Tuning a machine

[Cockroach]

I'm apprenticing at a shop and find that it's so busy there is rarely time to ask questions. Most of my time is spent doing apprentice stuff and when there is time I often can't remember the question I wanted to ask. Can anyone tell me in detail what is involved with tuning your machine? I'm afriad that when the time comes to actually tattoo I won't know my machines well enough to fix or avoid any problems that may arise!
:?

[Essex Boy]

what exactally do you call apprentice stuff because is that not what your supposed to be learning
sorry to sound like a bad arse but if you took the time to read some posts in this forum the answer is there

[Inkster]

You surely must have a "quiter time of the week" when a questions and answers session could take place, if your mentor appreciates you he would probably be happy with you badgering him for information, it shows that you want to learn and get on with tattooing.

As Essex Boy says, the answers are in the back posts, I cut and pasted the useful ones and put them in a folder.

[Cockroach]

The "apprentice stuff" I was referring to are setting up/breaking down stations, scrubbing tubes/toilets/floors/, client control, working the counter, important to running a shop but not too helpful to me. And since the artists stay consistently busy and I am busy upfront or scrubbing a bunch of damned tubes all day I do not get much opportunity to ask questions which require hands on show and tell. Or at least I dont get to time for an answer. And as a matter of fact, this is really a rare opportunity that I even get time for computer stuff, this is only because I was sent home due to illness for a couple days. Otherwise, after 12-13 hours a day, 7 days a week, I am doing the above mentioned. Sorry, I should have read more posts but as I mentioned my time is ultra limited. Can you tell I'm a bit frustrated? Thanks for taking the time to reply though, it is very appreciated! :oops:

[Essex Boy]

sorry cockroach i was not trying to bust ya balls man its that we get a lot of newbies claiming this and that
as for setting up a machine its not that easy to explain to you in one easy answer because there are loads of things you need to know.
try and watch the guys in your studio as to what they are actully doing even if it is bit by bit when they first pick it up and then you may see that there is more than one question as to how to set up a machine.
do you have your own machine/s yet because that might help in explaning the setup once youve turnt it on
nothing is simple in this trade but the bonus you have is the apprentiship do not try to run before you can walk.
we are all good guys on here and will endeavour to help any way we can

[Cockroach]

Thanks , I appreciate it. As much as I feel I have actually learned in the shop from watching, I am really hands on so it's difficult for me to pick up things this way. I am panicking a bit thinking about the day that I actually do a tattoo without real knowledge of my machines. What if it starts messing up and everyone's looking at me as if I am the biggest fool ever because I don't know whats wrong or I can't finish the piece(this is the scenario I replay in my head all day). Some of the artists there just send their machines away to be fixed and use backups,haha! I do actually have a couple of machines, 2 of them are ass, they were modified from Puma quickchange to some abomination of a liner and shader by someone before I began apprenticing, and all I have to say is that I am thankful I chose the apprentice route before ever putting those machines to work on skin man! To think that someone actually used those for a tattoo makes me shudder, but to think that someone sold those advertised as ready to use machines is even worse. I haven't yet taken them apart but have used them on some fake skin. They suck, and the A bar keeps slipping even after I tightened the mounting screw. Also, it sparks, then gets really hot really fast(running it too hard?). Not to mention the lines are awful. So anyway, sorry about the huge post here, I guess I should start by disassembling my ass machines and seeing if I can put them back together and rectify it myself after reading all the posts. Ah, sleepless nights!I guess my question was more geared towards what to look for and when to know if you have to tune your machine or not. That way I can at least sound like i know what I'm talking about at the shop and maybe they'll be more apt to answer my questions and take me seriously. Anyway, thanks again! :)

[Inkster]

Right, I hear where you are coming from bro, regarding your machines you need to understand voltage, springs and contact screw adjustment, you can make any dog of a machine run much better with some fine tweaking, I was lucky enough to have the guy who tattoos me to briefly explain the above and I went away, stripped my old machine, reassembled it with new contact points and tuned it as it was explained to me, once you have a basic understanding on what voltage to run your liner at you have a better idea on how to set your contact point gap, I set mine with a combination of by sight and by ear, when the machine runs smooth you know it is right, so get on that search button and serach voltage, contact point gap and springs, cut and paste them in a folder and that will be your reference for probably years to come and who knows, if you start to repair your shops machines.............

[Cockroach]

Appreciate it man! The artists at the shop I'm in only go by ear, most don't have P/S's with a visible read out and the ones that do say it's not too reliable so they rarely set up that way. I've checked out a few sites that I found somewhat helpful, and surely between this and being at the shop something will make sense at some point,haha! I suppose some mechanical inclination would be helpful, just wasn't born with much of that! Thanks again, this forum is dope and I really appreciate all the feedback!