Fondles Posted April 16, 2004 Share Posted April 16, 2004 Re: I think it would be a heck of an adventure Originally posted by KaBar2 If you're going to do something like that, DO IT BEFORE YOU HAVE RESPONSIBILITIES. And take LOTS AND LOTS of photographs. One thing I really regret is that I hardly recorded anything on film, back in the day. I have two or three pics of my first wife, that's it. I was determined to "live the experience" rather than trying to record it all on slides for some vacation-slide-show thing later in life. The stupid thing is, I could have done both. I don't know shit about Tibet, except that they are under the boot of the Chinese. Be fucking CAREFUL. Chinese prisons suck shit through a dirty sock. Have you ever seen that movie about the American that went to Tibet and wound up being pals with the Dalai Lama when he was a child? Cool movie, but you never hear about the guys that just got slaughtered by some thug and fed to the pigs, you know? Mom and Dad wave goodbye at the airport---that's the last time they ever hear from him. Or her. Go rent the movie "Missing." Chile. 1973. Radical tourists get caught in the middle of the overthrow of Salvador Allende. Jack Lemon, Sissy Spacek. I knew Frank Terrugi, he was in the New York IWW. haha i got mad responsibilities, but i can break away from all of them. and they are partly the reason why i want to go also. But yeah, trust me, i know something about scary foreign countries and the way to act when in those countries. I don't plan on sticking out (any more than a tall white american could) or doing anything remotely illegal. thanks! nice name teen_014.jpg haha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garcia_vega Posted April 16, 2004 Share Posted April 16, 2004 hey kabar--i think i might have lost my copy of tattooing a-z. i've been trying to find it for a couple days but no luck. i imagine you could probly get a cheap copy on ebay or something. if it turns up i'll let you know in this thread. as far as practicing on grapefruits and chicken, i personally didn't find it very helpful. it's probably worth giving it a shot, but i didn't think it did too much good. this is just my personal experience, but i figured i'd share it. tattooing fruit really doesn't prepare you for skin, because you have to stretch human skin, whereas the orange or grapefruit skin is already very tight. also fruit doesn't bitch and squirm around. there were a couple things that did help me out in the beginning however. one thing that i think is good is putting a regular #2 pencil into the tube clamp instead of the tube and needle and tracing drawings with it. this builds up hand strength and gets you used to the balance and weight of the machine. the other thing i did was tattoo myself. pick a spot where you can easily use your other hand to stretch the skin (your legs usually work pretty good) and just go for it. that was the only thing that really physically and mentally prepared me to work on others. keep us posted on how everything is turning out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villain Posted April 16, 2004 Share Posted April 16, 2004 yeah you could practice on yourself. that's what i did. and whoever else didn't mind rocking a trainer tat. How are you setting up your needles? Cause liners are like three stacked in a pyramid shape like . . . That's the front or back veiw and solder them together like that. Shaders generally are four needles in a row like |||| Yeah stretch the skin out when your tatting... sterilize the area first, put vaseline on it to ease the skin and dampen blood and ink flow... as you are working you will need to apply more vaseline as needed in the area you are working. Do your outline and then when you get to shading hold the machine at a 45 degree angle to the surface of the skin. You never want to go sideways with your shader needle cause you will cut the skin open like a razor. Instead to small circular movements. When you are done lube it up and slap a bandage on and send them on their way. Make sure they don't use any lotions with alchohol in them while it's healing. Tats need to be lotioned like 3 times a day. And not with vaseline. the skin will die from lack of oxygen and then you will look all fucked up. (I don't know how much you know about tattoo care, or for anyone interested i guess.) I never got real good at tattooing. You need the hands of a surgeon. I've got too much nerve damage for that unfortunately. I can do okay work but I won't ever try and make a living off it. *edit I tried to fix the pyramid of periods but the vB won't let me keep the spaces. I think you get the idea though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garcia_vega Posted April 17, 2004 Share Posted April 17, 2004 villain--the setup you're describing is more of an old fineline type of a setup (1-3 liner, 4 flat shader.) i would say the average shop setup is generally a 5round liner and a 7magnum shader. in some cases i'll line with an 8round and shade with an 11 or 15mag. in my opinion, magnums are a lot better than flats for most things. you can work with them more like paintbrushes. flats can be good to do cross-hatched style shading for old school designs or some people like to use them for windbars in japanese work. personally i don't touch them. i can't stand flats. one warning for using magnums---be sure you put the side with more needles on the bottom. for example, a 7mag has 3 needles on one stack and 4 on the other stack. you have to set it up so the side with 4 needles is riding against the tube and the side with 3 needles is on top. same goes for bigger mags. if you put it on the other way, it will wiggle side to side and any tat you do with it is going to come out fucked up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T.T Boy Posted April 17, 2004 Share Posted April 17, 2004 anyone whos been in jail can tell you. your in texas so it shouldnt be hard to find an excon. ;) ive built one, you need, a bic pen, an old walkman, a needle, and the power cord to an old nintendo, and a soldering iron. tattoing isnt really something you just pick up and do. most tattooists apprentice for a year before even picking up the machine. better ask a pro. being an rn will help with sanitary mumbo jumbo, but heed the advice of what tattoers say. other than that good luck, show us what youve built. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vinyl junkie Posted April 17, 2004 Share Posted April 17, 2004 i didn;t think anyone used flats at all any more... and TT, i've got tattoos from 5 different people, and only one of them did an apprenticeship... and the ones from him are getting covered... an apprenticeship is really more about learning humility than learning the art... a tattooer could tell you everything he has to tell you in probably 2 weeks... everything else you need to know about tattooing is learned to watching and experience... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T.T Boy Posted April 17, 2004 Share Posted April 17, 2004 yeah i know what your saying, i just believe everyone who wants to tattoo should be a bitch for a while, and just learn and watch, otherwise if it was like working at mcdonalds wed have alot more bad tattoos and every joe schmoe would do it. its an old trade, and it shouldnt change. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
villain Posted April 17, 2004 Share Posted April 17, 2004 Originally posted by garcia_vega villain--the setup you're describing is more of an old fineline type of a setup (1-3 liner, 4 flat shader.) i would say the average shop setup is generally a 5round liner and a 7magnum shader. in some cases i'll line with an 8round and shade with an 11 or 15mag. in my opinion, magnums are a lot better than flats for most things. you can work with them more like paintbrushes. flats can be good to do cross-hatched style shading for old school designs or some people like to use them for windbars in japanese work. personally i don't touch them. i can't stand flats. one warning for using magnums---be sure you put the side with more needles on the bottom. for example, a 7mag has 3 needles on one stack and 4 on the other stack. you have to set it up so the side with 4 needles is riding against the tube and the side with 3 needles is on top. same goes for bigger mags. if you put it on the other way, it will wiggle side to side and any tat you do with it is going to come out fucked up. I've heard about the magnums but I didn't really think they would be that practical all the time. Seem kinda fat and unweildy. But I guess they'd be great for big fills. Seems like your more likely to cut the skin especially with the 11 or 15 mags. Well i don't know I don't tattoo anymore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnyLode Posted April 18, 2004 Share Posted April 18, 2004 Originally posted by teen_014.jpg does anybody know about any good tattoo forums? with advice, techniques, and pictures, sort of like 12oz? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drink40s Posted April 23, 2004 Share Posted April 23, 2004 until about halfway thouh this thread, i thought one of kabars interests was building mexican outhouses, banjos, cause in mexico they build them from salvaged material over a whole in the ground Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KaBar2 Posted April 26, 2004 Author Share Posted April 26, 2004 Uh, Drink 40's, I think that's "Banos'" Not ban-JOs, but "bano's", pronounced "ban-yo's." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveAustin Posted April 26, 2004 Share Posted April 26, 2004 I'm still waiting for pictures of the banjo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KaBar2 Posted April 27, 2004 Author Share Posted April 27, 2004 I'm working on it, I'm working on it. I've got a shitload of pics to share once I figure it out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest mikro137 Posted April 27, 2004 Share Posted April 27, 2004 kabar , dv movies are also a small hobby of mine. be prepared to spend a lil chunk of change on not only the camera , but the fire wire card , and possibly acessories such as lights and lenses (i dont know how far you plan on taking these movies) also the video editing software is very easy to find for free if you know where to look , and have a speedy internet connection. once you have all of this , using the software that is out these days is really simple and straight forward. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toaztlove Posted April 27, 2004 Share Posted April 27, 2004 you can make a jailhouse tattoo gun, guitar string/walkman steez, like someone suggested. I know a couple kids who've got into tattooing, and I've heard the grapefruit/orange type shit, another kid suggested fuckin with manequins, never heard the chicken thing but it doesnt seem bad. anyway, I found these instructions at http://www.faqs.org/qa/qa-8087.html, and I know you can cop a little motor at radio shack if you don't want to rip a walkman apart : Make a Tattoo Gun I've personally used this so I know it works... Things you'll need: * bic pen (this is your tube that houses the needle) * 4 or 5" section of guitar string ,second one from the smallest. ( this is your needle) * tooth brush ( this gets bent like a "7" and joins the pen to the motor) * an eraser from a pencil (this joins the shaft of the motor to the needle/guitar string) * small battery operated motor (from a "walkman" or a hand held fan) * some tape (to join everything together) Putting the pieces together: 1. Take the guitar string and bend a little bit of the end down or up. 2. Take out the ink tube of the pen, and cut it to about a 3 or 4" length, now file down the brass tip of the pen to get the ball out, make the hole big enough to allow passage of the needle. 3. Insert the needle into the pen. 4. Now take the tooth brush and cut off the bristles making it about 4" long. Heat it up in the middle with a lighter and bend it in to a "7" and hold in place untill stiff. 5. Join/tape the pen needle assembly to the tooth brush. 6. Now take the eraser from the pencil and shove it onto the shaft of the motor, try to get it as dead center as possible. Join the pen/needle/tooth brush to the motor/eraser assembly, tape the brush to the motor. 7. Take the bent part of the needle/guitar stirng and stick it into the eraser, IMPORTANT- the needle must be purposely OFF CENTER. 8. Now all that is left to do is find a power source, I used the plug-in adapter frrom a cd player. i guess you could hook up some batteries to a switch and then to the contacts of the motor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CatNYC Posted August 2, 2016 Share Posted August 2, 2016 interesting topic! I`m beginner in tattoo creation. now I`m learning tattoo art. for me it`s difficult choice which tattoo machine is better for beginner: handmade tattoo machine, cheep one from ebay or professional tattoo machine ( like this http://tattoo-journal.com/tattoo-kits-and-equipment-how-to-purchase-it-carefully/). I guess handmade tattoo machine is fine for professional tattoo artist. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deine Mudder Posted August 5, 2016 Share Posted August 5, 2016 ..has this been resolved yet? : ] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aliframe Posted January 29, 2017 Share Posted January 29, 2017 hi brother , just sharing my journey blog to making handmade tattoo machine > > aliframetattoo.blogspot.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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