Stroke Length

[Fhez]

I am new to this forum and have found it really useful! There doesnt seem to be the bitchiness that you normally find on these forums.

I just wanted to clarify the theory of “Stroke Length”. In the book it says that a liner should be fast and hard hitting with a long stroke length. So the machine will run fast due to a stiffer front spring and softer rear spring, it will hit hard due to the higher voltage? with regards to the stroke length, the book says that the greater the angle of deflection between the a-bar nipple and the falcrum point the longer the stroke length. so i should bend the a-bar upwards? i also read about “zeroing the spring out” does this mean i should bend the front spring upwards more so that there is still a dime gap when the a-bar is stressed? I have a Ronnie Starr mini liner the a-bar nipple is high but when i zero out the front spring and re-adjust so it is just touching the contact screw and then pull the a-bar down the gap is massive. should i be zeroing out the front spring?

[imported_canvasyou]

While a softer rear spring on a tattoo machine will speed it up – it will do so at a lower voltage.
Those general rules apply to keeping every thing else the same.
Meaning if you change just 1 variable – then you will have the change noticeable.

For a typical liner – you will want a longer stroke, and a heavy to medium hit.
But this depends on what type of lining you do.

Longer stroke would involve the distance that the A-bar nipple moves (ie: the figure 8 or “ghost) while running.
There are a few ways to achieve this.
Add tension to your rear spring – and open the contact screw is the best – easiest way in my opinion.
(so by adding tension to the rear spring you could simply add a heavier gauge metal spring and not bend – or you could use a lighter gauge and bend it a bit more to increase tension)

Lots of ways to add tension –

I prefer to not line so much when I tattoo, but when I do – I like a hard fast liner w/ medium to short stroke. But I have found that most artists prefer long stroke medium speed – medium to hard hit.
I try to tattoo very fast though – it is really a personal style and preference thing.

In my school of thought – you should not be a slave to the machine.
You should know how to make your machine run a certain way
and know which way you like it to run for a certain job you want to accomplish..
this way you do not have any rules for tattooing – except the ones you create yourself.

hope this helps!

If you enjoy the book: Basic Fundamentals of Modern Tattoo – please help me out by posting a review on http://www.amazon.com/Basic-Fundamentals-Modern-Tattoo-Jordan/product-reviews/0615281478/ref=sr_1_1_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1&qid=1309086277&sr=8-1

[Fhez]

Yea that helps! Thanks.

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