shader tuning.

So I am working on a practice skin with a quality shading machine. While I have a large contact gap and lowest voltage I can run without the machine bogging out, I am getting great results for light shading and layering staying really surfacy. Here's my question: when I use the same machine for packing I make the contact gap much smaller, about the thickness of a nickel, and leave the same voltage. The machine runs much faster without bogging at all, but the A-bar hits the front coil. I never thought this was a problem but in the book I remember reading something about this having a negative affect. Can someone please enlighten me? Trying to find where in the book I saw this info.

yeah it rattlels the needle wen it hits and that vibration gose into the skin try truning ur volts down tell your gun runs the same as when u got the gap bigger its wut works for me im just scatcher but its real wut works for you wut feels right when your slinging chek youtube they got alot of clipps on this sort of stuff

The A bar is SUPPOSED to hit the front coil. the only coil thats not supposed to have contact is the rear coil, supposed to be like a manila envelope thickness when the abar pushed against the front coil between rear coil and abar. if it is too loud, try putting a small sticker on the front abar to quiet it down a lil, or try those silencer abars. never tried those, though.

[xDreamerx]

Another idea is to put an o-ring on your front coil right around the iron core. I have those on my machines, gives a soft hitting sound without taking away from my stroke. Plus I like quiet machines

hey that sounds like a great idea! ima have to try that out, so u mean put an o-ring RIGHT around the coil, so that the abar hit will be absorbed a small bit? just making sure im on the same page. sounds like a great and inexpensive idea!

[canvasyou]

A bar should hit the front coil - square on..
do like Eikon - and put a small sticker or piece of tape on the top of the front coil to ensure it is smooth and level...?

Thanks everyone! So now I know that obviously the a bar hitting the front coil is not a problem (I never found where in the book I thought I read that so I must have been mistaken). My remaining question is would it be a problem if it wasn't hitting? Meaning everything is set up properly and I am just running low enough power and contact screw is open far enough that the bar just doesn't hit the coil? It bogs a lot but won't stall out completely and that seems to work well for really light gradients for me. Again I am only working this technique with practice skins and I am concerned it may not work the same on real skin.

[canvasyou]

Keep playing w/ different springs. Pay attention to your gaps.
It takes time - but you have to tear it all apart and re-build
and test again!
You will see when it just "feel right" or "runs right".
Ask your mentor in the shop - look at quality machines the way they are setup. You will know a good tattoo machine by the feel of the way it runs - insantly.. until you do - you have to just keep feeling it out..

[xDreamerx]

Once you get a nicely tuned machine you will see and feel the difference. And you will notice how much quicker your work will become without even trying. No need to double tap your lines....can get lines down in one pass...etc. Have fun!

Thanks everyone!