the primary energy source for running your machines. You want a power supply that exhibits clean, stable voltage. You confirm this by observing the consistency in sound and vibration. You'll feel it. Every tattoo artist runs the machine differently, but we all seek a steady buzz. 

I don't recommend doing it this way, but many artists use a  battery setup, similar to how you would run your car. This setup can be put together with a trickle charger and car batteries. A trickle charger is a low-current (500–1,500 mA) battery charger found in vehicles, boats, and RVs. You can use most batteries with a post on them around which you can wrap the wires. You connect the batteries to a potentiometer, or rheostat, which controls the amount of power going to the machine. Usually, five to 12 volts are required to run even a 10-coil machine, but you also want something that can be recharged. Some may ask, why would you need this if you can plug the unit into the wall? The answer is, for the sake of portability. Better to have a self-contained power supply—what happens if there's a power outage in your shop? 

Your power supply should have a digital readout for every possible activity. Eikon makes the best power supplies. On a  quality power supply, the speed of the machine is measured in hertz, or cycles per second. A single process begins with the  contact point closed and then opens as the A-bar (armature bar) and springs move toward the coils. The contact remains open as the A-bar and springs move upward. The cycle ends as the contact point closes. If you'd like to increase the speed of the machine,  use a thicker front spring. To decrease the rate of the device,  put a thinner front spring on it. 

As a crucial aspect of your equipment's functions, a term  you should become familiar with is "duty cycle." A duty cycle can be considered a back spring force concerning the hardness of the front spring. If the rear spring puts a lot of force on the front spring, the duty cycle will be high. This is the relationship between the contact opening time and the contact closed time. A top-of-the-line power supply should display the contact-closed time as a percentage of an entire cycle.2 

In addition, you must understand "follow-through." The follow  2 Duty Cycle through is the wiping action of the spring under the contact screw when the back spring force puts pressure on the contact point. If there is any chatter or skip in the contact during this motion, a  good power supply will display a number that indicates how often the chatter or skip occurs. Aim for zero. All machine customization attempts should center on maintaining this optimal zero reading. Two things critical to clean follow-through are point gap size and the contact screw-in connection angle to the front spring's surface. The slightest alteration can and will screw up your follow-through. 

When shopping around for a power supply, ensure the voltage is displayed to two decimal places for accuracy. The machine's setup determines the voltage needed to run the machine. Back spring force and the size of the air gap are the two main adjustable factors that determine the required voltage. Specific factors that are not adjustable on a machine also contribute to the ideal voltage. Different devices will need different amounts of voltage to run as you desire. 

Also, remember that a machine will run differently depending on whether a tube tip configuration is in it. The friction of the needle configuration in the tube tip can impair the functioning of the machine. Running too many or overly tight rubber bands will also harm the machine's ability to run. Devices should be completely set up and ready to eat when you analyze any numbers on the meter. You want your machine's meter to display electronic measurements you cannot take any other way. 

Even if you have the best power supply, electronic measurements are not the only factors determining how a machine will perform. Factors like spring force, stroke length, and choice of a capacitor are equally important and must be considered at all times. Speed and duty cycles are also critical factors for setting up your device. 

A machine's speed depends on what it's used for. Liners vary in speed. Start low and work your way up. Somewhere around  160 Hz is perfect for the beginning. Coloring machines usually run between 120 Hz and 140 Hz, though I've seen them run as low as 100–110 Hz. Shading machines generally run faster than coloring machines but slower than liners. The duty cycle for any machine should be between 45 and 50 percent.3 

Take note, kids: these machine speeds and duty cycles are expressed as collective averages with needle bar and tube installed. Remember, different strokes for different folks. You will discover what works for you, but the only way to do this is to practice. 

Springs remind me of stereotypical human behavior: the shorter, more expansive, thicker ones act harder, and the taller, narrower,  thinner ones work softer. The front spring determines machine speed. Thus, to make a machine run slower, you should put a  thinner front spring. The rear spring provides the force that puts compression on the front spring. The machine will not run properly without the correct amount of back spring force. Back spring force is made up of four factors: spring length, spring width, spring thickness, and the angle of deflection.4 

We use the back spring angle of deflection to establish the desired stroke length and front spring compression. Remember that the rear spring deflection angle can only be measured without a front spring on the machine. Understood? The rise of deflection may be calculated as an angle to the machine frame and a distance between center and front, coil core, and armature bar. 

The conventional bar mounting system requires that the rear spring be bent or rolled to create the back spring angle of deflection. Once the front spring is mounted on the armature bar,  

3 Duty Cycle. 

The air gap is measured between the front coil core and the bar. Some machines use an accurate spring system concerning the armature bar mounting. This ensures consistency in the back spring angle of deflection while utilizing flat springs.